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👩👧Closure👩👧
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"I must say, this certainly is a pleasant surprise," Ms Prewett sat on her chair with her case notes, addressing the pair on the couch before her. "You're actually here, together."
The pair exchanged glances, mentally preparing themselves to explore the sea of opportunities before them. After all, they had already made that conscious decision to take the first step as a family to move past their loss, one that was an extremely difficult decision to make.
"It's about time I attended these sessions with her as expected of me," Aunt Jill suggested with hesitance, "we've been having some difficult conversations amongst ourselves about the past."
Ms Prewett darted her vision between the two. She noted a shift in Charlotte's behaviour. In the beginning, the young adolescent was somewhat disengaged — refusing to meet her eyes, staring at the ceiling most of the time, being in her own world. At that very moment, Charlotte sat upright and leant forward, her features displaying her courage to take a leap of faith. The therapist pondered over Aunt Jill's open thoughts, occasionally analysing her case notes.
"These conversations can be hard to get through," she concurred, "but all the more they'd help us to move forward, wouldn't they?"
The pair nodded in agreement with her perspective. Charlotte, having been escaping to adventures in Narnia, and Aunt Jill, having been escaping to the worldly matters on Earth, had finally come together, eager to meet each other in the middle.
"Edmund once said to me that talking about things that bother us helps, when we're ready, that is," Charlotte chimed in.
"Ah yes, your supposedly close friend, Edmund," Ms Prewett chuckled teasingly, "the Just King of Narnia, wasn't he?"
Aunt Jill raised her eyebrows, surprised at Ms Prewett's indubitable acceptance of conversations about Narnia. Having grown into an adult, she was certain that any other adult would have dismissed the topic as childish nonsense.
"I reckon he's a little bit more than that now," Charlotte bashfully admitted, playing with her bracelet.
Aunt Jill's eyebrows raised at her revelation, caked in a muddle of disbelief and amusement. "So my hunch was right! And when did this happen, young lady?"
Charlotte blew a raspberry, abashed at the thought of opening up about their journey together. "Let's just say, our last adventure in Narnia did wonders to our relationship."
Aunt Jill leaned back, lowering her chin at the revelation. Processing that information definitely brought back some bittersweet memories of a certain pair.
"Speaking of friends," Ms Prewett gently diverted their attention, "are you still living with them?"
"Well, yes, but Edmund and Lucy will be leaving their cousin Eustace's place in a few days actually," Charlotte paused as she pondered over the countdown, "so I suppose we're just making the most of our time together until then."
She then glanced at her aunt. "But I'm definitely going home to Aunt Jill soon, I expect."
"How do you feel about that, Jillian?" Ms Prewett prompted, gesturing with her pen towards the lady.
Aunt Jill was typically reticent in disclosing her thoughts, but within the four walls that created a safe space, she slowly translated her thoughts. "Quite relieved, actually, it's been lonely without her presence, I realise I'd never really shown my appreciation for her in my life."
Charlotte lit up at her aunt's disclosure, a surprising turn of events. Ms Prewett picked up on her features, immediately noting it verbally. "You seem over the moon, Charlotte."
"I—Well..." Charlotte was stunned by her explicit observation. "I didn't think she ever thought that. All along, I've felt rather invisible and misunderstood."
At her disclosure, Aunt Jill's features were crestfallen, as her lips sunken. She had been avoiding communication with Charlotte for so long, that she hadn't once realised how she made the girl feel.
"And why's that, Charlotte? Maybe you'd like to share your reasons with your aunt."
Charlotte adhered to her advice, angling her body such that she was facing her guardian. "I suppose escaping to Narnia was the only thing I held on to after Mom and Dad left us, sort of a way to remember them. But I was always discouraged from doing so. I've just been there for the last time..."
Her guardian's expression shifted instantly at her last sentence, conveying sentiment.
"But I've learnt to let go of it... And, I'm ready to grow up."
Hearing Charlotte's words was a painful pill to swallow, rendering Aunt Jill vulnerable towards admitting her mistakes. Charlotte, after all, had only been a child coping with her loss. It only made sense that she would hold on to Narnia and their memories all those years. She, on the other hand, had been eschewing her memories, suppressing them as deeply as she could in her mind. As it turned out, even adults like her struggled with navigating through the hardships of life.
"I had different experiences, see," she reflected, only to turn towards the therapist with a forlorn gaze, "I faltered in my last adventure at this place, one that drove me and my sister apart."
Charlotte placed her hand over Aunt Jill's, gently patting it. Ms Prewett pondered over her words, watching the pair's shifting dynamic.
They both treaded through the waters cautiously, exploring the sea of memories ahead. Jill, perhaps, had not been out at sea for long, and feared drowning, whereas Charlotte had been out at sea for so long that she had mastered floating. Together, with Charlotte holding her hand, they met at the shoreline, considerate of each other's perspectives.
"This is surprising," Ms Prewett prompted gently, noting her observations. "Charlotte seems to be offering support to you."
"It really ought to be the other way around," Aunt Jill refuted promptly, "I ought to 'ave been a proper caregiver. It's occurred to me how detrimental my approach in raising Charlotte has been. How foolish... I've greatly disappointed her parents."
"I can see that you're hurting," Ms Prewett empathised, placing a hand over her chest, "they're gone forever, and all the more you'd feel regret towards your relationship with them, and it's come to your attention that it's been affecting your relationship with your niece."
Aunt Jill nodded, as her lips quivered slightly, holding her smile as durably as possible. Then, like a dam breaking, the lady's eyes flooded with a river of tears. Her hands flew to her face, shielding her sobs from their view. A stunned Charlotte sat in silence, as they observed the lady weep in ignominy.
