Are you Happy?

Keyhole

Durin's day was looming over Thorin's mind. His encounters with Bilbo were less frequent, but Bilbo didn't paid much mind into it. He also was thinking about the arkenstone and the dragon who guarded it. Death was a possibility, but Bilbo tried not to think about it. However, not thinking about Smaug became difficult as every night each member of the company would narrate of the amount of destruction the dragon was capable of. Balin's stories were the worst, he would narrate every detail of ways Smaug would kill a dwarve, human, elve and even hobbits. 

 The company would tell Bilbo about the ferocity of Smaug and the burning fire that would melt his flesh in a matter of seconds, all the stories frightened Bilbo in a way that sleeping at night was filled with nightmares of the different ways Smaug can kill him.

...

...

It was finally Durin's last day, the sun was setting and the company was starting to give up, there was no keyhole anywhere and neither a door to be opened.

Even when the company gave up, Bilbo didn't. With the moon shining brightly the Hobbit still searched desperately for a hole, anything that at least resembled a keyhole, but didn't found it. 

He gave up, he turned around and started walking away. With a last glance Bilbo looked at the rock and saw nothing, with a sight he closed his eyes and let the sorrow sink in. Before taking another step, he heard Thorin's sweet voice singing "...the fire was red... it's flaming spread... the trees like torches... blazed with light". After so long he could still hear the dwarve's voice. And in such a wonderful and sad night, it felt like the words were weeping. 

Bilbo imagined seeing the trees on fire coming closer and closer, shining brightly with menace. Just like tonight's moon, the perfectly round and blazing light, casting golden lines into the ground. 

But that wasn't right, the moon doesn't light in lines and then he saw it, a fat line of light shinning directly into the keyhole. Bilbo's heart started pounding and his voice wavered before he could shout out.

"The keyhole!"

"Come back!"

"Come back!"

Bilbo tried to remember desperately where Thorin threw the key, he was sure it was near but could not find it. He shuffled his feet in an attempt to feel it under his toes, but it was futile.

Bilbo slowly approached the cliff looking for the key, it couldn't have disappeared. The hobbit dragged his feet trying to move the rocks beneath him in an attempt to spot the key, but he found nothing.

With a last knock on the ground Bilbo gave up. He took a step but then stopped, the clicking of the key nearly gave him a heart attack he spun around so quickly that his foot knocked the key again and it bounced towards the cliff, with wavering hands Bilbo ran towards it in an attempt to pick it up but in his hasty attempt he smacked to key out f his reach.

The only thing Bilbo could do was stare as the key skipped towards the precipice.