A Walk in the Park

Warning: there is a spoiler in this story about “The Hobbit” trilogy!

“Suddenly there was a great shout, and from the Gate came a trumpet call… Out leapt the King under the Mountain, and his companions followed him. Hood and cloak were gone; they were in shining armour, and red light leapt from their eyes. In the gloom the great dwarf gleamed like gold in a dying fire.”        - “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien

She had known that he would die. She just didn’t know how or exactly when. Caitlyn sat in the theater with her sister. Her sister was weeping but didn’t feel the level of grief that Caitlyn was feeling now. She felt her salty tears run down her cheeks, as they had been for the last two hours. But right now, these tears were new, and different. They were not happy tears, nor excited tears. They were tears of grief. Her favorite character had just died in the movie. The credits were rolling now. A big hole had been torn in Caitlyn’s heart. She had read “The Hobbit” before, so she knew this event was coming, but it hit her harder than she thought it would. “Farewell, Thorin,” she whispered. Her heart was glowing from Thorin’s heroism and aching from his death.

Caitlyn hadn’t known how much she would fall in love with the movie’s version of Thorin over the course of the first two movies. She loved his big heart, his kindness, his majesty, his strength, the way he looked and moved and talked. She loved the redemption story of his character. He was a true hero and a worthy king by the end of the third movie, “The Battle of the Five Armies.”  

Thorin was a noble dwarf of royal blood, destined to be king of the dwarves if he could reclaim his kingdom, which had been stolen by a dragon years ago. He had done so with the help of his friends, namely Bilbo the hobbit, after whom the book and movie series was named.

But after a fierce one-on-one battle with his arch-nemesis, an orc named Azog, Thorin was dying. Azog was already dead. Thorin had a few minutes left to live. When he collapsed, Bilbo rushed to his side. There was a heart-rending scene during which they said goodbye to each other. Then Thorin died, slowly, softly. His breath escaped him, and his eyes became vacant. Bilbo began to weep.

Thorin’s death brought the audience to tears. Some people would experience grief for months after watching the movie. Caitlyn was one of those people. She loved Thorin very much. She thought about him every day, sometimes dreamed about him, replayed the movie scenes in her head, and gazed at pictures of Thorin. Sometimes she would sit alone in her room, weeping.

Over the course of the first couple of years when the first and second movies were released, she had felt like she grew to know Thorin well. He was a character of dazzling complexity, thoroughly intriguing. His heart was noble. He had huge obstacles to overcome to complete his quest. He always took care of his people. Thorin’s heart had been wounded by people in his life, and he struggled between his pride and doing what was right. But ultimately, he won his inner struggle. To top it all off, he looked and acted like a king. He was tall for a dwarf, his shoulders were broad, and his eyes were blue. Caitlyn was the biggest fan of The Hobbit in her family, and the only one who experienced this level of grief.

After some months, Caitlyn decided to get out of the house more often to ease her grief. One day Caitlyn and her sister decided to go for a walk in the local park towards dusk. They walked together for a while. Caitlyn felt her mood lighten. Eventually Caitlyn’s sister left to go meet her friends, with whom she was spending the evening. Caitlyn was left alone in the park. She walked for a while, enjoying the soft green grass and the tall, lush trees. Eventually she came to some benches. She decided to sit for a while on an empty bench. The sun was getting ready to set. The park was almost empty.

Caitlyn glanced over and saw a man sitting by himself on a bench, reading. He was wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and a baseball cap. The way he was dressed, the way he had one leg crossed over the other, his tall height and broad shoulders, was familiar to her.  She heard him finishing up a phone conversation and noticed that his voice was deep and rich. Then he began to read his book. Caitlyn studied his posture, the profile of his face. Her heart began to pound. Caitlyn gathered up her courage. If she was right, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. She stood up. She began to walk. She came to his bench.

“Excuse me,” said Caitlyn shyly. He looked up. “You look so much like somebody I know about. You wouldn’t happen to be Richard Armitage, would you?”

He smiled. “I am, yes.” Caitlyn’s heart began beating double time. Richard Armitage was none other than Thorin himself.

 “I am such a big fan of The Hobbit! Thorin is my favorite character,” said Caitlyn.

“Are you a fan? That’s awesome. It’s lovely to meet you,” said Richard. His smile was kind and a little bashful. His voice was deep, just like Thorin’s. It was Thorin’s voice after all. He was muscular and tall- taller than Caitlyn’s dad. He looked at her steadily with kind blue eyes. Caitlyn reached into her purse and dug out a snippet of paper and a pen.

“Would you sign this please?” she asked.

“Of course,” said Richard. He took the paper and gently signed it. He handed it back. “There you go,” he said.

 Caitlyn’s thoughts moved at lightning speed. She was outwardly calm, but her heart was pounding. She couldn’t stop smiling. Richard was reminding her so much of Thorin- she couldn’t believe the resemblance of his face, his voice, his blue eyes and dark hair. A rush of joy and healing filled her heart. Thorin lived on in this man.