Adventures In Narnia
"I'm tired!" I complained to my friend, Jenny.
"Stop whining! Come on, don't you enjoy this?" Jenny asked. I stopped and gave her "the look". It was the "are you really serious?" look.
"No, I really don't, Jenny! You know I hate hiking!" I replied. Truthfully, I hated exercise. I did just enough to stay healthy.
"Look, we're meeting Alex for lunch at the park. You're the one who was so 'gung-ho' to go exploring!" She joked as she walked back to tap my head. I was about to smack her when something or someone caught my eye. It was a boy. He seemed a bit older than me, and yet younger than Jenny (which was hard to be, Jenny was only five months older than me).
"Who's that?" I asked Jenny. She turned around and saw the boy. She gave a quizzical glance to me and then back at the boy.
"I don't know who he is, but what does it matter?" Jenny asked.
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves." I replied.
"That would be the polite thing to do."
"It's the Godly thing to do." I reminded her. The poor guy was all alone, looking up at the sky. I walked over to him. He reminded me of Greg Sulkin, or Skander Keynes: blackish-brown hair and green blue eyes.
"Hello!" I greeted. I must have shocked him, because he jumped and almost fell off the bench he was laying on. He looked up sheepishly and then stood. He was about two inches taller than me and Jenny.
"Ello!" He replied. So, I thought, he's British. Cool! I looked him up and down and saw his shirt. It was brown with a cross. On top of the cross, it read "John 14:6 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.'"
"I like your shirt!" I told him. He looked down, confused. Then, he looked up and saw my cross necklace.
"Thanks!" He replied. I stuck out my hand.
"I'm Ashley, and this is my friend Jenny."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Caleb." The boy said.
"Nice to meet you. Where do you live?" I asked. He turned and faced Sunset Avenue.
"Denver, near the high school." He replied.
"I live in Denver, too." I exalted. He turned back around.
"Where?"
"Near the bank. It's about a mile from the high school."
"Well, Ashley, I might just have to come by sometime. "
"You might just have to. Where do you go to church?"
"We just moved here. We're searching."
"Might I suggest Faith Covenant?" I asked.
"Where would that be?" He answered.
"On Route 322 across from the Sharp Shopper strip mall. It has a big sign that says Faith Covenant. It also gives you the temperature and the time."
"That's not all it gives." Jenny interrupted. "It also gives the time of when the youth group meets, important meetings and the name of the next week's message." Caleb laughed.
"I might just have my family check it out." Caleb turned to walk away. "If I were to come, do you have a suggestion which pew we should sit in?" Jenny and I laughed and laughed. "What?"
"You should sit in the ROW OF CHAIRS closest to the right wall. That's where the youth group sits." Jenny replied. Then, Caleb left.
That Sunday, we saw Caleb and his family walk through the double doors that was connected to the hallway. His family looked very similar, and the children were basically cookie cutters. Caleb seemed to be the oldest and once we were introduced, we found out he was. He had twin younger sisters that were ten, a brother who was eight, and another brother who was five. From the looks of it, his mother was pregnant.
"And I thought my family was big!" Jenny replied. I nodded. At the rate Caleb's family was going, his family would be grouped together with the Does and the Martins. Right then, Alex walked up.
"Caleb, this is Alex, my brother." Jenny introduced. "Alex, this is Caleb."
"It's nice to meet you, Caleb. I've heard a lot about you." Caleb blushed. He quickly changed the subject.
"Strange church you've got here." Caleb told us.
"I bet it's different than the hundreds of years old churches you're used to." Jenny replied.
"You got that right!" Caleb exclaimed. Our church WAS different than other churches. Only about ten years ago, it had been a Sharp Shopper/ Udder Choice strip mall. Once they bought it, our church had taken its time changing it. About three to four years after acquiring it, our church finally built a steeple on top of the car port that was held up by two white columns. The three sets of glass double doors that once showed only beige tile and the kitchen plywood double doors and window off in the distance soon showed a library to the left, closed off all around with dry wall accessible only by one heavy wooden door with a small window, a make shift café with chairs and the works, and a greeters table close to the library. The empty space between this place and the third grade classroom was fixed up to become what was now called the Cove, and even just recently had our church fixed up the other side of the area the triplet double doors showed. What had used to be just two wooden doors that entered into the toddler and baby rooms had been recently transformed into a train station. Once you walked in, the mural paintings convinced you that you were in one. Trains and clocks and rolling hills were wonderfully painted to look like they were real.
