Stranger and Trust

In the heart of the forest, Queen Mia sat before the council of elders. One elder declared: “Your Majesty, trusting this man is putting the fate of the forest at risk! He is a stranger. Perhaps he has come to deceive us!” Mia calmly replied: “If we condemn someone merely for their race, then we turn away from justice. And if he is innocent, I will become a tool of injustice myself. Then what difference would there be between me and humans?” Another elder argued: “But he is human! For centuries, they have hunted us!” The queen responded: “That is precisely why I will not condemn him at once. If we want to be better than them, we must be fair. I will not cast him out of the forest. He will stay in the village. Time will reveal his true nature. If he is wicked, we shall all see it. But if he is not… perhaps a new future may begin.”
At the palace gates, a young elf girl approached Moris with a gentle smile. It was Ariel. “Welcome, sir. I invite you to be a guest at our home,” she said. Moris bowed politely. “I gladly accept. By the way… your queen’s words were so wise. But she looks far too young. She must be only twenty or thirty, right?” Ariel laughed. “No, Queen Mia is 150 years old. Elves do not age as humans do. Once we reach the appearance of twenty or thirty, our looks remain unchanged. On average, we live 500 years, sometimes even 700 or 800.” Moris stopped in astonishment. “How…? Then there must be a secret to such long life… Fascinating,” he muttered.
At that moment, the door slammed open and a stern young man entered. It was Ariel’s brother, Pedro. “Ariel! What is the meaning of this?! Why have you brought a human into our home? There is no place for him under this roof!” Ariel replied firmly: “Brother, he is not just any human! He saved me. Without him, I would already be in slavery. I owe him my life.” Pedro’s face darkened. “You say you owe a human? Foolish girl! Humans are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They would kill even their own kin if it served their gain. What good do you expect from them?” Ariel looked him in the eye: “No, brother. I saw no malice in his eyes. If he wanted to harm me, he had plenty of chances. Yet he did not. His sincerity when he rescued me was undeniable. And now, you act no different than the very humans you despise. Do you know why? Because you are being unjust. And if you are unjust, you are no different from them.”
A heavy silence fell over the room. After a long pause, Pedro glared at Moris. “Very well… But remember this, Ariel. I will not let this man out of my sight. One wrong move, and he dies by my hand,” he warned before storming out.
That evening, Ariel invited Moris to share a family meal. By the light of a flickering lantern, their conversation flowed. Ariel asked eagerly: “Earlier… you mentioned a carriage that soars through the skies without magic. How is that possible?” Moris chuckled, setting down a piece of bread. “It’s not a carriage. It’s called an airplane. Its flight is based on science—wing shape, engine thrust, air currents—all carefully calculated.” Ariel’s eyes widened in wonder. “Science… It sounds like magic,” she said. “No,” Moris shook his head. “Science is the path to uncovering nature’s secrets. The man in the cave realized he needed shelter and built a hut from wood. Later, he raised a city of stone. All of it—science. If used well, it saves lives. If misused, it destroys everything.” He sighed inwardly: In my past life, we misused science. We poisoned nature, fueled wars, destroyed ourselves and others. This time… it must not be the same.
Moris then pulled out a small sweet wrapped in paper. “Here, this is called chocolate. Try it.” Ariel took a small bite, her eyes lighting up. “What an incredible taste! I’ve never had anything like this!” Moris smiled. “See? Science can create wonders like this.” Ariel whispered thoughtfully: “Science… truly is no less than magic.” Moris nodded. “Yes. My one goal is to bring science into this world.”