~When A World Blooms~

{O}

A year had passed, and the Witch was gone. The world was free once again, but still, the snow came. Everyone knew they were ridiculous to fear her return, for the High King himself had seen her killed by Aslan, yet, the undercurrent of terror remained.

A doe and her fawn were the first to notice the new grasses rising up out of the snow. Green spears attesting to the fact that spring was coming, and with it, winter's end once more. They ran to the palace excitedly to inform Their Majesties of their find.

A red dwarf and his companions were the first to notice a cherry tree that hadn't bloomed in over a hundred years had produce pale pink and white blossoms. They immediately sent word to the castle by the sea of their discovery.

The four rulers were riding through the forest one morn when a white dove alighted on a budding branch and pointed out the signs of the coming spring to them excitedly. She cheered, saying nothing so marvelous had ever before happened in Narnia, not even at the beginning of time, when there were no winters and no snows. The dove flew off, leaving four very perplexed royals in her wake.

When the world was new, Tumnus told them later after they arrived at his house, there was no actual "winter" to speak of. Snow was here one day and gone the next morning. Even the faun said he had never seen snows die off so slowly and less gracefully before.

The Four had come into Narnia, and with their entrance, brought the snows and eternal winter to a slow decline. Slowly, the snow melted, signifying the end of the Witch's reign. Now, as a promise from Aslan, between him and his people, he gave them a winter.

Until the end of Narnia there would be a winter, that, as it drew to a close, would slowly melt, reminding each and every Narnian of the death of the Witch, and that after every trial, every agony, would come peace and victory. Spring, the triumph over the white death of Winter.

When a world blooms, Narnians remember what was lost, and what was won.

Three months of winter, ninety-nine days of snow.

On the hundredth day of winter. . .

The snow finally begins to melt.

Ninety-nine years of winter.

In the hundredth year, the snow finally began to melt.

When their world blooms, they remember. Spring is not something that goes by in Narnia without notice. Every being pays great care to their world.

When the newborn fawn takes her first steps, the doe and the hart are there to show her the beauty of the blades of grass under her small hooves.

When the young colt has his first meadow frolic with his dam, she points out the butterflies and bees, the buttercups and the budding trees.

When the fledglings first learn to fly, their parents are there to show them the small leaves unfurling on the branches around them.

When the first melt begins, fauns and dwarves take out their panpipes and flutes, mandolins and lyres, to dance for spring. The dryads raise their budding branches high, praising Aslan that they had the ability to shake off their heavy white coat and put on lighter clothes.

Narnia is made new, Narnia is made whole, in Spring.

Aslan did not create a dead world. He created it to grow.

A/N:

I don't know, what do you think? I was just in the mood to write something spring-like in honor of the beauty all around me down here where I live. The grass is green and growing, the trees are flowering and putting forth new leaves, so, this is something for that. Short, simple, and yet I rather like this bit of fluff.

It's rather an analogy of Noah and God in the Bible. You know, after the flood God made a covenant between Noah, his family and Himself. Making the rainbow as a sign that he would nevermore flood the whole earth.

Also, if you use Elecktrum's Narnian Calendar, you find that each month has thirty-three days. So, three months of winter, times thirty-three days equals ninety-nine days of winter. Which, like the story, equals those ninety-nine years of snow in Narnia. in the hundredth year, the Pevensies arrived, bringing winter to an end.

Just something to think about.

WH