�But they didn�t have long to wait for retribution. In the midst of the burning, they began to scream in terror and when the fire had died down, left in the ashes were numerous bodies. I think they burned in their own flames. Problem was, the number of remains left didn�t add up to the number of Proudfeet that had left and reappeared. At least a dozen, if not more, were missing. No one knew what had happened to them and where they went. They were taken for loss and because of their evil, all names on that side of the family were burned out of our books.�
Odo turned to look at me for the first time. His eyes were blazing and I wanted to cower under them.
�Then you came along. You had the feet, but no name. And no one to claim you? Impossible in the Shire! You had to be a Proudfoot and none of our relatives were missing a son. I knew it at once. You had to be a son of Lanco�s Proudfeet and their story was forgotten long ago and had become legend. The only Proudfeet besides me who know the real story are far older and few and all had vowed never to tell it. The other Proudfeet, they know something dark happened and you�re mixed up in it, but that�s all they know. And that�s all they�re going to know. I forbid you to mention it. Now that you�ve heard it, forget it. All that story would do is cause pain.�
I gulped. My mind reeled and I could not even begin to think of what I had just been told. Stupidly, I stammered the only thought that came to my mind.
�But the Big Man��
�Forget it, Pady!� Odo shouted. �Your family is long gone and even if they weren�t, what�s a Big Folk have to do with it? Evil, that is. Any kin you�d own is a disgrace and a shame. Big Folk, sticking their faces in where they have no business. Live in the Shire and stay put. No ancestry like that is worth pursuing. Don�t you see? Hobbits have never fought amongst themselves. If everyone knew the truth, we�d be the bane of the Shire!�
Odo jumped up, took one last glaring look at me and marched through the red door. I sat stunned, my pipe fallen into my lap. I had a history. It was my first thought and it was precious. The sun shone on me, even in the dark. I had an ancestry. I really was a Proudfoot and somewhere out there my kin existed. I had one name, but that was enough. It was one more than I had had this morning. I was Pady Proudfoot of the family of Lanco Proudfoot.
Then the thunderclouds swept over my sun. I had a family, but I could not declare them. Odo forbid me and even if he did not, would I ruin the reputation of the Proudfeet over my personal heritage? But what good is a legacy you can not talk about? That does not matter. I have made my decision and though it hurts, I must. I will conceal what I know. I will keep both my sun and its clouds to myself. I will live in silence, knowing I am truly Proudfoot, yet also knowing I am a disgrace.
But what of the message? Still, I do not know what it means. To be honest, I do not care any longer. Big Folk� who are they anyway? He was probably a liar. It is best to stay where I am. Shadow can come, But we Hobbits go on, eating and shining like the sun.