A fiction

Once, a great king walked to the city square. He raised his voice and cried…

I too don’t want to die,
Take this sword and you decide.
Fight, for the land you were born on
Or for yourself, but fight.

The voices from all the sides suddenly turned into mourning silence. The king could hear his own blood flowing through his veins. The king broke the silence and cried again...

Is this it?
Say we’re a family in the time of happiness.
Are we nothing in the time of war?
Where’s the courage? Where’s the nobleness?

Then, a young man came forward from the crowd, pushing those silent faces behind, and cried...

Oh respected King!
Look at the sky, look for the eyes of the God.
Look into them and repeat your words in front of him.
And then I hope he’ll tell you what is wrong.
I hope he’ll show you the way,
I hope he’ll give you courage.

The King walked back to his castle, with his head down from embarrassment. He locked himself in a room, said no to the water and food, and was only breathing to keep his body alive.

He looked at the sky. Wept whispering the name of God, asked him what he did wrong?

A giant white light appeared. The clouds turned into ocean and the waves caused lightening and storm. And it left a little space in the center. God spoke...

It is not what you did wrong!
It is you still haven’t realized of it.
The courage you were looking for
You couldn’t find it in yourself.

The king realized what was wrong. He wept and thanked the God. He took a deep breath, felt his heart pumping in his chest. He felt something, a feeling of courage. So he took his sword and left, with a promise to make everything better, for himself and for the land he was born on. As he walked with his courage, the crowd of his city followed him to the war field.