Comments on The Gift

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OMG! Dawn! You made me cry. It is very good! What a sad, sad story. Love is never easy. Not even for one's family members. The costs sometimes are almost overwhelming. But still I should be happy that this one does have a redemptive quality of a sort. I know you are capable of writing much sadder ones. There is so much love in that family the way you create them, because whatever they are to one another good and bad, there is never indifference in the equation.



Thank you! Wow, I am glad you liked it so much. :) I had kinda forgotten about this one. It was in that huge glut of holiday stories that went mostly unread (because I posted them right before Christmas--bad timing on my part!), and I thought when I saw the title on my list, "It is probably trite." I have trouble with holiday stories because there always seems the need to put in a cheesy "true meaning of Christmas" moment like all the bad (and even not-so-bad) holiday movies and shows out there. I was pleasantly surprised when I reread this one, and there's a ton of Felakverse stuff in it that I had totally forgotten about. (I need to do some serious rereading before working in my own verse again! How sad is that!?)

Thank you so much for this comment; you are making this process of archiving my ancient history far more pleasant than I thought it would be! :D

Oh Dawn, I am getting all side tracked here (you know, the newsletter), but I had to re-read this again. First... oh my gosh, has it been 8 years?

And again I am just wondering what could have been if he had not given her up, how his mood could have been tempered, how many children they might have had... And he never gave that ring to Fëanor. Yeah... it says so much doesn't it?



I had kind of forgotten about this one, but I reread it and discovered that it wasn't as bad as I'd worried it would be! Actually, I rather like it, in retrospect. (When I can't remember a story very well, I worry that it was because it was not worth remembering; in this instance, I think it was more about writing about 20 stories in one month! :D)

Thank you for rereading and for your kind comment. And, of course, as this story signifies, for the many years of friendship and inspiration!

Celegorm was the first character from the Silm that I wrote in any serious way, and it was because I struggled to like/sympathize with him. In my own mind, I've run with the idea that he shared this talent with Feanor (languages), but he was always pulled in so opposite a direction, toward nature and Orome rather than the constructions of human hands and Aule, that there was always this rift that he could not repair. He wants Feanor's affection so badly--and indeed his skill with languages should make him the favored son!--but his own nature seems to repel it. With that, I was able to explain (and therefore sympathize somewhat) with his character.

Thank you for dusting off this old piece to read and especially for commenting! :D

....and haunting story. Curufinwë and Tyelkormo love the same elf, and Tyelkormo gives her up for the ring that his brother forged as a gift for their father. His feelings when he gifts it to Curufinwë and Terentaulë's son (and she has left his brother to stay in Aman) are of love for his nephew and only now he is happy.