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Day 18 of 39 · January 23 · The Long Middle

The Tree Is Real

A painted emblem for The Tree Is Real.

Today

Finish it.

Niggle arrives and the Tree is standing there, finished, exactly as he had it in his head — and it was real all along. Read as a doctrine it is speculation. Read as a hope it is the single most consoling thing Tolkien ever wrote about unfinished work, and January is full of unfinished work.