In an opulent golden hall his majesty emperor of goblins, conqueror of the blue sun, technological genius, pioneer of magic, the great Zotrahn’gra sat on top of his throne on a throne. Before him his cute daughter was playing in boredom, while the stoic high priest stood next to them.
They had been waiting for a while now. Waiting for the three heroes of Earth who brought them so many surprises. Even the emperor had a slight smile on his lips when he thought about the previous trials.
Knowing that time worked differently for the great god, Zotrahn’gra could only stay patient.
“Dad? When are the grannies coming?”, asked Tarun’gra while fiddling with her Slowmoinator.
“Any minute n…”
Before the emperor could even finish his words, a golden light flashed. Suddenly Martina, Olivia, and Dongmei appeared before them.
The three old ladies had reddened eyes. They ignored their surroundings, silently hugging each other.
Tarun’gra stared blankly. She was looking forward the seeing the kind grannies again, but now felt slightly sad. Infected by the mood the small goblin girl suddenly jumped over the railing. Without any injury she elegantly landed on the ground and ran towards the three heroes.
Kind laughter sounded once again as the goblin girl threw herself into the embrace.
Even the emperor and high priest had kind smiles as they watched this harmonious scene.
It took multiple minutes for the three grandmas to calm down.
They patted Tarun’gra while wiping their tears away. They would surely miss the mischievous young girl.
“Heroes of Earth!”, sounded the emperor’s proud voice.
“You have passed the Heroes Trial and received you wishes! Now it is time for me to say farewell.”
“Dad… this… do we have to.”, whispered a sad Tarun’gra.
“Don’t worry. We can always visit them on Earth. You still want to learn the guqin, right?”
Seeing his daughter’s eyes light up, Zotrahn’gra praised himself for being such a good father.
“For now, return to your families, heroes! They are waiting for you.”
“Thank you for everything, your majesty.”
“If you come to visit, I will bake some cookies for you guys.”
“Maybe you aren’t so bad after all, youngster.”
“Be a good girl and visit us soon, Tarun’gra.”
“My grandchild would love to play with you.”
“Yes, grannies, we will meet again soon.”
With joyful emotions the grannies bade everyone farewell. The humans and goblins waved their hands, a bit reluctant.
A few moments later a golden light flashed. The three heroes had vanished.
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After a tiring day the goblins were also exhausted. Zotrahn’gra coaxed Tarun’gra for a bit as the left through the door.
Right behind them followed the high priest. A golden light flashed in her eyes as she whispered:
“I hope you like the gifts I made you.”
***
Planes and helicopters had been circling above this mountain for a day now. They witnessed a miracle as the mountain suddenly bloomed with life again. But they weren’t allowed to land. They only had one job: finding a certain grandma.
Atop a mountain stood a young man in an expensive suit. His normally busy phone was in flight mode. His wife and child he didn’t see often enough stood beside him. His usually stern face had traces of tears.
He stared at the mysterious statue before him. Why was his mother so stubborn? Why would she brave the danger and come here? Why would the supposedly mighty dragon king not protect her?
“Let’s go.”, he said with a hoarse voice. His wife and child sobbed lightly.
Just as the family turned around a sound came from behind them. A familiar voice complained:
“Hmm, why is there so much noise today? Aren’t they afraid of disturbing the southern dragon king?!”
Dongmei studied her surroundings for a bit.
“Ahh at least this god was true to their words. The mountain looks much better. We won’t have to fear for our crops for a long time.
And I somehow feel much healthier, too. My back is not crooked anymore. How did this come about?”
“Mother…”
Only now did the old lady notice the people standing not far from her. Looking at their tearstained eyes and dirtied designer clothes, Dongmei’s throat tightened slightly. But she didn’t dare to show her emotions outwardly.
“Oh? So my son still knows where his h…”
Before she could finish, she found herself in a tight embrace. Tears welled in her eyes as she silently enjoyed the company of her family.
***
Multiple humans could be seen walking through forests and plains. Everywhere sounded loud shouts:
“Martina! Martina!”
All the neighbors had come together after hearing of the kind old lady’s disappearance. They search the surroundings, lending their help when the Müllers bitterly needed it.
A rough looking middle-aged man sat on the stairs in his home. Not far from him his wife was distracting their child.
Yesterday a miracle had suddenly happened. His ill daughter mysteriously recovered. He didn’t know what happened, but it didn’t matter. The man never had such a happy day in his live. But just as he wanted to inform his mother, he couldn’t find her anywhere.
The man was caught between joy and despair. Could it be that he won his daughter but lost his mother?
Just as the man was close to tearing up once again the door behind him suddenly opened.
The man turned around in disbelief. Did his mother just walk out of her kitchen?
Hearing the sound everyone looked over towards the kitchen. A perfectly fine Martina was standing there, smiling happily.
A cheerful voice suddenly sounded:
“Grandma!”
Martina shuddered. What was this? Did she just perfectly hear Lena’s voice? This wasn’t part of their wishes, right? Why did this happen? Thank you! Thank all of you!
Tears of joy ran down the old lady’s face as she embraced her healthy granddaughter.
***
Police sirens could be heard. Busy men searched the neighborhood. They had received a report that one of the inhabitants of St. Anthony retirement center went missing.
The other old people didn’t care too much. They were already used to this. From time to time some of them would escape and be later escorted back by police. That’s just something that happens when you brain is slowly giving up. This was the sad reality.
Within a small courtyard a panicking woman could be seen. She was walking left and right, even biting her fingernails. For the umpteenth time she addressed the man next to her:
“Lenny, do you think granny got the wrong address?
Maybe I made a mistake. I might not clearly remember every single action after I heard of your crash.”
Lenny sighed lightly. He stepped forward, tenderly hugging his wife.
“Don’t beat yourself up. You shouldn’t feel guilty. We already checked the massage on your phone, have you already forgotten that? Maybe your mother didn’t get a taxi, so she went by foot. I’m sure she would do that for you.”
“But…”
“Shh… no buts. Everything will be fine, ok?”
“Right. Everything will be fine.”
Lenny and Maria slightly shuddered as they heard those last words. They turned their heads towards the old pine tree. There, Olivia was standing, looking is if she had always been here.
Watching her daughter’s disbelieving face, Oliva suddenly broke out in tears. She could see them. She saw the old pine tree. She saw her son-in-law’s uninjured body. She saw her daughter’s teary face. She saw them all. How…?
Fortunately, the old lady didn’t have more time to question this further. Her daughter was already pouncing towards her.
Even the old pine tree seemed to rustle cheerfully as he witnessed the happy family embracing each other.
----- THE END -----