SUSAN of NARNIA

Chapter 5: Lucy's Letter

Now Susan turned her attention to her sister's bag and found nothing of significance accept for an unsealed envelope in which she found a couple sheets of paper on which Lucy had written the following,

Dearest Susan,
I have tried to write to you for such a very long time, but so many things have been happening.
I was so very disappointed that you couldn't be with us at Professor Kirke's, for we were all there together that day.
I hope that you are doing well.
I must confess something to you dear sister for I have been so wicked, in that I have indeed been jealous of how beautiful that you are, and you are very beautiful dear Sister.
I know that you probably do not wish to hear about Narnia but when Edmund and Eustace and I went there last, I almost did something very bad, for I nearly spoke a spell which would have made me far more beautiful so that all of Narnia would have contended for my hand and when I returned from Narnia, you would envy my beauty even as I had envied you. The worst part is that you have been such a very good big sister to me.
Please forgive me.

... at that point the letter abruptly stopped as if some time had passed and then the letter was started again ...

Dear Susan,
Peter tells me that you have made it clear that you do not wish to talk about Narnia any more, and you have said such things before.
Please do not be angry with me dear sister but what of dear Aslan, for you were there with me when death turned away backwards, after he died in Edmund's stead.
I cannot ever go back to Narnia either you know, for I am also now too old even as you are, but Aslan said to us that we need to come nearer now to our own world.
But it was never so much Narnia that we loved so much, but Aslan.
Aslan said to us that He would meet us again.
And Edmund asked if he was in our world to. To which Aslan answered us saying, "I am, but there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name."
And he said that that was the very reason why we were brought to Narnia that by knowing him in Narnia for a little we might know him better in our own world.
And oh the adventure that our cousin Eustace Scrubb and his friend Jill Pole had in Narnia and all they needed do was call to him, as he was calling to them, and then going through a door they found themselves in Aslan's country once again.
Perhaps dear sister, you will meet him again also, but in our world.

... at this the letter abruptly stopped as if Lucy had never been able to finish it, and the pages also appeared to be tear stained.

"Dear, dear Lucy," thought Susan, "Always thinking of Aslan." Aslan! Susan realized that he was the one whom she had forgotten for so long. "Why is He so very easy to forget?" she wondered sadly.

Susan thought back about the last time that she had seen Aslan. Of the four it had been Lucy who had seen him first, and they all had seen Him eventually, but it was Susan who had seen him last.

As before deep down inside Susan knew that her sister was mostly right, but Aslan in the real world? Could such a thing happen, and if it could why would Aslan want to? "Do I really want to see him again?", she wondered.

Susan carefully folded the letter and slid it back into the envelope, and placed the envelope in her bag. Now there remained but one item left ... Peter's knapsack.

This was by far the most complicated, for Susan for she had known Peter longer than any of the others. They had always been close, until he had gone to Professor Kirke's and she had gone to America. After that Susan had distanced herself from her brother because he seamed to be becoming so very much like the Professor, and was training to be some sort of a minister.

Susan so wished that she hadn't sent the last message to Peter, but wishing it didn't make it so. Peter's last thoughts had probably been anger or despairing for her.