Caleb was a lot of fun to hang around. We met him in June and by July, the four of us hung out a lot (well, as much as four people who don't have driver's licenses can). Since Caleb and I lived less than a mile away from each other, I spent most of my time talking and hanging out with him. He sympathized with me about my little sister and he always had a funny anecdote about his sisters.
"You're kidding me!" I laughed.
"No! I really found them in the forest looking for 'Narnia'!" Caleb replied.
"Wouldn't it be cool if there WAS a Narnia?" I asked as I looked over to the slide. We were at the park. It had three playgrounds: one for babies, one for toddlers, and one for the kids old enough to spin and climb great heights (6 to 10 feet). Caleb and I were sitting on one of the blue benches next to the swing set.
"It would, but it doesn't mean it exists." Caleb reminded me.
"Well, one day, I hope we get proven wrong."
We stopped talking and focused on the little kids playing in front of us.
The next day, Alex, Jenny, Caleb and I were at the park, walking toward the Cocoa Creek. We were on the bridge when the earth started to shake. We held on for dear life to the sides, but something went wrong. All four of us fell at once. I felt my head bang into something, but I couldn't figure out what. Everything went black.
The next thing I knew, I was moving. I opened my eyes and blinked twice. As my vision came back, I realized I was on a train. Strange, I thought, but maybe they needed to send me to some place for medical treatment. "On a train?" something inside of me asked. I pushed it aside.
As I became more aware of my surroundings, I saw that there were people around me. They looked familiar, but I couldn't place them yet. I looked outside and saw green grass and rolling hills. Then, I looked right at the glass. Something wasn't right. The reflection didn't seem like me. My brain was so scrambled that I couldn't figure out what was what.
Now, my mind was coming back. I looked back at the three others and realized that they were William Mosley, Anne Popplewell, and Skander Keynes. Wow! The three people I've always wanted to meet! Is this a dream? I asked myself. I had hit my head pretty hard. They seemed to be asleep like I had been only moments ago. One of them began to stir. Skander. Figures. I thought.
Now that I could think clearly, I looked at the reflection in the mirror. It definitely wasn't mine. It was Georgia Henly. Okay, now I KNOW I'm dreaming! I thought. No way I am Georgia Henly!
Skander shook his head and then felt it. I subconsciously felt my own. It hurt right at that spot I had hit. He looked over and jumped. I mean he JUMPED. I reminded me of Caleb the day I had met him. Wait a minute…
"Caleb?" I asked. I covered my mouth with my hand. That was NOT my voice! No way was that MY voice. It was British. It sounded like Lucy Pevensie's in the newer version of Narnia.
"How do you know my name?" Skander, who I now knew was Caleb, asked.
"It's me, Ashley." I answered.
"What? You're crazy!"
"And you aren't who you think you are." I replied. I moved my face away and beckoned him to come over. He looked out and his eyes popped!
"What is going on?" He asked. His voice was different, too. It sounded like, well do I have say it?
"I don't know, but what I do know is that THIS is freaky." I replied. Right then, the other two started to stir.
"Alex? Jennifer?" Caleb asked. They looked at him like he was crazy.
"Alex? Jennifer?" Jennifer repeated. "Who are they?" Right then, Alex and Jennifer grabbed the front of their heads.
"Ow!" They yelled in unison. Caleb and I looked at each other.
"Oh no! Amnesia." I moaned.
"Hopefully it's temporary." Caleb added.
"What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know, but from the fact that we look like a picture from the nineteen forties, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that we've been dropped in the middle of one of C.S. Lewis's books."
"Good hypothesis and if I wasn't completely shell shocked, I'd say that I concur, especially because I would never say those words in real life. It sounds like a professor had written out this dialogue ahead of time." I replied.
"Stop it, you're scaring me."
"I'm scaring you? I'm scaring myself."
