SUSAN AFTER NARNIA
CHAPTER ONE – THE TALKING CATS
Susan paid the taxi driver off and thanked him for helping to unload her rather large amount of luggage. She had probably brought too much but she wasn't sure how long she would be staying. She took the key from out of the envelope that Great Uncle Digory's lawyer had given her and opened the door to the cottage she now owned. The moment she did, memories came flooding back, threatening to overwhelm her in a tidal wave. Peter, Edmund and Lucy racing down the stairs, playing hide and seek, and the wardrobe. The magical, mystical wardrobe that had opened the way to so many adventure in Narnia.
Before she could get too emotional, a middle aged woman emerged from a room. This was Mrs Elliott, Uncle Digory's housekeeper whom the lawyers had arranged to stay on. Without a word, she helped Susan bring the luggage inside the house.
"How are you Miss Pevensie?" she asked sympathetically, looking at the slim young figure clad from top to toe in sombre black. "How was the journey?"
"It was fine," Susan answered mechanically. "Thank you for asking"
"You must be hungry after your journey. Would you like some lunch?"
Susan refused lunch, preferring to wander round the old cottage. She went into the best bedroom where the once magical wardrobe stood, and looked at the young woman with a pale face, eyes that looked too large for the face and black hair done up in a burn, staring back at her in the mirror. Then she opened the door and looked inside. The fur coats were still there, smelling strongly of mothballs. She pushed through and touched the wooden back. She didn't know what she expected; she knew that Narnia did not really exist. Then she got inside and curled up and began to cry.
It was dark when she woke, stiff and uncomfortable. She splashed her tearstained face with cold water in the blue and white bathroom and went downstairs. Mrs Elliott had gone but had left her a dinner of meat pie, potatoes and vegetables in the oven. She ate that and wandered into the sitting room for a while and listened to the wireless. Then she decided to make herself a cup of tea and found the kitchen. She had just put the kettle on to boil when she heard a tap at the window. She froze for a moment and then looked over. There was a large black cat tapping with its paw at the windowpane.
Perhaps it's Uncle Digory's cat, thought Susan. She hurried to let it in. The cat was not just large; it was huge. It reminded Susan of the Talking Cats of Narnia. It slowly stalked into the kitchen and gazed round with a proprietarial air. It was all black apart from four white paws and a white blaze on its chest.
"Are you hungry, puss?" asked Susan and started looking in the cupboard for something for it to eat. She eventually found a tin of tuna, opened it and emptied the contents into a bowl. The cat with an air of great condescension consented to start eating it. Then there was another tap at the window. Susan looked up to see another cat, almost as huge as the last one tapping. This time, the black cat walked over to the back door and rising up on its hind paws, opened the latch with powerful blow from its left front paw.
A beautiful longhaired tortoiseshell cat, almost as huge as the black cat came gracefully into the room. Then it saw the bowl of food and made a beeline for it and began to eat hungrily.
"Goodness, you must have been starving'" commented Susan.
"Not starving but dreadfully tired of mice," said a deep brown voice.
"We've been waiting for you for such a long time," said a rather more feminine voice from the tabby cat.
Susan stared at the cats. They looked back at her.
"Was that you two?" she asked.
"And who else would it be, pray?" asked the big black cat.
"Tobermory, don't be so pompous," scolded the smaller tabby cat. "Why wouldn't she be surprised? We're not in Narnia now you know."
"Don't I know it!" sniffed the other cat.
Susan collapsed into a kitchen chair. "You're Talking Cats from Narnia!" she gasped. Narnia was real, after all!
The huge black cat stood up on his hind paws and bowed.
"Tobermory Ratcatcher at your service.
The other cat also stood up on her hind paws and introduced herself, "Tabitha Mouser at your service, mistress".
"I'm Susan,' she told them
Tobermory snorted. "We know who you are, Queen Susan. Why do you think we are here? Aslan, himself, sent us here to find you."
"Aslan?" exclaimed Susan, her mind in a whirl.
"To find you and to give you a message," added Tabitha.
"He appeared to us," Tobermory told Susan, "And he said 'Go to the land of the Sons of Adam and the Daughters of Eve. Find Queen Susan and tell her 'Daughter of Eve, you are not forgotten. The land of Narnia has come to an end but your adventure is not finished. You must go to the Wood Between the Worlds and seek a new world that needs your help.' That's what he said.
"He also said to tell you," added Tabitha, " I am sending these two cats, Tobermory Ratcatcher and Tabitha Mouser to be your faithful companions and to accompany you on your journeys."
Susan was stunned. She had only just realised that Narnia had existed and now she was being told that the land of Narnia had come to an end. She suddenly thought of the terrible train crash in which all of her family had died. Was this connected? Why was Aslan telling her to go to the Wood Between the Worlds? She dimly remembered Great Uncle Digory telling them about this place. But how was she going to get there? There was a way but she couldn't remember. It was dark and too late to start searching the house now.
"I'm going to bed," she decided. "I'll see you in the morning."
She went up to the best bedroom, which she had decided to have for her own use, undressed and got into bed. But she couldn't sleep. Images of Aslan and the others keep seeping into her mind. She kept wondering if there was a connection between the train crash and the end of Narnia. But why would that happen? Then she started thinking about she was the only one left. She felt guilty about surviving. Before long she was sobbing again. She had left the bedroom door ajar and suddenly she felt two weights on the bed. It was Tobermory and Tabitha. They did not say anything but lay down besides her, comforting her with their presence. She eventually fell asleep.
