SUSAN of NARNIA

Chapter 10: The Station

"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." -1 Kings 19:12

Ivy's cousins house had two small spare rooms upstairs and Ivy and Susan were welcomed and stayed for 2 weeks, during that time Ivy had a very good vacation with her cousin and her cousin's very well behaved but terribly inquisitive children.
Susan spent a great deal of time sleeping and so she had a dream.
In the dream Susan found herself standing on something solid in total darkness.
"Susan", came a kind voice out of the darkness, as if it was a father speaking from all around and above and below her.
Susan said nothing but it was as if the Voice could read her thoughts.
"What shall we do about this dark void?" asked the Voice
Susan suddenly felt very guilty that there was a dark void at all.
"Go to the Bristol train station and wait for me their." said the Voice.

When Susan awoke that morning she didn't remember the dream, nor did she remember it the following day, but on the third day, the memory of the dream returned to her. But, it was very hard to remember and Susan kept telling herself that it had only been a dream, but she finally decided to go anyway, and leaving a note behind her, she took her bag and started out.

Upon arriving Susan found the Bristol station even more crowded than usual, as if there had been no accident at all. She made her way to the back of the same platform where her brothers had been killed and took a seat on a bench.
As the day wore on, trains came and went, people sat on her left and on her right and many people passed in front of her.
One man that Susan noticed, in a rather bent hat, was having a great deal of trouble trying to light his pipe and left a great many burnt matches for an elderly janitor who tirelessly swept up things left around the benches. On his third time passed he asked if Susan was waiting for the train to which she replied no, but for someone. The janitor moved on muttering under his breath about the "lazy good-for nothing, making a lovely lady like that wait all day long".
Next Susan noticed a young woman with three girls waiting on the platform when a handsome gentleman suddenly stepped from the train and removing his hat, hugged the woman and then knelt down to speak with each of the girls, giving them each his best most interested expressions as they all talked at once and then the little group was off with the girls holding his hands and the woman beside him as they went to collect his trunk.
Then there was a group of women all wearing makeup and nylons and high heals talking about something that probably didn't matter at all, while they made there way onto the train on the arm of the bell-boy who was old enough to be their grandfather.
At one point Susan saw a rather different man who wore a long fur coat and had thick long hair and a beard helping an elderly man and his wife off the train, but he quickly disappeared into the crowd.
Then there were children with tags adorning their clothing as if they were only so much baggage. It reminded Susan of when she and her siblings had been sent to live with Professor Kirke. Susan looked down, "Was it so very long ago?" she wondered
Eventually, the light of the day had begun to fade and the crowds began to lessen as the electric lights blinked on more and more. Finally as the last train sped away into the darkness Susan arose and slinging her bag over her shoulder once again she made her way past the old janitor and the bell boys until she stepped out into the night.
A fog had come up from the coast and it was a bit difficult to see along the streets but some men, who at another time would have been lighting the city lamps, were replacing some old light bulbs in the street lamps.
"Be careful Ma'am", said one of the workmen, who was probably a father himself, "the fog looks to be getting thicker. Don't loose your way in the dark."
"Thank you Sir", said Susan to the man, "I'll be alright." and then she had passed on into the night.

"Do you mind if I walk with you Lady?" asked a calm quiet voice to her left.
Susan, who had been walking along the train tracks for some time in the dark, was startled at first because she had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that the stranger in the fur coat had followed her, but looking into his kind eyes she immediately knew that he had no evil intention against her, and so looking down at the ground again she nodded and they went on silently together in the foggy darkness.