Charlotte had never seen her weep. In fact, she never once assumed the lady had a modicum of softness, having been one to appear as hardened as a rock. Ms Prewett placed a box of tissues on the table, observing the woman navigate through her distress.
"I miss her," Aunt Jill confessed shakily, immediately helping herself to a tissue, still concealing her tears from Charlotte, "I've buried these thoughts so deep — thoughts about how far our paths diverged — and if I could rewind time... What kind of future I could ever look forward to without her..."
The two listened to her rant, their expressions void of judgment. Ms Prewett observed Charlotte's behaviour, as the young lady adjusted her hand from the weeping woman's hand to her shoulder instead, giving her a few gentle pats.
"I'd been forcing Charlotte to give up Narnia when they left us, thinking she ought to grow up just like I did, I was convinced it'd hurt less," Aunt Jill resumed her narrative amidst her weeps, breathing heavily and irregularly, choking her words out, "But I was wro—"
She stifled her cries, though her eyes gave way to her flowing tears akin to a river. Charlotte kept patting her shoulder, in hopes that the lady's spirits would somehow be lifted.
"I've been extremely selfish — I'm not the only one who lost family — Charlotte's lost a mother, and a father." The lady shook her head as she regulated her breathing. "And we never got an opportunity to bury the hatchet and I just gave up on fulfilling the prophecy — back in my last adventure — I mean — you know..."
Ms Prewett nodded calmly, indicating her non-judgmental approach towards the topic. Her validation only shamed the woman further, as she then realised that there was no disgrace in acknowledging and revisiting her childhood. The three sat in silence, occasionally hearing a sniffle out of her. A minute passed, as Ms Prewett allowed the woman to settle in a sea of serenity, before she broke the silence.
"It's extremely courageous for you to admit your wrongs," she affirmed with a gentle tone, "that's always the first step to making amends, Jillian. You may not have known how to make things right then, but, perhaps you may now."
She then gestured towards Charlotte, prompting the guardian to ponder over their relationship, and called on the young lady. "Charlotte, do you have any thoughts about everything that your aunt has shared?"
Charlotte pondered over the prophecy as raised by her caregiver, reading in between the lines as deeply as she could.
"Should the protector make amends... With the lone offspring on Earth," she recited slowly, her eyebrows knitted together as she examined the words, "the darkness within shall perish... And her faith never ends..."
Her vision toggled between her aunt and the therapist, as she gradually arrived at a conclusion.
"Actually... I think Aunt Jill might be closer than ever to fulfilling her journey," Charlotte claimed in an epiphany, catching her aunt's attention.
"But how?" Her aunt's hands left her lachrymose eyes. "I left everything in ruin, didn't I?"
"In my adventures, I was known by many as the offspring of two ancient rulers," Charlotte recalled, fleetingly meeting their gazes, "What if..."
Ms Prewett raised her eyebrows, intrigued by the young girl's sharing.
"You don't suppose..." Aunt Jill trailed off, catching her drift.
"You've taken the first step to reach out to me, and you've shown a side to me that I never thought existed," Charlotte pondered aloud, staring into space as she deciphered its meaning, "you're proving your heart to be soft as ever. You're letting your tears out, and, like a stream, it flows and cleanses your soul. Perhaps, the darkness would then perish with every effort you've taken to let yourself feel and mend our relationship."
"You've shared wise insights, Charlotte," Ms Prewett was captivated by her perspective, "It seems that your adventures have truly moulded you into a sagacious and graceful young lady."
Charlotte turned to the therapist with a proud beam at her description, which were those of her parents' noble titles. It reminded her of her own strength, that she was her parents' legacy.
"You might've missed the opportunity to right your wrongs then, but, perhaps, this is another golden opportunity that had been presented to you," Charlotte suggested with a hopeful glint in her eyes, "which means that it's never too late."
Aunt Jill's eyes gleamed with a ray of hope at her hypothesis.
"This whole time, I thought I'd been abandoned and left in isolation in this world," she exhaled a sigh, "left without a guiding light to fulfill the duties asked of me."
She then broke into a smile at her niece, her eyes welcoming the influx of tears. "Charlotte, you were the guiding light sent to me."
She snaked her arm around Charlotte's shoulder, encasing the girl in her arms. Charlotte was stunned by her affectionate gesture, and slowly reciprocated it.
"Please forgive me, for all the things I've said to you, and all the transgressions I've committed against you. I promise that from now on, we'll get through this loss together, as a family."
Charlotte was speechless at the surreal turn of events. She could feel the remorse in her aunt's voice, the vulnerability in her tears, and the authenticity in her demeanour. Then, Aslan's words replayed in her mind.
"Verily, after hardship comes ease."
She tightened her embrace, softly nodding her head as a magnanimous gesture. Aslan had truly shown yet another miracle, that her heart could be strengthened with serenity. After various battles and cold wars with her aunt, they finally saw eye to eye, a phenomenon she once thought impossible to accomplish.
"Goodness, you both 'ave got me feeling emotional myself," Ms Prewett wiped a single tear away with a chuckle, as the pair pulled away from each other's embrace, "it seems like you both are ready to close this chapter after braving through these difficult storms."
The pair nodded, fleetingly exchanging glances at each other.
"We'll start a new chapter on a fresh page," Charlotte suggested with an enthusiastic nod.
"And we'll do it together for the rest of our journey," Aunt Jill added, her eyes gleaming with hope.
*****
A/N: A callback to Chapter 1! It started with just Charlotte, and it ends with them both coming together, which is what Charlotte yearned for all along. Alright, are y'all ready for the epilogue? Edmund's coming back for the big finish, I promise, if anyone misses him 💀 I have a good feeling about it, I had a real blast writing it 🥹🩵