Colours

At the end of yet another meaningless day he surrendered to the heavy drowsiness that had been haunting him for the past several weeks. He let himself forget who and where he was till voices from his past filled the hollowness of his mind. And he listened to them, pretending that he could choose not to. “Your zealous work makes you forget about the world outside your smithy. Shall I tell Lord Aule that a bit of rest never hurts?” The Maia did not hear the heavy door open but was startled by the words that had broken the course of his thoughts about all the important things to be done. That of Yavanna, Varda, Manwe and… all of them. Indeed, he had lost track of how much time he had spent in his workshop. His fana and fea drowned in his tasks, demanding all of him and not leaving a single moment of respite. Yet, the familiar voice evoked a wave of soothing warmth in his chest. Having a sudden visitor and the one like Eonwe turned into a pleasant surprise. “Eonwe? I did not expect to see you here. What brings you to Aule’s?” “You.” And Eonwe laughed. “I have missed you. I came to remind you that I want to see you at the festival.” The Maia snorted. “But it is because of this festival I am here.” He gestured towards the tables and moved aside for Eonwe to see. There in bowls lay a remarkable variety of sparkling gems of all kinds and colours - red, green, yellow, purple, blue and white. The sudden mix of curiosity and astonishment upon Eonwe’s face made him smile. “What is this? Are those Varda’s stars? But how?” Eonwe put his hand into one of the bowls, his fingers sorting through the glimmering stones in disbelief. “No, those are not stars. They come from subsoil, not from the firmament. It took me time and effort to cut them. When they are born they are not that impressive to the eye. Do you see now?” He pointed at the distant bowl with transparent white gems and his voice changed, sounding almost dream-like. “Those though, will serve for Lady Varda’s necklace to shine like her stars, so radiant and pure.” Then he moved closer to the bowls with the green and yellow ones. “These are for Lady Yavanna. For she loves her creations, olvar and kelvar, and their colours will remind her of them. At the festival she will adorn her arms with new bracelets. And those purple ones are for Lord Manwe as the Lord of firmament. All of them, white, green, yellow, purple, blue, and red give a meaning to each piece of jewelry. The bearer looks at them and his heart fills with joyous memories.” He stopped, unused to talking that much. Staying near Eonwe had always affected his thoughts, words and even heartbeat. Eonwe released the gems and removed his hand to turn to the Maia. Something in Eonwe’s eyes almost gave the Maia light shivers of confusion and anticipation. “Will you... Will you make an adornment for me as well?” Eonwe stood very close to him and they looked each other in the eyes. It seemed strange but the Maia did not want that feeling to go, though he did not have any name for it. Moreover, the Maia heard an unusual excitement in his friend’s voice. “I would be glad to.” And he meant it. The Maia suddenly thought how good would it be to have Eonwe wear his own crafted jewelry. “What colours would you desire then?” In response Eonwe took the Maia’s hand into his. “Yellow - to remind me of your eyes and hair. Red - as a token of what I feel to you. White - to admire the purity of your heart and soul.” White - to dive deeper into this dumb doze, to forget himself and everything around him. Only to live the life long past and forsaken.