Knowledge. One of the greatest weapons and virtues that the human race has to offer, it is by far one of the main attributes that sets it apart from everything else. But just as with great powers come great responsibilities, knowledge also requires an equivalent exchange: the greater the size of what you want to learn, the greater the price. You can pay this price in two ways: Time or failure. Either you spend a lot of your time learning, or you learn through failure. That's how humanity has evolved over the years.

But sometimes humans can be quite ingenious; it's interesting what they do just to avoid paying the price...

Thus, we turn to the life of Narf, a blind girl, heir to an inheritance worth millions of dollars. She had never known her mother, only knew that she was a model who died during childbirth, and lived only with her father. A highly respected doctor among everyone around him, the girl had a perfect life. She had never seen herself, but everyone said how beautiful she was, with long golden hair. She always wore sunglasses to indicate her blindness, something her father always asked her to do.

The girl's life was wonderful. Despite her father being very protective and never allowing her to leave the house, she had never come into contact with other children. She was a maiden in a world of darkness, surrounded by caring servants. Her life was so beautiful in her grand mansion. Whenever she wanted, there were parties. On her birthday, there was always fun, and everyone loved attending her parties, idolizing her, and many even cried with the grandeur of her celebrations. When asked, all the guests said the same thing.

"Miss, believe me, your parties are the best things in the world. They save our lives."

Narf had no way of knowing if it was all true or not, but it always sounded genuine. Everyone always said her parties were the best things that could happen, and that everyone eagerly awaited the next one.

She envisioned the place like an amusement park, a festival with dances, food, and decorations everywhere.

But Narf still detected sadness in their voices, even if it was genuine. Even if she believed what they said, she still heard sadness and anguish when they spoke. She wished she could know; she always felt as though everyone was hiding something from her, but she didn't know what. Sometimes it was frustrating not to know, feeling as though she was missing out on part of the world.

But the girl knew nothing, and nothing knew.

Her father was the one who bathed her, worried that the girl might suffer an accident if left alone. Their relationship was close, and she was very proud of her father. His skills as a doctor were phenomenal, being able to cure anything after seeing it only once. It was always like this. When Narf heard about someone who fell ill, the next person who appeared with something similar, her father could cure them.

So, gathering the information Narf had: She was beautiful, rich, loved, and blessed. What more could a child want to know about herself?

This would change in one night.

The girl was preparing to sleep, having already bathed, combed her hair, removed her glasses, and lay down in her bed when she heard someone entering through her window. Someone who would completely change her perspective on what she truly knew and didn't know.

"Who's there?" the girl asked, receiving only a brief "shh" in response. From the voice, it seemed to be a child like her, but since she rarely met other children, she couldn't distinguish the gender. "Who are you?"

"Please don't tell anyone I'm here. I barely managed to escape."

"Escape? From whom?"

"What do you mean, from whom? From the guards, obviously."

"Guards? Are you a criminal?"

"No, of course not. I know it's dark, but can't you see my uniform?"

"Uniform? I'm blind; I can't see anything." She heard a surprised sigh from the boy, his footsteps approaching, and sounds like snapping fingers very close to her face.

"What happened?"

"I was born like this, kid."

"Really? I've never seen anyone born... like this before... Are you sure it wasn't an accident?"

"I'm blind, not deformed, kid."

"Okay, anyway, please don't tell anyone I'm here, not even your parents. I swear I'll leave in the morning."

"I only have a father. And why are you running away? How did you get here, to be honest? My house is isolated from others."

"The field I escaped from is nearby. Even though I ran in this direction, I almost never saw anyone coming this way."

"Field?"

"From..." The boy stopped speaking for a moment. Narf waited in her dark silence, wishing for a party to break the ice. The boy had a tired and weak voice, and once again, the girl found herself in complete darkness. "It's a field of a farm nearby. The owner kind of enslaves various children, and I managed to escape."

"That's terrible. We need to alert my father immediately."

"NO!" The boy shouted almost as if pulling a trigger. Narf was even more frightened by the scream and froze. There was genuine terror in the child's voice.

"Narf?" The girl's father's voice echoed, and footsteps could be heard approaching the room.

"Please... I beg you, don't turn me in." Narf couldn't see the tears, but she could hear them in the boy's voice. She was confused and lost... What was happening? Who was this boy? What should she do?

"Okay, hide in my wardrobe. I'll take care of my father." The sound of the boy running towards the door and closing it assured Narf that he had heard her. Soon, her father opened the door.

"What's going on, daughter? I heard a scream."

"Nothing happened, father. I almost fell out of bed, that's all." There was no sound of footsteps, her father was probably staring at her, looking for any sign of a lie. Narf had no idea if she could produce a convincing expression or not. She had never seen anyone's face, she didn't know any expressions, she only felt them, so to her, it was like being a faceless child.

Finally, her father broke the silence.

"This will end soon. Many consider you a freak and would probably try to hurt you, but I will heal you completely, my princess." The footsteps grew louder, and she felt a hand on her head. "I love you, little one. I promise you will be happy."

Here came her father again with that foolish talk. