''Evil is like water. Transparent and shapeless, yet measurable and necessary for survival.'' These words had first been written about 13 generations ago, by philosopher Hardrid Vuseh.

 His book ''Survival Amongst Men'' was the very first book I read, from cover to cover, and these words open the chapter ''Character of Man.'' As a child, these were simply words on parchment, musings on degrees I cared little to understand.

 Yet they have remained with me, and for the past decade, I've pondered their meaning to no end. Even now, as the howling winds disperse the last breaths from the raging pyre, where a crowd flocks the town square to witness ''Divine Retribution.''

 My mind still lingers...

 ''Evil is like water... Necessary for survival...'' How so? I do not understand...

  The girl, who happened to come across a technique to combat winter fevers with the help of an infamous poisonous herb, only for ''Holy Fire'' to gnaw her flesh into ash, as such a practice, no doubt, involves the unholy. Ousted by the very she saved, her screams ceased only mere moments ago. Would she understand?

  What of the boy, who helplessly watched, as his kin were doused in oil and set ablaze under the pretense, they've spawned and nurtured the demonic. The same boy, who still dreams of his brothers' agonizing cries, his mothers' heart-wrenching wails, and his fathers' awful roars.

 ''Run!'' the boy still trembles at the memory.

 Would that boy understand? Could he ever?

 After all, what sort of water could light fires so furious...

 I do not understand...

  If survival is based on replenishment, does it make ''Evil'' an inherent part of us? Is the thirst for ''Evil'' the same as the thirst for water?

 If so, then what is ''Good''? In this world of opposites, what is the contradiction to water?

 Hardrid Vuseh is not a well-known name, as he was a slave from the south and passed in a rebellion, before finishing his work. Yet, a man who had lived not only through the ''Evil'' of men but also through the drought of deserts, would surely know all too well what thirst feels like. 

 Perhaps ''good'' is in the sand or salt of desert plains... Or the heat of ''Divine Flames.'' Elements that dry one's throat and drive them towards committing ''Evil''.

 Yet, for the past 2 weeks, as winter's arrival has brought cold nights, that chill my shoulders, I huddle closer and closer to my fire, relishing in the heat it shares.

 Heat is necessary for survival and so is water. One makes you thirsty, while the other quenches one's thirst. One keeps you warm, while the other cools you down. Both are a necessity. Both are shapeless, transparent, and measurable.

 Does it mean, both are ''Evil''? Or was Hardrid mistaken? Perhaps, influenced by his harrowing predicament, he had failed to judge the world objectively, and both are, in fact, ''Good''?

 But fire can consume you and the raging seas can swallow one whole, so where does that leave such dichotomy?

 And how come one might be saved by ''Holy Fire'', while another loses their life? And how come one might cure a lethal drought, while another must fight for a breath?

 Is the measure critical here? Yet, how can too much ''Good'' lead to ''Evil'', or too much ''Evil'' lead to ''Good''?

 I do not understand...

 Why does one's death lead to another's salvation? Is surviving ''Good'' or ''Evil''? Are either even about survival? Have we misinterpreted all of it?

 I don't get it...

 Is there even a difference? If both are, objectively, each other at the same time, where is the distinction? What makes them valid?

I don't fucking get it!

 Do they... Even exist?

I don't... Know...

 I shouldn't have taught her... What was I thinking...

I shouldn't ha-