Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 11 (9 page)

They crossed the edge and tramped through the leafless
,
ice
-
covered trees.
“
It
’
s
like a winter fairyland in here,” she whispered.
“
I love it!
Every year I walk through these trees and imagine I
’
m lost in Jadis
’
Narnia
.”

“
Jadis?
”

Willow tugged her hand free and spun in a circle, arms spread
wide,
and head thrown back.
“
Look at it!
Doesn
’
t it make you think of winter in Narnia with the White Witch ready to send her wolves to drag us off her castle of ice?
I always want to go home and make Turkish Delight
.”

“
Why don
’
t you?
”
This childlikeness was charming.

“
Because,
”
she wagged her finger exaggeratedly,
“
I don
’
t like it!
”
Rushing toward a lone tree near the entrance to the wood, Willow pointed.
“
See that?
That is Lucy
’
s Lamppost!
And the wardrobe is between those trees
.”

Chad followed her from the
“
wardrobe
”
to Mr. Tumnus
’
house and upstream to the beaver
’
s house.
“
I was so excited the year we had beavers living there.
They were so cute.
They
’
d watch me for a few minutes and then work like crazy.
I made up adventures for them and everything
.”

“
You know,
”
Chad began
,
linking an arm in hers and pulling her toward the woods.
“
They made a movie
of
The
Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe
.”

“
Oh!
I wonder how it would be to watch a movie from a book you loved so much.
I mean, I saw
Eight Cousins
,
but that wasn
’
t a favorite book.
Would I love seeing it come to life or would it be horrible to see someone else
’
s idea of how things looked?
What if Edmund wasn
’
t
enough of
a smart-aleck or what if Peter wasn
’
t noble enough?
”

“
But,
”
Chad launched into his
favorite movie argument.
“
The job of the producer and director isn
’
t to produce your mental image of everything but to share his.
He
’
s telling you how he sees it
,
and the point is for you to share in his imagination, not to compete
with
or reflect yours
.”

Unfortunately, Chad forgot that Willow didn
’
t have strong opinions on movies and the goal of cinematography.
Rather than engage in his favorite debate, she nodded with understanding and excitement.
“
Oh that makes sense.
That would make it so much more enjoyable to see
—
not to expect it to fit your own perceptions but to step into the imagination of someone else.
When can we watch it?
”

Before he could answer, she was off down a hill and out into a small clearing.
“
I don
’
t think this is our land anymore
—
I was always afraid to ask mother in case it wasn
’
t and she told me not to come back
—
but look!
There
’
s even a stone table!
”

Chad wandered around the large rock at the edge of the clearing and smiled.
“
You painted
“
ancient words
”
on it
,
didn
’
t you?
”

“
Well,
”
she admitted blushing,
“
i
t seemed more authentic somehow.
I think the highlight of my year when I was eight was seeing a mouse standing on it
.”

Leaning against the rock, Chad pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her waist.
With his head on her shoulder, he murmured,
“
I wish I could have spent a few hours with you when I was little.
You would have understood me.
No one else ever did
.”

“
Let
’
s play!
I never had anyone to play with
;
I had to be everyone.
It was a little disturbing to be Aslan one minute and Jadis the next.
This
’
ll be fun.
” As he started to answer, she rushed on, jabbering almost nonstop,
“
You
’
ll make
a great Aslan!
I
’
ll tie you to the table, kill you, and then I
’
ll be Lucy and Susan when you resurrect!
”
Chad
’
s low chuckle sent an unusual feeling through her
middle
and for the first time, she understood the phrase,
“
butterflies in my stomach
.”

“
I
’
m a little concerned with the delight in your voice when you mention killing me
.”

“
I chose
the
character that resurrects
!” she protested.
“Fine.
You can be Jadis at the end of the battle if you prefer
—”

“
You
’
re the girl!
You be Jadis
.”

Her grin was positively diabolical.
“
Great, I
’
ll give you Turkish D
elight and you can betray your siblings to me
.”

“
Ew.
Edmund.
I never liked him
.”

Her laughter rang through the clearing.
“
You
’
re not supposed to like him!
”

His dejection showed; it had to
.
“
I always felt that if I was a Pevensie,
I would have been Edmu
nd.
I was afraid that my selfishness and fear would control me
,
and I
’
d be weak just like Edmund
.”

“
You
’
re too noble.
You are stronger than Edmund because you know your weaknesses and are not arrogant enough to think you can control yourself by yourself
.”

He pulled her into a bear hug and whispered,
“
Thank you.
Sometimes I need to hear that
.”
Hesitantly, he asked,
“
So, who else should I be?
”

Willow pulled slightly away from him looking ready to bolt if necessary.
“
Well, there
’
s Reepicheep…
”

“
Am I a man or a mouse!
”

“
Well…
”

“
Why,
”
he began,
“
do I have a feeling that no matter what I choose, you
’
ll come out a victor?
”

She grabbed his hand and raced toward a low branching tree.
“
Last one to the top is whatever it is that you are when you are last.
” She stopped, frowning.
“A…
I can
’
t remember
.”

“
Rotten egg
.”

“
Yeah.
That
.”

The last thing Chad wanted to do was climb a tree
,
but
he would not admit it
.
The only thing he had on her was a little height and possibly some upper body strength.
She, on the other hand, had agility and familiarity on her side.
They each climbed as high as humanly possible and ended up sitting nearly opposite one another.