I

In a serene hall a flash of light suddenly shone.

Three old women appeared out of thin air.

Li Dongmei winced with closed eyes. She expected to be ripped apart by the tiger any moment now. But strangely nothing happened. The roar of a tiger was replaced by a soothing melody.

The old lady carefully opened her eyes. Her mouth gaped open as she looked around in confusion.

She observed the strange staircase before. Adorned by green velvet it led upwards towards a huge gate. Gorgeous, winding plants grew on the walls all around the room. No other door existed besides the gate.

Finally, Li Dongmei broke the silence as she loudly read the golden shining letters on the gate:

“Heroes trial?

Is this a part of the southern dragon king’s palace?”

One of the other old ladies Li Dongmei ignored so far asked skeptically:

“What is this place? Some fantasy movie? Could we have landed in middle earth?”

Olivia Thomson was confused after being teleported during a stressful moment, but she felt like nothing could shock her anymore at her age. As someone living during the technological revolution, she was always proud of keeping her open mind.

“Who cares whether this is some dragon king’s palace or middle earth. I only want to thank the architect for making the letters suitable for the elderly. Finally, something I can read without problems!”

Turning her head away, Li Dongmei mustered the only other living beings in this room. Two old women, both with gray hair and humble clothes. As she thought about their words, she suddenly noticed something:

“Now that you say it. Why can we even understand each other? The both of you don’t look like you know Chinese.”

Olivia and Martina were slightly startled.

“What Chinese? I’m speaking English.”

“Right, I’m speaking German.”

The three women stayed silent for a second before Olivia stated:

“Something strange is going on here.

Why don’t we introduce each other before …?”

“Sweetie, you need to talk louder please. My ears aren’t the best anymore.”, interrupted Martina suddenly.

Olivia sighed, put she could emphazie when she thought about her own eyes. Thus she spoke out loudly:

“Let’s introduce each other!”

“Ahh, thanks. I’m Martina.”

“Olivia.”

The third woman hesitated slightly, but also spoke up:

“Dongmei.”

After the initial confusion, Martina was beginning to feel some excitement. She had always loved to experience new things. Although this situation was strange, her curiosity pushed her forward.

“Ok ladies. Why don’t we find out what this Heroes Trial is?”

A solemn look appeared on Li Dongmei’s face. She stared at the gate.

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s those stairs!”

Martina thought about it for a second before nodding in acknowledgement. These stairs would prove to be a challenge for them.

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“There are stairs here? Good to know.”, proclaimed Olivia.

Li Dongmei took a deep breath. Looking at her two companions, she spoke in a serious tone:

“There are…”

She quickly realized that she spoke too quietly. Letting out a short cough, she started anew:

“There are three of us here. This is surely no confidence. I think whoever designed this trial wants us to support each other.”

“Mhm.”, nodded Olivia. “Let’s work together. I’m sure we’ll make it through!”

Martina also nodded while Dongmei and Olivia approached her. The three women hooked each other’s arms as their serious faces turned towards the trail before them.

“Let’s go!”

On Li Dongmei’s signal the three old ladys took their first step. They trembled slightly as they raised their feet.

Martina noticed something as she looked down:

“Olivia, you need to raise your foot higher. Those stairs aren’t standardized.”

“Oh thanks.”

With this reminder the three women all successfully conquered the first step.

“Don’t hesitate and don’t think about the upcoming way. Trust me, this is the best mindset for difficult paths!”, proclaimed the experienced Li Dongmei.

Following this advice the three women made steady progress.

One foot after another did they defy the difficult trial. Soon they reached halfway up the stairs.

“Ok sorry. I need to pause.”, announced Martina. Exhausted breaths left her mouth. She heavily leaned on Dongmei, who stabilized her steps with her walking stick.

“Come on Martina. One more. You can do it!”, cheered Olivia from the side.

“She is right, Martina. Don’t let the trial keep you down! Let’s take one more step!”

Encouraged by her companions, Martina took a deep breath. She nodded lightly.

“Ok. One more!”

“That’s the spirit.”

Feeling that their cooperation was slowly strengthening, the three ladies made the next step. And then, without stopping they even managed one more.

Martina and Olivia had excitement in their eyes.

“We are doing well. We soon beat the trial.”

Noticing that she still had the most stamina, Dongmei smiled proudly. Nevertheless, she granted her companions a much needed pause.

“Ok, let’s rest for a few minutes. Afterwards we beat the trial in one go!”

Between fast breaths Olivia agreed:

“Yes. Let’s hurry up. My daughter is still waiting for me!”

“Oh right. My family might be worried, too.”

Dongmei opened her mouth slightly but could only stay silent. She understood that she might be dead in the villagers’ eyes, while this unfilial sone of hers hadn’t visited her in almost a year. Would anyone… really miss her?

Olivia and Martian noticed their companion’s deflating mood. They looked at each other, before Martina carefully tried to cheer Dongmei up:

“Why are you letting your head hang low? I’m sure everyone is already searching for you!”

Recognizing the old lady’s try, Dongmei could only force a smile.

Changing the subject, she turned everyone’s focus back on the trial:

“Let’s go!”

In slightly dampened mood the three grandmas continued. One step after another they destroyed the trial. Ignoring their exhaustion, they advanced confidently. After only one more break they finally arrived before the gate.

“Ahh, finally!”

“We did it!”

“It wasn’t that hard!”

All three ladies chuckled slightly after their exclamations. Not knowing what awaited them behind the gate, they decided to sit down for a bit. As their backs leaned against the wall they let their eyes roam around the room. From atop the stairs the three ladies felt like the huge room wasn’t that impressive anymore.

“Observing the world from the dragon king’s statue is still the most beautiful.”

Since Dongmei’s voice was dry from exhaustion, Martina had a harder time understanding her. Thus, she simply spoke her mind:

“When my granddaughter wasn’t sick yet, we liked hiking a lot. She always felt like a little princess atop a mountain.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for your granddaughter. I also would have loved to bring mine along some time but they life so far away.”

A thoughtful silence embraced the three women. Only the silent music soothed their minds.

A few seconds later it was Li Dongmei who slowly stood up first.

“Let’s not drag ourselves down ladies. Shouldn’t we take a look at what this gate holds for us?”

“Dongmei is right. Let’s continue.”

After encouraging themselves the three heroes stood up again. They crossed the last meter on flat ground, before finally standing before the gate.

Their eyes wandered upwards, taking in the beautifully decorated golden and green metal. As they observed the dozen meter high gate, a question soon came to their heads:

“What should we do now?”

“I don’t know. Any ideas, Dongmei?”

“We can only try pushing I guess.”

In lack of a better option the three ladies put their shaking hands on the gate. Taking deep breaths, they mustered all their strength before pushing against the gate.

But nothing moved.

After two more tries the ladies gave up, looking at the gate in confusion.

Just as Martina wanted to speak up, the continuos music changed suddenly.

Epic, loud, pompous sounds filled the room.

The three ladies’ eyes lit up.

“Finally, they switched the music.”, proclaimed Olivia.

“There was music before?”

Chuckling from Martina’s question, Dongmei spoke with certainty:

“What a great piece. It’s definitely Chen Gang!”

“What? It’s obviously Aaron Copland!”

“What is wrong with your ears? It’s naturally Wagner!”

Before the three ladies could fall out over a piece of music, the gate suddenly showed some movement.

It mysteriously made no sound as it slowly opened. The three grandmas watched in curiosity. The music picked up, until it finally peaked in an epic bravado.

A loud voice suddenly followed:

“Welcome, mortals, to the trial of the great god Khirotsan’ahn the almighty!”