Chapter 3

Susan sat down in an old and friendly chair in her library. The children took various spots on the floor and on the couch nearby. Patricia looked as if she would burst from excitement but she contained herself in case she might miss something.

"Well, let me see. Yesterday, I was telling your sister about how I got into Narnia in the first place," began Susan.

One of boys scoffed a little. They were both sitting on the couch, so it was difficult to say which one, but given Daniel's crossed arms and skeptical expression, he seemed to be the logical culprit.

"If you don't want to listen to grandma's story then go outside and play by yourself," scorned his older sister. To that, he folded his arms a bit tighter and looked at table in front of him.

Everyone's attention returned to Susan sitting in her chair. "As I was saying," she continued. Without getting into as much detail as she had last night with Patricia, Susan retold the beginning of the story so that all the children were up to speed. Susan was, again, surprised at how much they already knew from hearing the story told from their mother. Susan had not remembered going into that many details with her children but apparently she must have. Like Patricia recount of the story, some of the orders of events and details were a bit confused, so Susan made sure to clarify those parts. She was taken aback by the fact that she was so concerned when the children had some part of the story wrong. She did not dwell on this thought very long, but she was surprised at her conviction to argue about details with them.

Lucas snorted, "That's not the way mum tells it. She told us you found Mr. Tumnus turned to stone in his trashed house and the letter from the Queen's police was with him."

"Well, your mum wasn't there was she?" Susan shot back at her grandson. "So, do you want to hear what really happened or not?"

What really happened…? Susan's words hung in the air and in her mind for a while. I mean, the way the story really goes. The way our game really went. She wanted to say these words but, for some reason, she could not. They felt like lies. Susan took a sip of her tea that was sitting on the table next to her and cleared her throat. She did not linger on her slip-up any longer; she only proceeded with her story.

Before she knew it, they had talked past the sunset and right into dinnertime. Elizabeth began to wonder what was keeping her children so occupied and slipped into the back of the room. She took a seat on a vacant chair and became just as captivated by the ongoing story. They had been mesmerized by the White Witch's demand for her brother's blood, the battle, and Aslan's death and return. Nobody noticed the time or his or her hungry bellies.

"But after a few years, you came back home, right? You found a way back to England?" asked Patricia, who had barely spoken the whole time.

"Yes," answered Susan. "We reigned for about 15 years in Narnia's time, but found the lamp post again when we were out riding. Seeing the lamp got Lucy curious. She remembered it had meant something, but we had all but forgotten our old lives here. So, when she dismounted and began poking around the trees, we followed her. Suddenly, we ended up in the wardrobe. We tumbled out of there at the same moment we left and were the same ages again."

"Wow!" Patricia breathed her amazed reply. "What did you all look like as kings and queens? I mean, when you were old…. when you left."

"Oh, well…" Susan was caught off guard by the question. Looking around the room, she noticed another picture on the mantel and got up to retrieve it. "I looked like this," she answered. It was a picture of her in her late twenties or early thirties. She was dressed up for a benefit with her husband. "But my hair was much longer. The dresses were fancier too, and of course, I had a crown," she smiled at Patricia when she mentioned the crown. She could see that part really impressed her.

"And Lucy," the image of the young woman she thought of yesterday came to her mind again. "Well, Lucy looked a lot like your mother," her voice was now soft and sad. She kept the image of the young woman with the same pretty eyes as her sister in her mind. Her long brown hair and little silver crown had a glow. She was so vivid in Susan's mind now that the details were astounding. She was at a loss of words for a minute or two when she heard her granddaughter Susan speak up.

"That's kind of funny that when you made up the story and played pretend, you ended up looking the same," young Susan was holding the picture now and gazing casually at it.

"What do you mean?" her grandmother asked, she was rather confused by her statement.

"Well, when I played games like that with the boys or with the girls down the street, I always picture myself looking like one of the movie stars I've seen or a pretty actress from a play. And I doubt I'll look much like them when I'm all grown," Susan handed the picture back to her grandmother and shrugged her shoulders a little, "I just thought it was funny."

Her grandmother turned away with a puzzled look on her face and looked at an even older picture on the mantel. The same picture she always looked at of her brothers and sister with her. The older versions of them in Narnia were stuck in her mind now.

Seeing as how the story was over, young Susan and the boys began to stir and headed for the hallway. They had been sitting far too long and now needed to expel some energy before bed. Lucas noticed his mother sitting at the back of the room and blurted out a question about dinner. Everyone suddenly became sharply aware of the time and his or her hunger. She assured him it would be along shortly and he should go play for a while. Elizabeth left to fix something for dinner and once the other children left, Patricia finally spoke up. "It was real. Wasn't it grandma?"

Susan did not want to lie to her granddaughter but she did not want to spoil her love for the Narnia stories either. This felt like the same inner war she ignored for years when she told her own children about Narnia. Finally, Susan resolved to say, "Of course, it was real."

Patricia gave her grandmother a great big smile and hugged her. Then quickly, she dashed out of the room to play with her siblings before dinner.

Watching her leave the room, Susan's eyes began to fill up with tears. Once she had spoken the words to Patricia, Susan allowed herself to realize something…

She did not lie to her.

To be continued...