"I hear Aslan in the silence."
Edmund had learned when they had first discovered Narnia to believe anything Lucy said. However, this was just too ridiculous. Aslan was back in Narnia and there was no way she could hear him from here. A bubble of hatred burst inside of him. He thought she was making fun of him.
"Quit it Lucy!" He yelled into her face and ran inside from where they were playing on the lawn. There was no way that she could… could she?
That night, Edmund was up for a drink of water. It wasn't unusual for him to be thirsty, especially on a hot summer evening like this one. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and turned on the tap. When the glass was filled, he began the walk back down the hallway. As he was passing Lucy's door, her small voice rang out quietly.
"Ed?" he sighed crossly, but opened her door a crack.
"Yes Lu?" She was laying on her bed, hands behind her head and her eyes white with the reflected light of the corridor. They might have been closed the moment before, Edmund couldn't tell. "Yes Lu?" He repeated impatiently, a little more irritated that she hadn't responded. She crossed her legs underneath her as she sat up, patting the bed next to her with pleading eyes. He sighed again, but set his glass of water on the carpet and proceeded inside, sitting where she had indicated.
"What are you doing up, Lucy? It's late and you need your sleep."
"Listen, Edmund," she urged, smiling. He didn't know exactly what she meant. The room was as silent to him as the milky blackness of the night. Several long moments passed before he glanced over at Lucy's still face. She was smiling; her eyes tightly shut. Obviously, she was just playing once again. He rolled his eyes, and waited another couple of minutes before saying, "I don't hear anything Lu," in a tired and exasperated voice.
"Shhh… just listen. You'll hear him. I know you will." Edmund was getting more frustrated with the situation; still, he closed his eyes and tried to simply listen. At first, all he could hear were the thoughts rocketing around in his head, but then, slowly, out of nothing came a deep voice, louder and louder, like a steam train.
"My child. I love you. I love you so much and nothing could ever diminish it. My son, I love you… Come home… Come home…" Then his thoughts slipped through his fingers until he was again lying on Lucy's bed. He reached up to touch the wetness on his cheeks. Tears, once unshed, that were now let out.
"You heard him? You heard?" Lucy asked hopefully. He swallowed and replied with the voice of a child.
"Yeah, Lu. I heard him." He could barely see his sister's silent grin through the darkness, but there it was. All he could think was how much more wise his sister was than he.
"Good," Lucy said finally. "Good."