I see what you meant by feeling that the ending was a bit rushed, but I can't quite put a finger on the reason why.
Maybe it's because the entire piece is Alberta Scrubb's introspection; her thoughts all alone. Adding a short dialogue, or an event that she witnesses outside of her home could take it beyond and above a mother's regret/lament and into a healing acceptance.
You had hinted at a peace at the very end of this fic, but...well, I personally felt that it came and went too quickly for me to take it in and believe it; it was that "rushed" feeling again.

Aside from all that, I think you composed this very excellently. I've read at least half a dozen fics about the Real Narnia post-crash, but nothing much about those left behind on Earth. Those that I have found (all two of them ha!) centered on Susan. This was quite original and I enjoyed that very much.

"STOP CALLING ME CLARA!
I loved that.

This was brilliant. Just, brilliant...

I think that in the end you put too little of the letter in the fic when it was supposed to be the most important part (or at least the starting point of it all).
Other than that I think it was nice.

I loved it.

Poor Alberta you made me sorry for her and from the little I saw (well read) of her in the Chronicles, I had previously had no sympathy at all. Very bittersweet how she knew better than he did where things were headed with Jill, but at the same time knowing so little of his life. I'm intrigued at the difference you've drawn between her and Harold again, I had always seen them as just one unit and never really thought that they might have quite different relationships with Eustace.
I loved the little touch with the photo "Lucy's cheerful script which of course it would be, but I'd never thought of it. Just so typicaly Lucy though.
Cheers, Paula

I realise that i read this without reviewing. Sorry. I'll make up for it now.

I liked this fic you know I like pretty much everything you write. It was a good angle to use. Some parts got a little confusing, though one of the bolded parts didn't seem to belong to the letter i think it was near the begining somehow. Anyway, the ending is really nice.

Thanks for writing this!

Nice fic. yeah.. the end was a little rushed, but it's not bad! I thought at first that you could have written the entire letter and had it at the beginning, but once I reached the end I decided that I liked the way you did it, with a few excerpts here and there. I love the part about Aslan at the end. oh, and what did Scrubb mean when he referred to Tate as the 'Fourth silliest girl in England, after your beloved Bennett sisters'? If that would be the Bennetts from Pride and Predjudice, there were 5. So maybe you meant Mary, Kitty and Lydia, was that it? never mind, I'm rambling now. great story, write more!
Aravis

Not often we get to see a character like Alberta, especially in the context of her beloved son dieing.

Very nice reflective fan fiction. One main problem I saw. In Eustace's letter, he said something about regretting going "to Golg"? Golg was the Earthmen that Puddleglum caught who told them what was going on. I think the correct phrase would be regretting going to "Bism".
Otherwise, wonderful story. Great job.

Caspian

I like this; it's very sweet and sad at the same time. I particularly like how you've structured it, flipping back and forth between past and present, the letter and the narrative. The ending may be a little rushed, yes, but I like that you finished with the end of the letter itself; very fitting, somehow.

Wonderful! It was very well-written and I didn't catch any obvious slip-ups grammar-wise. BTW, you should think of doing a companion piece-something that takes place thirty years after the crash, but in Aslan's country. It would be interesting...

As always, your portrayal of Eustace and Jill is charming and spot-on. Alberta's grief was very touching, especially when she longed for conversations she never held with Eustace and discovered that her son had friends and interests about which she knew nothing. So sad that a family should be so detached from each other.

My favorite bit, though was Eustace's singnature with his name in parentheses. It seems at once hesitant and hopeful and sweet.

more to fall back up shouldn't that be UPON? (Nitpicking, I know, but a great text like this deserves to be perfectly flawless.
What can I say that I haven't said before? Perhaps this: I've never ever seen a piece that made me feel so sorry for Alberta. The way you show her as a prisoner to her own upbringing and social conventions is absolutely fantastic! And I've always pictured Harold like the more sensitive part in their relationship. And Alberta's amivalent attitude towards her hausband is just so convincing. Nice passing reference to Edith Jackle she WOULD be the kind of girl Alberta would have appreciated.

I wonder what gave you the idea of "a constant stream of Mrs. Poles"? VERY unusual for a father to have custody of his daughter in a number of new marriages (especially in the 1940's). Also, this little half line opens up a whole lot of questions: How come Jill's father got married (and, of course, divorced) so often? I don't assume, from the "constant stream" expression that all those wives died, did they? (And iof they did, it would be highly suspicious!) And this image of the repeatedly divorced father (for me, at least) is a bit difficult to reconcile with the way he is presented here.

Congratulations on that last line; it would have been way too cheesy th have Aslan appear in her dream or something. And even more congratulations on that ending of the letter it somehow relieves the depressive note of the story.

And, finally, kudos to you for catching the language so very well"guttersnipe" indeed! I doubt many people today even understand that word! (Apart from Henry Higgins, but then he is 100 years old...)

Oh gosh! It's really, really sad! My eyes are all burning near the backs: I may cry a little. Everyone dying makes me so sad! (Well, not for them exactly, since they end up in Aslan's Country, but for people like Susan and other family).

It was REALLY great writing! I love Eustace's letter"I miss you, I suppose, Pole; you’re managing to irritate me even when you aren’t here. Congratulations.
XD He's such a saracastic snothead sometimes. I love how you write him: it's great!

It's fantasic piece, and Alberta is perfectly done. You best keep posting, you're one of my favorites!

I thought this was very good. I'm almost at a loss for words to describe how this touched me and it did, deeply. Seeing Alberta so many years after the Crash, with the letter, wishing she could have done some things differently... (And I must confess, the thought of anyone seeing Eustace and Jill married in a couple of years never crossed my mind.) This all was just a brilliant piece."In her sleep, or perhaps awake, she heard a voice saying Peace, Daughter of Eve.*blinks* I won't cry... Wonderful, WONDERFUL job done as always.