"I think we are going to see Narnia."
"I do, too."
Right then, the train stopped. Alex and Jenny, excuse me, Peter and Susan, got up and started getting ready to get off.
"Come on, you two! This is our stop!" Susan commented as she handed me a suitcase. I gave her a dumbfounded look. Really? We were going to do this? Caleb looked at me and I knew he was thinking "Play along for their sake." So I grabbed the bag and filed in between Susan and Caleb.
I think we all know what happens next. You do if you've seen the movie. If you haven't seen the movie, then you're out of luck. Plagiarism is illegal and I don't feel like going to jail today.
When we entered the train to head back "home" (wherever that was), it started to shake. At first it was settle, but soon it became violent. We had all been standing and were now holding on for dear life. Suddenly, we all fell. I felt my head bump again. Everything went black.
When I woke up this time, everything was white. Then, things started to materialize. I realized I was at Littletown Hospital when I felt the IV in my arm. I looked around and found my mom staring at me. When she realized I was awake, she ran out to get a nurse.
I touched my head and winced. It hurt twice as much as it did on the train. The train! Oh, did this mean that Narnia was a dream? I started to cry but knew that it must have been a dream if I woke up and time had passed.
The nurse walked in and flashed a light in my eyes. "That was a hard fall." She said.
"My head does hurt." I replied.
"How did you four fall the way you did?"
"Well, we were on the bridge when the earthquake started…"
"What earthquake?" I stared at her.
"The earthquake? Didn't you feel it? It was so strong that even holding onto the bridge we fell down."
"Sweetheart, I can assure you there was no earthquake." My mom piped in.
What is going on? I asked myself. Were we the only people who felt the earthquake? The nurse held my arm and put on the blood pressure cuff.
"Hold still." The nurse commanded. I obeyed, but then remembered something very important.
"What about my friends?" I asked. The nurse looked uneasily at my mom. Mom gave me a patronizingly sorrowful yet calm look. It was like I wasn't her teenager; I was her little toddler again.
"Ashley, you sustained the least amount of brain damage. The others haven't woken up yet." Mom answered. I recalled how, on the train, I had woken up first. Maybe it was the same way here.
Sure enough, two hours later, word came that Caleb was awake. Four hours after that, Jenny and Alex finally woke up. We were told that tomorrow we could go home.
As we were leaving, we bumped into each other. We looked back and forth and realized that our looks said it all. Caleb looked at me.
Does this mean that there's no Narnia? I heard. I turned to Caleb.
"Come again?" I asked. Caleb looked at me confusedly.
"What?" He asked in reply.
"I specifically heard you ask if this meant there was no Narnia." I whispered.
"How did you know what I was thinking?"
Because you spoke. I thought.
"No I didn't." Caleb said.
"Didn't what?"
"I didn't speak."
"How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked.
"Wait, you didn't say anything?" Caleb asked.
"No, I said nothing. I thought it, but my mouth did not move."
"What was that, Alex?" Jennifer asked. We all turned to Jenny. She looked at us. "Didn't you hear him?"
Are we all losing it? I asked myself. All three of them looked at me. I was about to open my mouth, but Alex held up a hand.
Can you hear me? Alex asked. I heard his voice, but his lips hadn't moved. We all shook our heads. Remember what Aslan said about this?
But wasn't that a dream? Jennifer asked.
I think a better question would be is this a dream? I added.
Do you have intricate details in a dream? Alex asked.
What are you saying? Caleb asked.
If we had just experienced the movie, I would believe we were dreaming. But name one time you've had a dream where you went to the bathroom, bathed, and not only did those things, but can feel yourself doing those things. The difference between dreams and real life is that you have a true experience in real life. In a dream, you're just there, you exist but don't have anything to show for it; in real life, you feel and enjoy and do intricate little things that you remember forever. Alex answered.
Deep. So, what did Aslan say about this? Jenny asked comically.
We went through that together, now the magic is in us and we can do things we had only imagined before. Alex reminded us.
For someone who had amnesia just a few hours ago, you sure remember a lot. I said. Alex smiled. Right then, our families pulled up.
That following Sunday, we all met at the door of our church. We greeted each other and I could tell they were just as depressed as I was.
