The strength flowed out of Susan's legs. She fell to the ground, struggling to breathe.
"Lucy! Wake up. Please wake up!" she cried out to the lifeless body. But Lucy wouldn't wake up. Never again in this world would Susan see her little sister's smile or bright shining eyes.
Susan arose from the ground and walked to her sister. She kneeled beside her as the tears fell down onto Lucy's body. Susan stroked her sister's hair.
"You shouldn't be here, Miss." The man's voice brought Susan out a quiet daze. "This is no place for a young lady. I'll have to ask you to leave now."
"This is my sister, Lucy."
"I'm sorry for your loss." The man gave her a sad look and turned away.
* *
Susan left that scene of destruction, but she was vaguely aware of it. Her mind was racing with thoughts and her heart was ripped out of her chest. She was walking toward her home—her parent's home in Finchley. She was sure they didn't know yet. It takes time to identify bodies and notification would be delayed. Susan had to tell her parents first—they shouldn't hear it from the police. News this bad must come from someone close.
Susan found the house empty, though. Where are they? She asked herself.
"Peter? Edmund? Are you home?" she called out. No reply came.
Lying on the kitchen table was a piece of paper. Picking it up, she recognized Edmund's handwriting.
Dear Mum and Dad,
Peter and I have gone to the London Platform to meet Lucy. She is arriving back from the Professor's on the 4:00 PM train, along with the Professor, Polly, Eustace, and Jill. We will be home shortly after they arrive—we only have to give something to Eustace.
Edmund
The London Platform? Susan, again, felt her legs grow weak. They were there, too? Everyone was there? The Professor, Eustace…all of them? The facts became clear to Susan now: everyone she knew was dead. She collapsed on the ground and cried harder, more painfully, than she had in her entire life.
Time passed, but Susan didn't know how much. It could have been hours. Her parents still had not come back home and that only upset her more. She needed someone to talk to—someone to comfort her.
She heard footsteps outside. Surely, this was her parents finally arriving home. Looking out the window, however, Susan didn't see her parents. She saw the police. They are here to tell us about the train accident. She opened the door.
"Are you Miss Susan Pevensie?" the policeman asked her.
"Yes I am. I'm afraid my parents are not home, but I already know why you're here. My siblings are—there was a train crash."
The policeman gave her a stunned look and glanced over to his partner.
"Miss Pevensie, I'm afraid it wasn't just your siblings—your parents were on that train as well." The second policeman glanced away from her as he said it.
"No. That's not possible. My parents would not be on a train to London."
"I'm sorry, but there was identification on the bodies. They were on the train." The police officers were growing uneasy. It was difficult to tell a person that their entire family was dead, especially when the survivor was still so young.
Susan collapsed for the third time that day.
**
Only you can change your path now, child. It is a lonely path—you will have no one to help you—but follow your heart and you will find your own way. Susan tried to understand Aslan's words. He was right: she had no one to help her. She was completely alone. Aslan had promised to be with her, even though He would not appear to her, but was that really comforting? She recalled his tears. Yes, He loved her. He always would love her. Was He crying because I wasn't on that train with them? I should have been! I should have died, too. Instead, I am left behind.
It was three days later: the day of the funerals. Today, Susan Pevensie would bury all those she cared about—and then what? What was the path Aslan wanted her to follow? He told her to follow her heart, but it was shattered—destroyed by her own stubbornness.
She put on her best dress and left for the church.