When Light Beats Everything

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In a quiet forest, there lived a black snake who was hibernating. The snake has long lived in a forest that has never been visited by humans. It was all because he was always mean to humans who stepped foot near his territory. He always felt that his life would be calm and peaceful, until one day-

"Honey, look! The plants here are so beautiful!"

Like a thunderbolt in broad daylight, the black snake that was just about to have a sweet dream woke up. His gaze is so cold looking for someone to disturb his sleep.

Seeing the couple who were looking at the beautiful plant, he immediately shouted. "Hey, human! What are you doing in my area? Go away from here!"

The couple was immediately surprised and turned around. They stared at each other before looking at the black snake.

"My wife wants to see the most beautiful plants. People around the village said this place is the most beautiful place. So, I brought him to this place," said the husband.

"Yes, and he must be happy to see such a beautiful flower planted in this place," said the wife while stroking her growing belly.

The black snake stared intently at the wife whose stomach was starting to grow.

Then he said, "I don't care! Don't care at all! Get out of here and never come again!"

Feeling unwelcome, the couple chose to leave leaving the black snake looking

angry.

"Humans are troublesome. So what if you are pregnant? Babies can't see plants

that I've cared for thousands of years."

Just as the black snake was about to close its eyes and go back to sleep, a ray of light shone in his vision, causing him to open his eyes. He saw a white snake hovering with its wings and its dazzling-looking halo. The white snake looks clean, holy, and ... different.

"Hi, black snake. Why are you so cruel to humans?" The white snake asked. "They don't even destroy your crops. Why are you so annoyed with them?"

"You don't know anything!"

The black snake began to tell a story. Thousands of years ago, a group of children in scout outfits came to that place. At that time, the plant full of flowers was still open to the public because the plant keeper was the mother of the black snake. At that time, the scouts started throwing stones here and there to play catch and throw. The black snake mother who saw that immediately tried to separate them, afraid that someone would get

hurt. However, who would have thought that the biggest stone throwing hit the black snake mother and she died with a severe head injury.

The black snake, which had just returned with fertilizer, was surprised to see that its mother had died. He then chased the boy scouts away and shouted at him. Since then, the plant has always been guarded by the black snake. And no one dares to come, except for the couple who came a moment ago.

"I'm sorry for your loss. But, do you know that not all humans are the same?" The question of the white snake confuses the black snake.

"What do you mean?" Ask the black snake.

"Every human being has different characteristics. What you first met was the bad side of humans. While what you met earlier is the good side of humans." The white snake flaps its wings so that it can sit parallel to the black snake.

"Now, let me ask you one question," said the white snake. "Seeing from the two sides I told you, which side do you belong to?"

"Me? Of course the good side! I don't throw stones!" The black snake gets angry.

"You're so wrong. You chased away every human who tried to come just because you thought all humans were the same. Bad." The words of the white snake made the black snake speechless.

"I also want to do good to humans. It's just that I don't know how to know which humans are good and which humans are bad."

"You can see it clearly. No anger, no hate. Only with love and affection."

The white snake who knows that the black snake is still confused just smiles. "Look." The white snake pointed at the human who was about to enter the black snake area. "There was a confused human. What do you think you would do if you saw someone confused?"

The black snake did not answer. He walked slowly by slowly towards the human. "Where are you going?"

"Oh," The human turned. "I'm looking for a rose plant. I want to take a picture of it for my research material."

"Take a picture?!"

The black snake started to get angry, making the human shocked and frightened.

Inside the black snake's mind, he started to argue about everything. Could it be that this human is going to destroy his crops or he just wants to take photos?

"It doesn't matter if you don't let me. I'll go home. Thank you for letting me into this place." After saying that, the human stepped away.

"Wait." The black snake stopped the human's footsteps, making him turn his head. "Take all you want. Don't destroy my crops! I will watch over you!"

The human smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure!"

Without wasting any time, the human started taking some photos. And of course, the black snake was watching him, afraid that his crops would be destroyed by a human. The black snake thought after the human took the photo, he would leave. But turned out that he delivered the news which made him angry.

"You will what?"

"My friends wanted to come because they had a hard time finding a beautiful place. Can I take them to this place?" The human request made the black snake silent. "My friends, they are all good people. So you don't have to worry."

The black snake saw a white snake that was in the distance. When it saw the white

snake nod, the black snake immediately allowed the human to bring his companions.

Since then, the black snake area has become the only place full of beauty and it's always crowded with visitors. Many people come to this place to see the beautiful plants or just to take photos for research material. It was all because of the help of the white snake that instilled anxiety in the black snake.

The one sentence that the black snake remembered from the white snake before the white snake left was:

You don't have to be afraid of one thing forever. Sometimes, fear teaches you that nothing lasts forever. We just need to accept it as learning material and accept that fear as strength.

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