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𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐎:Prince Caspian ──── 𝟏𝟒. Reveries and Nostalgia
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Seventeen-year-old Katherine Pevensie watched as Professor Kirke poured hot tea into two teacups and joined her by sitting in the chair across from Katherine, who was sitting on the sofa. He passed her one cup, which she thanked him for, and spoke, "What appears to be troubling you at this hour?"
Katherine savored the warmth that was emanating from the porcelain and into her palms. She raised her head to look at the professor. His mere body language convinced her that he knew why she'd appeared at his door in the wee hours of the morning (way before his housekeeper had even started her day), but chose not to voice his thoughts.
She supposed she'd awakened him from his slumber. Strangely enough, he seemed to not have gotten some shut-eye either.
"I'm not feeling troubled, really. It's, well, I just would like some words of reassurance, sir." Katherine explained.
Professor Kirke nodded, raising his cup to his lips, and gestured for her to continue.
"Have you ever left a part of yourself — perhaps your heart — behind, and no matter how hard you try to bring it back, you can't? Like it's tied to another place it calls home. . . but it's not your real home?"
The professor momentarily paused. He then set the cup on the wooden table and struggled to compose a perfect answer. That wasn't at all what he was expecting. The silence due to his lack of verbal response had suffocated Katherine enough for her to query: "Do I even sound sane?"
At that, Professor Kirke didn't skip a beat. "Why, you're the most sane seventeen-year-old I've ever met." He chuckled, which prompted her to briefly smile. "The meaning of home varies. Places can leave imprints on people, for the better or worse. In your case, your heart chose to stay where it feels at home. Completed.
"To properly answer your question, I'm no stranger to this feeling of yearning."
"I wouldn't call it yearning." She said.
"Why not? If your heart decides to part ways from you, the only natural thing to do is to yearn for it. Home is where the heart is, Miss Pevensie."
Katherine remained quiet as she listened, registering his words. "Why is it that we've come back? After all this time, why?"
