Dead. All of them. Susan could hardly grasp the concept. She sat silently in a chair, staring at the floor as the police officer explained how it happened. "The professor and Peter were standing in the station, and the rest were on the train. The train's controls had become jammed, so it went around the corner too fast, and…"

"Peter and the professor were in the station?" she asked. He nodded. "What were they doing there? They were supposed to be on the train too."

"Apparently, they caught an early train about two days ago."

"But why?"

"We may never know."

He paused. Susan crossed her arms, her fingernails digging into her flesh. "So they're all gone?"

He nodded, sympathy in his eyes. "If there's anything the police can do to help, we are here for you. Would you like to accept donations?" Susan got up and opened the door for him. He took the hint and stood to leave. "I'm sorry."

Susan still stared at the floor. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault, and it can't bring them back." The officer left, shaking his head.

Susan closed the door and the tears began to come. She threw her purse down and kicked her shoes across the room, tearing her nylons in the process. She didn't care and ripped them off. Her makeup smeared as the tears flowed like streams down her face. She did not bother to wipe them. She ran to her room and collapsed on the bed, her scarlet dress scrunching underneath her.

There, Susan wept. She stayed there all night and did not sleep. Sometimes, she buried her face in her pillow and cried aloud; other times, she simply stared at the ceiling, silent tears running past her ears and into her hair.

Morning found Susan still in bed, most of her makeup gone and her hair flattened. Night fell again, and still she did not move. She ignored the telephone and did not answer the knocks on her door. She could not eat or sleep. Her eyes were swollen from crying. She looked like a mess and she knew it, but what did it matter? It angered her to think that just the previous day, her looks mattered the world to her, and the last thoughts she had of her family were how to avoid them so she could get to that silly party on time.

The thoughts of her family made her eyes fill once again. She thought of her mother and father, and how wonderful they had been when she was growing up. She remembered especially the time her parents were forced to send the children to the country during the air raids. Susan had known that it was a difficult thing for them to do, but they were willing to do it because it meant the children would be safe. Had Susan ever told them how much she appreciated it? Had she ever appreciated it?

And Peter. Susan could not forget how supportive he was of his siblings. The younger children always went to him with their problems, and Peter and Susan often had long discussions about what decision would be best for them. He was viewed as a second father figure for the children, and he was always helpful and encouraging.

Edmund. Susan remembered when he was a selfish little beast, and how he changed when they were at the professor's house. (But what made him change? she thought.) She almost smiled when she remembered how he began looking up to Peter and making sure that Lucy was always okay. The night before Lucy was to go to boarding school for the first time, Edmund had gone into her room and hugged her, giving her support and confidence when she had been so nervous.

Lucy…sweet little Lucy. She had always been the brightest of the four of them. Even when everybody else was arguing and losing their tempers, Lucy always found ways to cheer everyone up. As she grew older, she had been the most compassionate and caring of all of them. Susan remembered how she herself was inspired by Lucy to do more for the good of others.

And the others, too…the dear professor and Aunt Polly. She could not remember having closer friends than those two. They were both old and wise, and even Peter often looked to them for advice. Eustace…Susan remembered when he, like Edmund, changed from a selfish little boy into a kinder and more thoughtful boy after Edmund and Lucy had visited him. (She thought again, But what made him change?) And Eustace's friend, Jill. Susan suddenly realized that she had never met Jill in person. She and Lucy had become close friends, so surely she was as sweet as Lucy was. Susan shamefully regretted that she had never met Jill, or even cared to.

All that she had ever loved. Gone, in a matter of moments. Susan tried not to think about how they died, yet she still wondered: Did they die painlessly? What were their last thoughts? Did they even know they were about to die? Susan grieved that she would never be able to tell them how much they all meant to her. I didn't deserve them. All they ever did was love me, and I took them for granted. She suddenly spoke aloud to the darkness. "I have nothing left! Nothing!"

"Susan."

Susan sat straight up, startled. She looked around her room, but saw no one. She lay back down again, listening.

"Susan," the voice said again. Susan definitely heard it this time: a warm, rich voice, sweet and gentle, yet strong. Strangely, it sounded familiar.

"Who are you?" she asked, quietly.

"I have many names, one of which you once knew." Once knew. This must be the voice of someone else I lost. Susan tried to think of where she had heard the voice before, and was frustrated when she could not. This person obviously meant so much to me at one point, and I must have taken him for granted, too. She began to cry again.

"I know, Daughter. Grief is great. But you need not punish yourself for their fates."

Daughter. She knew that she had heard the voice call her "Daughter" before. But where was it? Susan sobbed, "What else am I to do? I have nothing left. They were all I ever loved, and now they're gone!"

The voice spoke again. "I am still here." Susan listened, and he continued. "I have always been here for you, even before you knew me. I was here, giving you strength and encouragement when you needed it most. Even when you turned away from me, I was here. And now, I am still here for you. I will never leave you."

Susan still could not remember who this person was, but she found that she was comforted by his words. Susan asked, "What am I to do now?"

"Believe. Believe in me, as you once did."

Susan thought. His voice sounded more and more familiar as he spoke. The more she thought, the more she began to realize that the voice did not belong to a person at all. From somewhere, she remembered golden fur. She remembered a lion, huge and bright, with a flowing mane, large paws, and a loud roar. Suddenly, as if from the deepest and darkest places of her memory, a name floated up. As she remembered the name, all memories came flooding back, and the recognition made the tears flow once more. "Aslan?"

Aslan said nothing more, but as she said his name, she heard a sound of rushing air. She felt suddenly warm, and she realized that he was breathing on her. A certain void in her heart suddenly felt filled. A light spread throughout her entire room, and in the midst of it was Aslan himself. Susan was shocked to see that his eyes were filled with tears, and she understood that he was grieving with her. She hugged him around the neck and fell at his feet, sobbing into his mane. "Aslan. Aslan."

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Author's note: The story isn't over yet! Read and review, and be nice, please!