Why the long face? I asked, already knowing the answer.
When do we get to go back to Narnia? Caleb asked Alex. We all looked at him.
Why is everyone looking at me? Alex asked.
We're looking toyou because you're High King. I reminded him.
"I don't know." Alex blurted out.
EVERYONE stared at the cluster of four teens that had just interrupted their "small talk" conversations that were obligatory during this time of the morning. All though it was not tried, our church ended up existing as several different cliques; friendly as they were to others, the gravitated towards their own kind. Alex and Jennifer and my families gravitated towards what we will call the "new to this church" group. This consisted of those who had teenagers who had started coming to our church two year or less ago. This clique tended to be less "popular" than the "my kid goes to Littletown" or "we live in Shyville" cliques. We usually hung out with other cliques that took in new people with teens or pre-teens.
Anyway, needless to say, Alex was embarrassed. He was a background kind of guy. He was FINE playing electric guitar or bass in the worship band, but it was like pulling teeth to get him to lead. He was a leader of some sort, though most of us newbies were not quite sure what he led. Yet, he was fine playing a weirdo French man who wore purple outfits embellished with frills. Most times, I think it's just an idiosyncrasy: one of his quirks. Other times I wonder if he's sane, but that can be said about all Glicks; his family was known for being a bit off.
Caleb, who was second leader of our make shift little group, grabbed the now frozen Alex and ran towards the cove. He made it with plenty of time to spare, for everyone was still frozen from the shock of his yelling and no one had asked what was going on. Alex, now becoming limp, grabbed onto the side of the wall to prop himself up.
The cove, which had been dedicated two years ago, was quite the little hang out for teens. It was painted in three colors: light blue, dark yellow and BRIGHT red. It consisted of three half walls and two white columns, strategically placed on either side of the only wall that seemed horizontal the moment you walked through the brown double doors. An orange set of furniture was to your left in a corner that was created by the wall of the entry way and one of the other half walls. A green set of furniture was right in front of you the moment you walked in. To your right was a small café of chairs and tables. A few paces forward and to your right you could see the window that led to the cove's kitchen. On the other side of the first half wall was the game area; it had pool, and ping pong and a foosball table. On the other side of the second half wall was an open area that contained a sound table to the right, a group of chairs, and a stage with a ramp.
"Are you alright?" Caleb asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine now." Alex answered.
"When do you think we'll be back in Narnia?" Jenny asked.
"Do I know the mind of Aslan?"
"You should, you're His favorite."
"I am not," Alex said, now using his "Peter" accent, "Lucy is." Everyone looked at me.
"Aslan does not have favorites; He loves us all equally." I reminded them.
"I agree." Caleb said.
"Aslan DIED for you. Of course you'd say that." Jenny said. Caleb seemed to be getting mad. All three now looked like their characters.
"He would have died for you had you been in my place." Caleb retorted.
"All of you stop it! We're going to attract attention." I scolded. All looked apologetically at me. "We are now brothers and sisters. We shouldn't quarrel." Right then, I heard a roar. It was Aslan! But when I turned, I saw nothing. Where was he?
"Lucy's…" Alex started.
"Shhh! I hear something." I told them. They all looked at me.
"Was it…?" Caleb started but I put up my finger and nodded. I saw Narnia in all its glory and then Aslan. The more I looked at Aslan, the less of our world I saw. Soon, all I saw was Aslan.
"Child, be aware. You will see Narnia very soon." Aslan said. I smiled.
"Aslan, will I always hear you this clearly?" I asked.
"Why ask that?"
"Because in my world, I can't hear God the way I hear you now."
"He talks…"
"…to me all the time, I know." Aslan roared.
"Dare you interrupt me?" Aslan asked. I shrunk.
"Sorry."
"You must learn to tune into Him."
"I'll try." I promised. Aslan nodded. "How soon will we see Narnia?"
"Soon."
"Are all your answers coded?"
"Not all."
"Then why aren't you answering directly."
"For the same reason I never answer exactly when I will return to gather up my children and bring them to Heaven. I don't want you to wait around for that moment. I want you to spend your time wisely." At that, I was back in the cove.
