"Do they really have to be so noisy? I know it's lunchtime, but heck? They're all acting like a bunch of imbeciles that had just escaped a sanitorium or something."
Amy nearly choked while trying to hold her laughter at Lisa's comment. Both of them were currently in the cafeteria and having lunch when a group of boys began shouting and acting rowdy that the lunch lady turned on her dragon mode once again just to shut them up.
At that point, she realized that she was indeed back to her own world. This was the world where she belonged. Or at least, that was what she should be feeling.
But who was she fooling? The adventure she experienced in Narnia a week ago made her feel something different about her own world. Her real world. If it was similar to her adventure during the first time she was summoned, would she actually feel this restless?
"But at least, they're being lively. They're enjoying life as they are at the moment," Amy commented as she put a spoonful of mac and cheese into her mouth.
Lisa sighed exasperatingly that only made Amy smile again. "Yes, they're being lively. I admit that. But there is a fine line between lively and insanely rowdy."
"Come on. As long as they don't disturb any of us, then we're alright. Let's focus on that, okay?"
Once again, Lisa sighed. In the end, she smiled with a resigned expression and nodded. "How can you be so forgiving to such idiots, seriously?"
But she shook her head and continued eating. "I'm the last person that you would expect to be forgiving, Lisa. I just chose not to pay them any more attention than necessary. I'm doing my sanity a favor by doing that."
"You're talking all mature again. What has happened to you since last week?"
Amy chose to smile reservedly instead and finally finished eating her lunch. But even after doing that, it didn't make her feel any better. At least, with regard to the void she kept feeling since she returned from Narnia.
She knew full well what that void actually meant.
'Edmund...'
That name that kept resounding in her head over and over whenever that void in her heart would hit her hard and send her thoughts and emotions spiraling. It was that name which would calm her down and allow her to make sure that she stayed grounded to reality.
This reality that she now had to accept.
A sigh escaped Amy's lips as she and Lisa continued walking away from the cafeteria —-- away from the loud imbeciles that had escaped the sanitorium, as her friend referred to them.
"Hey... Are you sure you're okay? You've been doing a lot of that lately." Lisa's voice was tinged with worry.
She couldn't help feeling bad that her friend had noticed her plight. But she smiled at her and nodded. "Don't worry about me. I'm just thinking about a lot of things lately that I'm having a hard time sorting them out. But I'll tell you everything soon."
"I know you will. But you better not leave out any details, okay?"
With a nod and a reassuring smile, Amy was able to appease her friend's worry for her. The two friends walked together to their next class and allowed the day to proceed the way she knew it.
As the last class was over and everyone was ready to go home, Lisa received a call from her mother, forcing her to leave Amy earlier than planned.
"I'm really sorry. I know I promised we'd go shopping for new journaling craft supplies together." It looked like Lisa was ready to cry, which Amy found funny.
"Hey, your mom is the most important one right now. Our shopping time can wait. But I have to apologize, as well, since I won't be able to go with you. I have to head somewhere, actually, now that our shopping plan has been cancelled."
"Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?"
She nodded and smiled. With that as a final confirmation, Lisa went home ahead of her. A sigh escaped her lips as she slung her backpack on her back and fixed the straps on her shoulders. Even doing that felt as if she was carrying a heavy burden.
And it was strange for her to feel that way.
"This is going to be a long day today..." Amy could only mutter as she walked away from the campus ground rather mindlessly.
Then again, her feet were sure where to head, anyway. She knew she just had to go there again to remind herself of the truth that she had to face.
It didn't take long for her to reach the place.
"I know not much time had passed from the time I was pulled there to when I returned." She learned that not even a full minute had passed and that the owner and caretaker of the place had found her fainted.
But to be honest, it was still unbelievable. And this time, forgetting everything as if it never happened at all would be so much harder than it ever was before. She clearly knew the reason why.
"I guess I won't be able to forget you, huh?" With a sigh, she looked at the portrait of a lion on that memorial hall. This could be the only thing that would remind her of all that had happened to her together with Edmund in Narnia.
She could write about it, but she knew that it wouldn't be enough. Even so, she was glad that she could still use something that would act as a remembrance of everything about that young king.
Who knows? Maybe one day, they'd be able meet again... in one way or another. At the moment, she would have to make sure that those memories she had with him would never fade.
xxxxxx
Of all the things that had to happen again after returning from Narnia, one of them was going back to school. In Edmund's case, it was going back to boarding school.
Yes, even things for him had to return to the way it was. Even after the war. As chaotic and also mundane as it seemed, it looked like he didn't have much of a choice. Then again, this was perhaps for the better as he wouldn't get too caught up thinking about Amy again.
He still couldn't help wondering about her. About her life after all their adventures. Was she okay? Was she sleeping properly?
And most of all, was she happy?
So many questions lingering, and yet there was not a single way for him to find any answer. It was frustrating him, believe it or not. Even so, he knew there was nothing else he could do other than to earnestly pray that everything about her would be okay.
A sigh escaped Edmund's lips as he entered his room for that school year. For all that he knew, his roommate was pulled out of the school for some unknown reason. So he was sure that he would have a new roommate before the day would end. But if he was going to be honest, he would like to keep it to himself, even if it was just for a few days. Of course, he was also aware that it would be impossible.
Edmund had just finished writing some things down in his notebook when he heard a knock coming from the door of the room he was using. He frowned as he turned. It looked like his new roommate was here already.
"That was fast." Then again, who was he to question that. "It's open."
Seconds later, the door did open. To his question and near surprise, it was the boy that he helped with his scattered things at the train station. It was on the day that he returned from Narnia.
But... why was he here?
"I'm really sorry for disturbing you. I'm your new roommate, by the way."
Edmund nodded before standing up from the chair of his study table and headed to his bed. "You can use that space. It was already clean, so you don't have to do anything more than setting it up for your own use."
But even as he kept saying that, his heart couldn't stop beating hard. Was this real? Before he could calm himself, the boy turned and faced him.
"By the way, I'm Herbert Carson. Nice to meet you." And he extended his one hand to Edmund.
Though he did accept it and smiled before introducing himself, it was still a surreal feeling for him to actually meet the one person that Amy once mentioned to him. Of course, with this knowledge, it also answered a certain question that he must have hidden in his mind even before all this.
It was about the place where Amy came from. Or in this case, the time where she came from.
If Edmund was going to be honest, he had no idea what to think about when it comes to that realization. At the moment, however, all he wanted was to meet Amy again, in one way or another. He wanted to see her again.
.
Our story isn't finished yet, but it's never ending until we meet again... --- Florence Joyce
xxxxxx
WRITER'S NOTE: Finally! After so many years, I finally get to finish writing this fanfic. I mean, I didn't realize that it took me this long to actually finish the entire thing. But I still made it! Congratulations, me! Yes, I still have one more Narnia fanfic planned at the moment. But that's how it is for now. Still on the planning stage. Just like this, that particular fic was also based on a request ship, but I had it on Tumblr a long time ago. This time, it was a Peter Pevensie fanfic. Thank you for the character ship you did for me, isabellabellaC. I know that it was a long time ago already. I saw that it was posted in December of 2018. That was even before the pandemic started. And yet, I only got to finish this today. Well, more like I finished writing it three days ago by hand and only got to post this now. But I finally finished it! I never thought I'd be able to form a story out of what you made for me, though. Even so, I'm grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment