narnian legends

let him wake up

It was a cold autumn day, the leaves were red and brown and mist hung over the world.

Lucy sat on a cold stone in front of a big building and stared at the stones on the ground.

She pulled her knees close and a tear escaped her eye while she watched a leaf fall from a tree.

And another leaf.

And another leaf.

The leaves were moments of a life, precious minutes that passed and were lost.
If only they stopped falling.

Maybe then everything would be different.

Maybe she wouldn't sit here and wouldn't wait for someone to come to her, to either tell her something good, or something terrible.

She rested her head on her knees and watched the leaves fall.

She was so...helpless.
Vulnerable.

She was useless. She couldn't help him.
No matter what she did, she couldn't change anything about what would happen.

This time, she couldn't save him.

If only they were in Narnia, then she wouldn't wait here and cry and he wouldn't lie in the white bed with all the nurses running around on the edge of death.

"Lucy?", a voice said and she looked up to see Edmund.
His voice sounded pale and thin and she saw in his face that he had cried the whole way over here.

"He- He hasn't woken up, has he?"

She shook her head and silently started sobbing.
Edmund walked over to her, sat down and embraced his sister tightly.

"What if he never wakes up?", Lucy asked with that kind of high voice you only get when you try suppress your crying.

"He will", Edmund said. "He will wake up."

"But what if he doesn't?"

Edmund searched for an answer.
Yeah. What then?

He didn't want to imagine it.

"Just...pray. Pray to Aslan", he whispered in her hair.
She nodded, hid her face in his embrace and both of them prayed.

After a while, when their limbs were stiff and cold, Mrs. Pevensie walked out of the building.

They looked up at her, waiting for the news.

Maybe a little head shake.
Maybe a small:"He didn't make it."

Lucy grabbed Edmund's hand and he pulled her even closer.

"He made it."

The whispered words filled the air and the sky and Lucy didn't want to believe the words that she had hoped for so intensely.

"He did?", Edmund whispered and Helen nodded.

Another sob escaped Lucy as she realised what this meant.
She ran up to her mother and buried her face in Helen's warm coat.

Edmund joined the hug and Lucy noticed that he was crying too.

"Can we see him?", Edmund asked.

"Yes", Helen said, and left the hug.
"Come with me."

And Lucy and Edmund followed her into the hospital, into a room, where Peter was lying on a white bed, pale and...unfamiliar weak.

His eyes were closed.

"When will he wake up?", Edmund whispered, only because he was afraid he'd cry if he talked loudly.

"I don't know", Helen said quietly and swallowed hard.

Lucy slowly walked away from Edmund and sat down on a chair that stood next to Peter's bed.

Edmund took another chair and sat down next to her.
She took his hand and leaned against him.

"Oh Pete", Lucy whispered.

☙

Lucy opened her eyes. It had been two hours, somewhen she had fallen asleep and somebody had put her on the second bed in the room.

The only other person in the room, except of Peter, was her father, who sat across the room, next to the door.

He smiled at her.
"How have you slept?"

Lucy sat up and shrugged.
"I feel as if I cried the whole time."

They grew silent and listened to the three breathing noises.

"I think I should check on the other two. They went outside fifteen minutes ago", her father said.
Lucy nodded. "I'll stay here", she said.

When she was alone, she tiptoed over to Peter and sat down next to him again.

"Please let him wake up", she whispered again and again.
"Please let him wake up."

After an eternity that the clock called 60 seconds, Lucy turned around and wanted to go outside to Edmund and her parents but right as she reached the door knob, a hoarse voice called her name.

She froze on the spot.
"What?", she whispered.

"Lucy."

She turned around and saw Peter looking at her, a weak smile on his face.

"You're- You're awake", Lucy said and couldn't help but stare at him.

Although he was so pale, looked so sick and more dead than alive there was a warmth in his eyes.

She started to cry again.
"I thought you were dead", she pressed out.

"Come here", Peter whispered and Lucy walked over to him. She sat down on the floor to be on the same eye level with him.

He took her hand with one of his and with the other one he brushed her tears away.

"I'm awake now", he whispered.

In this moment the door opened again and their family walked in.

"Peter!", Helen exclaimed.

Lucy stood up and made space for them.

Thank you.
Thank you.
You saved his life.
Thank you.

The next hours were a blur.

When it became dark, Helen sent Edmund and Lucy home to get some sleep, but they just cuddled up on the couch and waited for news.

In the middle of the night, Susan came home and they informed her about the car crash and what else had happened.

Her face became pale and they could just about stop them.

"Mom told us to tell you to stay here"Lucy said quietly.

Susan sighed. "I should've been here" she said quietly.

"At least you're here now. And he's alive", Edmund said.

Susan joined the other two and they stayed up until Helen came home and shooed them into bed with the words that they could see Peter tomorrow.