'Free Passage to Narnia': Victoria woman posts fantastical sign on free wardrobe
Jennifer is in the midst of a move. While the piano she’s playing in the front entrance is coming with her, the wardrobe she’s left out in the front yard is not.
“I discovered cube storage and how great it is,” Jennifer smiles.
It’s more practical to have 16 cubes, than the wardrobe’s four drawers. So she’s giving it away.
“I should let other people experience the magic,” she says.
By “magic,” Jennifer is referring to what she wrote on the sign that she stuck on the wardrobe: Free passage to Narnia.
“I know that now,” she says. “Because of what happened to me.”
Jennifer says she discovered her wardrobe’s connection to the beloved book series by accident, during routine cleaning.
“I was wiping it off then pa-chew!” Jennifer makes an explosive sound. “It was amazing.”
Jennifer says the fawn that first appeared in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe burst from the wardrobe’s doors.
“[I was] glad to see him,” Jennifer smiles. “He was a big part of my childhood.”
Which raises the big question: Why get rid of something that has an antique handle, interior tie-rack, mysterious number three stamped on the back, and inspires a feeling of childhood magic? The answer: Jennifer’s life is filled with enough everyday excitement.
“I watch an episode of Fraser, I have a hot bath, then I go upstairs and my husband and I compare notes on the events of the day,” Jennifer smiles. “That’s enough.”
And that’s enough for me to appreciate that the story on the sign is simply an example of Jennifer’s dry wit and creative writing.
But then, just before I drive away, I hear the sound of hooves on the sidewalk, and see a deer walking towards the wardrobe with an ear tag that features a number with a three, just like the stamp on the back of the wardrobe.
A coincidence or something more?
“Don’t dismiss whatever magic you find,” Jennifer smiles. “There are some things in life that just don’t make sense and that’s just the way it is. And sometimes that can be amazing. In fact, most of the time it is.”
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