David paced anxiously back and forth, wondering if Susan was going to come or not. Two kindly ladies, complete strangers to him, had already stopped to ask him if everything was quite alright to which he lied of course it was, thank you very much. But of course it wasn't. He could only hope that once he spoke with Susan, some Valentine's Day miracle would make it be. Somehow, he highly doubted that.
He spotted her prim, red-trimmed hat in the crowd and pushed through to find her. "If it isn't the most beautiful queen in any world," he whispered in her ear, realizing she hadn't yet seen him.
While he had hoped those words might surprise her, he hardly expected that she would jump and shriek at those words. "Oh, its… it's just you," she said, a hand at her chest.
"Of course," he said, puzzled.
"I…let's go somewhere less crowded. I've never been found of crowds," she said, taking him by the arm to find somewhere deeper into the park where they might have some semblance of privacy.
"So…ah…Narnia…" she began awkwardly as they sat across from each other, air so thick with tension Rhindon would be required to cut it.
"Yes…Is it real?" he asked.
"Narnia? How…how do you know about it?" Susan pressed, fearful of the response.
"You're going to thick I'm crazy," he said, shaking his head.
Susan couldn't help giggling wildly.
"What?" he asked, somewhat offended.
"That you're crazy? I've been worried all weekend that you may have heard something that would make you think I'm crazy," she said, barely able to speak through the laughter.
"I…I suppose that would make sense. I…I'll just come out and say it. A lion talked to me in my dreams," he blurted out.
Susan paused. "Aslan?" she whispered to herself, thinking herself inaudible.
Nevertheless, he heard her and responded, "Y-Yes, that's what he called himself. Is that his name then? I just knew it was Turkish for lion."
"Is it? Strange. There's no language like Turkish there," Susan said, her mind grasping onto random bits and pieces of facts in this confusing conversation.
"So there really is a there? Another world as the lion told me?" David said, leaning forward.
"Yes. We…we lived there for many, many years the first time. Then the second time, only long enough to win a war and then Peter and I were told we were never to return. Lucy and Ed did, but then they too were told the same thing. So I vowed to never think or speak of it again, as that very lion, the Lion, he told us we couldn't. So why…why would he appear to you now?"
"Because he…he said…he said you're to …" David said, beginning to choke.
"What? What did he say this time?" Susan cursed, feeling the same anger she had felt at Aslan many times before, wondering yet again if he found some sick fascination at playing with their lives.
"He says…there will be a train crash. And once dead, you'd be dead to this world, but not there. I…I'll still be here though. With7out you," he confessed, reaching his hands towards Susan's.
"Aslan's going to kill me?" Susan said, an angry bout of tears threatening to burst at any moment.
"He more made it seem like you and your family would be happy. To return …home," he said, the word sounding bitter.
"He instructed us to live our lives here," Susan said, shaking her head. "Why? Why the moment I finally…finally am so close to be able to fully live in this world, he yanks it away?"
"You don't want to leave?" David said, his heart souring. He quickly shot it down, afraid to get his hopes up. As much as he loved Susan and he hoped she loved him, he could never see her picking him over her family. And he had heard whispers of Narnia before, but had never put much stake in them until now. He knew it was something important to her family but had thought it anything more than maybe a game they had played in their youth that they still loved but were a bit embarrassed by. It wasn't until the lion that he realized it was more than that.
"No. I mean, I think not. I was angry when we first left Narnia and couldn't get back. We had a built a life there. We had built a kingdom even. But now, I've built a career, I've built a life, I want to live here," she said, frustrated. After a thought though, she said, "But my family won't want that. They've still been trying to live in Narnia, even though we're all barred from it."
"So you are…you're happy here?" David said, his heart threatening to soar again.
Susan smiled and scooted towards him so she could reach across to place her hand on his knee. "Very."
He placed his hand over hers, smiling. "I love you so much, Su."
"Can you give me a ride home? Apparently I should avoid trains for awhile," Susan half-teased.
"I think you just need to avoid trains with your siblings. He didn't just mean you. He meant all of you," David said. "But…really? You would give that up? I…I didn't know it was something real, but I had heard bits a pieces. It seemed important."
"It…it was. But it doesn't need us anymore. But I think my siblings still need it, even though Aslan said we didn't," she mused.
"What do you need?" David asked gently.
"I…I've always needed my family but…Now I realize, I need them to be happy. That's all. And that's where they'll be happy. And we don't need each other, just to know that everyone is safe and happy. Which they'd be under Aslan's paws in Narnia," she mused.
"And you? Would you be happy there?" David pressed.
"Would you be happy if I was?" Susan returned.
"That doesn't matter," David urged.
"Yes, it does. Could I be happy in Narnia again? I presume so. I was furious to be back in England, but I rebuilt and am happy with my life. I could do the same in Narnia. But not if you are unhappy."
"I'll survive," he promised. "As long as I know you're happy."
"That's not what I asked," Susan said softly, kissing his cheek. She enunciated, "Could you be happy?"
"I…I love you," was all he managed to say. He knew answering her question straight would only hurt her, and he didn't want to be the reason she was torn.
"Then I can't be happy there, knowing you'd be unhappy," Susan said, reaching for his chin and kissing him. He leaned into it, placing his arms around her to pull her in close. He wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, but he wouldn't refuse her. Before he was ready to pull back, Susan pulled away. "I have something I need to do."
"You're leaving? So soon?" he said, dismayed. "It's Valentine's Day!"
"I know but…this…this is a lot to take in."
David was hurt, but he simply nodded and helped her pack up. "Where to?" he asked.
"A church. Aslan's talked to me there before. Not often. Well, often, but usually in the way one usually hears Jesus as they pray. But sometimes even more directly," she mused.
David was dying to ask what is was she needed to speak with Aslan about. But he knew Susan well enough to know that if she wanted him to know, she would have given the reason. They walked silently to the first Church they could find, sneaking in quietly when they realized that a service was going on.
Susan closed her eyes, hoping he might speak to her. Aslan…please…Aslan…I need you this time. More than ever.
To her surprise, he answered. She spoke with him, and then she knew what she must do.
