IN SEARCH OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

In the enigmatic and fascinating Iceland, in Hallgrímskirkja, very close to Reykjavik, lived two charming children: Asbjörn and her little sister Halldis, children of a couple of hardworking parents, who had always given them love and instilled respect, study and improvement. . They had grown up happily in those icy lands, surrounded by lakes and volcanoes, and they had an extraordinary admiration and great curiosity for the northern lights that, during certain months of the year, colored the sky.

They both always wondered: what was behind each Northern Lights?

Like all children in the world, Asbjörn and Halldis loved Christmas and its traditions. They liked to make little wooden bears and horses, which they painted in bright colors and distributed among their schoolmates during the holidays. Starting on December 12, and until the 24th, they placed their shoes so that the Thirteen Old People of Christmas were placing, night after night, small toys inside them and then, on Christmas Eve, they waited for the arrival of the bigger gifts.

The tradition of the Thirteen Old Men is one of the most beautiful in Iceland, because, according to what they say, these little men are the children of Grýla and Leppalúdi, who were trolls and formerly came down from the mountains to do mischief and steal children’s favorite objects, But their children changed history and, instead of stealing, they now bring surprises for each child, as long as they behave well, because if one day they behave badly, their shoe will be empty.

Every night, before going to sleep, Asbjörn and Halldis stared in rapture from their windows at the northern lights. “There has to be something there”, and with their little cameras they tried to photograph them, and sometimes with crayons, and other times with brushes, they captured them in their notebooks.

On the night of December 23, the friendly brothers, when they made sure that their parents were sleeping, escaped through one of the windows, very warm, and walked not far to the shore of the lake, to continue seeing their northern lights.

Hello there! ,a little voice talked to them

Turning around, they found a boy of about 11 years old, with rainbow-colored hair and huge green eyes.

-«Who are you?

«Hakòn, and I come to solve your doubts»

-Hakon? What doubts?

– «I will take you to know the secrets of the Northern Lights, come, come with me»

– «We cannot, said Asbjörn, we do not have permission from our parents, rather we escape, hidden, to the lake»

– «There is no going back», replied Hakòn, «Your curiosity must be pleased, we are going to travel»

And, suddenly, the three children were involved in a kind of upward whirlpool that went higher and higher and higher. Around them they heard a kind of «shhhh», a magical sound; and they saw tiny kites pass by, running playfully.

They continued to rise until:

«We’re here,» Hakòn said, and they found themselves at a huge door in the middle of nowhere.

«Knock, knock, we’re here,» Hakòn shouted, «I’m bringing our visitors,» and another boy, with multicolored hair, opened the door.

«Welcome, I’m Johann»
Upon entering, Asbjörn and Halldis were astonished. A huge toy factory was displayed infront of their eyes,: dolls, carousels, teddy bears, wooden carts, horses, harlequins, and, next to them, many children with multicolored hair finished coloring and fixing them.

They also delicately painted each toy, but then they played with the rest of the paint, they threw it at each other and, many times, upwards and that paint went through the dim ceiling and continued towards the sky, coloring part of it with various hues.

«Come!» Hakòn said. “That is the secret of the Northern Lights, a simple game that paints the Scandinavian skies. We received orders from high up to make toys for this part of the world, we started working several months before and, of course, we just play. We love doing it and we color the sky. Those climates down there are very cold and gray, can you imagine a gray sky, without color? That is why we play and paint toys and skies «

«Where are we? On another planet?» Halldis asked.

-What do you think? You are in the land of the princes of the northern lights, a few kilometers above you, and we try to make the dreams of those who act well come true. Do not reveal this secret to anyone. As we have never seen anyone as interested as you in knowing what was behind each aurora, we decided to bring them. Please always behave well, and even more so when you grow up, that will be rewarded to you one day. It’s time to go».

Again they found themselves inside the kind of whirlpool, but this time they were going down and down. Upon reaching the lake again, Hakòn told them:

«Remember, behave well, and even more so when you grow up, do not cheat on anyone, do not betray, do not break dreams, be good people»

Asbjörn and Halldis, excited, walked quickly towards their house and, when they arrived, they saw the figure of thirteen tiny little men hurrying out.

«The Thirteen Old Men of Christmas!» They yelled in unison.

The night of December 24 was truly magical. The northern lights were more abundant and beautiful than on other nights, the Christmas tree was full of gifts and, when they opened them, they recognized many of the toys they had seen in that beautiful place next to Hakòn, Johann and the other princes of the aurora , who had confessed that the color of their hair was the product of so much paint that fell on them during the games.

Asbjörn and Halldis grew up to be a good man and woman, and they contributed to the greatness of their country. And every time they saw the northern lights they smile, remembering that only they knew the secret.