oh. this was a rather sad, moving thing. yet so true. and somehow it seems almost canon, almost as if its what the author would have written if he ever did. lirenel, do write more. awesome, deep and yet shallow piece. this is deep, or shows us deep, or could be deep, yet its shallow because its too short.

yet what more is there to say, really?

bless you!

I loved this story! I love that there was something beyond logical argument and emotional pleas because Susan was impervious to both, but then Edmund . . .

This reminds me of C. S. Lewis's admission that he came to faith as the most reluctant convert! When Edmund says, "If Narnia is a game, then Aslan is but a dream" which reminded me of Puddleglum's words about living like a Narnian even if Narnia didn't exist. But that's getting me off track: the point is, without Aslan, there's no redemption. Edmund knows he needed it. Susan doesn't WANT to need it.

I've always hoped that after the accident relayed in [i]The Last Battle[/i], that Susan, who was not with them, chose to believe again.

Simply Brilliant. Sadly, the story of too many.

Or, perhaps..they looked but could not find Him. Love your stories, they give me some hope.

This is very true to Susan. I belive that she just wasn't ready to be found, in the end.

The Narnia books, movies and fanfics are the ones that speak most easily to me. I'm not Christian because this is just one side of Christianity and even a very few of the principles in Narnia I don't believe in, but the good fics of this genre, in my opinion, are more than most, all feel very true and real to me.

You make good points. Thank you for sharing this!

Beautiful fic.

"They know the truth, as Susan does here, but they don't want to be found by God."

That seems to be the real "trick" in every faith I have studied. The major roadblock on the path to salvation is that humans cannot easily give up their selfish attachments to this world in favor of compasion towards others and love for the Ultimate Good. The Hebrew V'ahavta states that one must love the Lord with all one's soul and heart. Jesus taught that attachment to possessions, and even attachment to one's relatives over one's duty to the Lord was a barrier to salvation. Zen Buddhists believe that achieving Nirvana means not just knowing but UNDESTANDING that your individual self is an illusion, while Pure Land Buddhists believe that you must have complete and total faith in Amitabha Buddha's ability to ensure that your next incarnation will be born in the Pure Land where that realization is possible.

Susan reminds me of a section from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxay. Man points out that the amazing Babel Fish proves God's existence, after God had explained that it is faith and not belief that allows Him to exist, and as a result God disappears in a poof of logic.

And, of course, in Prince Caspien, Susan confessed to an amazing ability to lie to herself even when she was in Narnia. While we do not hear much about Susan in The Last Battle, I sure that the act of denying Aslan must have wounded her very soul.

I know what you mean and it is heartbreaking.

I dont know what to say. It is sad but butifuly writen.

Lovely piece! :D I love it - the common bond shared by Edmund and Susan... especially when Edmund's my favourite character! In any case, it's really wonderful! Don't ever stop writing! :D

R.B.

I knew, when you didn't mention Edmund in the paragraph with Peter and Lucy, that he would be the one to effect her most deeply. The reasoning behind his powerful effect on her is positively brilliant. He has experienced something real - he has been redeemed, changed; he's not the same Edmund he once was, and it's not by anything he has done - and Susan knows it. What a powerful truth.

“If Narnia is a game, then Aslan is but a dream, both there and here, and then His forgiveness means nothing. And without His mercy and love I am forever lost. We are forever lost.” His eyes had been sad, but not hopeless. “Susan, when you are ready to be found, He is here to find you…as He once found me.” /bawls/

Hmm. So true, and very poignant. I really liked the conclusion you drew with Susan, because that's always what I thought too. She really fell away from her faith, like so many truly do, and didn't want to be found. But, "once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia," just like our own promise at the end of Romans 8. I think Lewis left Susan's storyline open for that very reason. After all, she was not on the train...

Beautiful story. It really resonates.

Oh, bugger. I was toying with an idea for a story right along these lines - Edmund's appealing to Susan on the grounds that he was the first traitor to Narnia - but then I find that you've not only done it already, but done it better than I had planned. Ah well. Kudos to you, and I'm off to read some more of your stuff, because this was great.

Wow, that was really stunning. I loved the relationship you described between Edmund and Susan. Really wonderful.