After dinner, her sisters helped grandparents clean up the dishes, and after that, four people, two young and old, gathered around the warm fireplace. She sat with her knees bent, her head lowered, her eyes fixed on the red fire flickering in the fireplace, as if she was free in her own world.

Grandma looked at her for a long time, then asked softly:

"What are you thinking about?"

She now turned to look at her grandmother, watching the wrinkles that time had made, remembering her childhood when she traveled hundreds of kilometers from far away England to America just to see her granddaughter whom she had never seen before. She stayed for a year in America to take care of her until she turned one year old, at which point she sadly said goodbye to her little niece and returned to England.

"I'm thinking about you."

She replied, she pinched her cheek lightly, saying:

"Damn you, you know how to tease, right? What if you're thinking about a guy, now that you've grown up, you don't have time to spend with this old woman?"

She rushed into her lap like when she was a child, she replied with a smile:

"Grandma, I love you the most. I have no one but you."

Grandma could only laugh when she saw this, her sister and grandfather at that time approached the two of them, sat next to them, and he asked:

"What are you two talking about? Let me hear it."

"Well, I'm asking if this eighteen-year-old lady has a guy in mind."

"Oh well, that's what it is."

He laughed, Syrena wondered.

"What's the matter, grandpa? I want to hear it too."

"Will you listen to my story?"

She suggested, he nodded in agreement. How can her sisters refuse? So that night, next to the warm fire flickering in the fireplace, although outside there was a strong wind that sometimes beat on the windows, making horrible sounds, making Syrena cower in fear at her grandfather, storm every night. At times, the sound of heavy rain falling together with the sound of thunder and flashes of lightning sometimes makes people feel like they are living in the middle of a scary horror movie.

"The story I'm going to tell you and grandpa is titled: The Kingdom Of Stars."

She opened with a fantastic voice that made everyone breath was taken.

"Now listen: Every story, whether fictional or true, fairy tale or fiction, begins with a familiar saying, 'Once upon a time'"

"Once upon a time, in a certain kingdom, there lived a young prince who lived in a magnificent palace. Unfortunately, the kingdom was invaded by a greedy army, who took it over. neighboring kingdoms, the kingdom of his friends left them empty-handed, orphaned, not yielding to fate, and most of all not letting the beloved kingdom fall into the hands of the enemy, if that were to happen. If that happens, the Prince thought to himself, what will happen to the people? his parents) before his death that at all costs to preserve this kingdom, give the people a happy and prosperous life.Thinking of that, the Prince has more energy and determination to face it. With a battle there are only two options: Live or Die."

"Oh."

Their sister was literally breathtaking in that moment. Their grandpa sit next to them had the same emotion with them. The story their grandmother told was so fascinating, all three of them seemed to be swept away by every word and every detail in the story.

She saw that and continued.

[...]

"But things are not so easy, you know, she looked straight into the eyes of her two grandchildren who were listening intently, "it's not like you can do it all. Our prince bravely led an army to fight against the enemy day and night, but because the other side's forces were too powerful and many cunning schemes, until the third day the young Prince The old man becomes exhausted, the person is exhausted from fighting day and night, the voice becomes hoarse. He looked around at his army and saw that the number had been greatly reduced. Now, with such a weak force, how can we defeat the enemy?"

"My Prince, one of the troops said, You have fought so bravely, have led the army to this point, I think you should rest and recuperate. The prince shook his head, forehead with sweaty and said, "How can I do that? Even though I know that I'm exhausted, but I can't give up." That night, the Prince could not sleep, thinking about the fate of the kingdom and the people on his shoulders, he felt too heavy, but also told himself that it was the motivation to try to win glory in this battle. Everyone around had fallen asleep, the night space was quiet, quiet but equally creepy. Sometimes there is the sound of a wolf howling for a few hours and then completely silent or sometimes the buzzing sound of all kinds of insects, the rustling in the bushes makes the weak and the weak jump up in fear. The prince sat there, in the quiet night, with only the bright moonlight in the sky as the only source of light, he looked up at the moon above, muttering: "God, if only you would help me win this battle..."

"Then what happen next grandma?"

Syrena urged, shaking her grandmother's arm. She smiled happily, cleared her throat, and continued.

"As soon as he uttered his prayer, a cold and strong wind blew from nowhere and terrified the Prince, his face was as green as banana leaves, the wind blew in waves of freezing cold, Prince. Then spoke, a voice as if from afar: "Do not be afraid, my Prince. I am not an evil spirit or a demon, I have only come here at your request."

"My request?"

The prince questioned again, the other god laughed, replied:

"Yes, your request. You wish to win this battle, don't you?"

The prince nodded. The god looked around at the two of them, said:

"Well, if you want to win glory, you must follow my instructions, okay?"

The prince nodded again.

"Early tomorrow morning go out. The other side of the stream, then he stretched out his hand to the distance. The prince had to squint to see, "when you got there, cut your blood, put three drops in the stream and wait for a few minutes, you will see a miracle."

Then the god disappeared, leaving the Prince sitting in the dark night with doubt and fear. The next morning, according to the other god's instructions, the Prince got up very early while the army was still fast asleep, he went to the stream bank as the god said.

Arriving at the place, the murmuring stream along with the sound of everything in the early morning made him feel somewhat peaceful, he pulled out a razor knife to suppress the rising pain, cut a line in the palm of his hand, blood dripped down his face. stream exactly three drops, no more, no less. He bandaged the wound and stood there waiting as the god instructed. A few minutes passed and nothing happened, and he thought that yesterday's conversation was a dream? But if it was a dream, why did he feel so real? Standing there thinking about it, a loud noise made him fall backwards, he looked up and a look of terror appeared in his eyes.

Slowly, gradually, where the three drops of his blood flowed, they stopped in the middle of the stream and formed a very strange shape, in the middle of which rose a tall, rough stone and gave off a blue light. helped soothe. For some reason, like a hunch, the Prince rushed down the stream to the other stone, and when he approached the stone, the Prince's face suddenly appeared more joyful than ever."

"Dear! Just continue, I am looking forward to it."

This time is their grandpa. She took a sip from her hot cocoa, smacked her lips, and continued.

"It was a sword, a sword with a silver hilt and a glittering ruby ​​at the end. When the prince saw this, he was delighted, and at once took the sword from the stone, and held it up high into the sky. , said: "Thank you, thank you very much, dear god. Thank you very much." The morning sun shone on the Prince's body like the god's wish to him, hoping to soon win victory and return safely."