"What happened?" Caleb asked.
"We will return to Narnia soon." I told them. We left it at that.
A few days later, Caleb, Jenny, Alex and I were in my room, talking about school that was quickly approaching.
"Can you believe that summer is half way over?" Jenny asked as she looked in the mirror, fixing her hair.
"You? I have to start public school." I whined.
"At Cocoa?" Caleb asked. I nodded. "Cool, so I won't be the only new one."
"Yeah, I hope we have some classes together." I replied emphatically.
"Do you know what classes you have yet?"
"No, do you?"
"No."
"Ahh!" Jenny screamed. With a bounce, she started to walk away from the mirror, but was tripped by my floral chest on the end of my bed. This caused her to fall onto my bed on her back, and momentum did its part, causing her to somersault backwards onto the pile of pillows that graced the head of my bed.
"What is it, Jenny?" Alex asked. Right then, a frame grew around my mirror. It was beautiful silver with hundreds of the same type of valuable stone, which seemed to be diamond. Yet the exquisite frame was not dull or boring.
We all went to get a closer look when we saw what had frightened her. Inside the mirror was Narnia! At least, it was a picture of it. It looked so real that Caleb and I went to touch it. When we got to the glass, we thought that our hands would be stopped. But to the contrary, they went through what felt like water.
"What is it?" Alex and Jenny asked together.
I don't know. I replied. We were still learning how to have complete control over this thing which we fondly called TY (telepathy). We figured it was like everything else in the world; all we needed was practice. Soon we would get used to switching back and forth.
I think it's a portal. Caleb TYed.
No! Jennifer replied sarcastically. Automatically after she said that, I felt a jolt and felt myself getting wet as I went through the mirror.
Next thing I knew, I was in Narnia with Caleb, except we were no longer Ashley and Caleb but Lucy and Edmund. We turned around to find that the mirror was still there. Not only that, but Jenny and Alex were on the other side, staring at us eyes wide and mouths open. Caleb and I pushed our hands through the water again and each grabbed a White and pulled them through.
Right then, we heard a gigantic ROAR! We turned around to find Aslan standing before us. I ran and hugged him along with Susan. Edmund and Peter held back, apparently thinking they were too "cool" to run up and hug the High King of Narnia.
"Aslan! It is so great to see you!" I rejoiced in my British, Lucy-like accent that I was actually growing fond of.
"Hello, dear ones. How do you like the mirror portal I sent you?" He asked. Susan and I laughed and hugged Him again.
"We love it, Aslan." Susan said.
"But it will be pretty hard for us to access it if it rests in Abby's room." Peter, the depressor, added.
"It will be accessible where ever there hangs a mirror. The diamonds hold the magic. When ever you want to come to Narnia put one of the diamonds on the closest mirror. The mirror will transform like the one in Abby's bedroom. There are more than enough for all who find out about Narnia." Aslan replied.
"More will find out?" Edmund asked. We all looked at Aslan expectantly.
"Yes, more WILL find out. Narnia will end up being a get away for you." Aslan replied.
"A get away? I do like Narnia, but would we really need a get away?" Susan asked.
"I think it would be cool to get to come here with friends and get to talk. This is the only place where we are in charge. Narnia could be awesome!" I told them.
"OR…This could become a disaster! How many people will find out?" Peter asked.
"No more than twenty, no less than ten. That is all you need to know." Aslan answered. "Now, there are some rules that need to be followed. Don't use them 'whenever'. Be sure NO ONE is watching. Don't tell anybody about Narnia just to impress others. Narnia is not a plaque or award. Another important thing is to remember your place on earth. You might be kings and queens here, but on earth you are just regular teenagers trying to get through life. School is coming soon. Edmund and Lucy, you might learn that you have many classes together. Do not think it is luck or a coincidence that you are where you are. Wherever you are on the face of the earth, I ordered your steps to be there. Every step in that school was predetermined." Aslan informed us. Then, he roared and disappeared.
We were left there, stunned. None of us wanted to say what was on our mind. We didn't even bother to read them. Life was complicated enough without making it more complicated by doing something that would only confirm what you already knew. We were all wondering why Aslan left so soon.