Power, Restraint, and the Tree
We often label what we do not understand as dangerous, but what if the purpose of restriction is revelation? The Forbidden Tree - as it is called by all - stood in the center of the village, majestic, and full of fruit that looked good for food. It is glossy, golden, and sweet-scented, but no one dared to touch it. “It is sacred,” the elders warned. “To eat of it is to die.” No one asked what kind of death it was. Fear was enough. Years passed. The tree blossomed, bore fruit, and dropped them to the earth, where they rotted. Still, no one dared question why beauty could be dangerous except for Evari. She didn’t want to eat the fruit. She wanted to understand the why. “Why give us a tree we cannot taste?” “Because power lies in restraint,” they told her. But Evari had learned: unexamined restraint becomes inherited fear. So one morning, she knelt by the tree—not to pluck, but to ponder. In that quiet moment, something shifted. The ground trembled slightly. A fruit fell...