Fire and Ice

"Once in a far-off land, there was a...." Wait, wait, wait! That's a pretty old phrase to start with. So let's begin anew. Everyone is familiar with Fire and Ice, both fundamental elements of nature. The basics: Fire is hot and can burn things, while ice is cold. Fire can melt ice into water, and water, in turn, extinguishes fire. They are considered enemies, they say. But let me tell you a different story, and it goes like this...

Once, there was a small spark ignited by flints. The spark was innocent and knew nothing about the world around it. It was alone and isolated. It traveled the world, growing into a fire. As the fire journeyed, it helped things around it, motivating them to ignite and find strength in life.

But one fine day, as Fire drifted through the woods, it saw a peculiar being. Fire stopped to take a closer look. The being was cold, beautiful, symmetrically carved, and had majestic transparency. Fire was captivated, but as it approached, it felt its heat diminish, though the reduction was so minimal that it didn't think much of it.

The strange being was Ice—cold and majestic. Fire and Ice got along, but had to maintain a safe distance for obvious reasons. Fire noticed that Ice was gradually melting due to the sun's heat and other surrounding factors. So it decided to take Ice to a safe, cold environment where it could survive, without considering its own well-being.

Fire and Ice began their journey to the cold lands, rushing away from the heat that posed obstacles along the way. Ice was happy, as Fire protected and guided it on its path. After a tough and long journey, Fire and Ice finally reached the cold lands. Ice was overwhelmed with joy to see the white expanse, its safe haven, and wandered off into it.

Due to this journey, Fire had lost all its heat, and upon reaching the cold lands, it saw Ice wandering away without even looking back. Ultimately, due to the cold weather, Fire couldn't survive.

Ice never realized the pivotal role Fire had played in its journey, as Fire had to maintain a distance. Ice thought Fire was merely a kind passerby, unaware that Fire sacrificed its existence for Ice's survival. Ice never turned back to look at Fire, moving forward only by listening to its words.

Think about it: Was Fire just kind enough to help Ice, or was it foolish to sacrifice its existence for an ungrateful being? Was Ice truly ungrateful, or was it too naive to recognize Fire's contribution to its life?

One wonders... so do you and I.

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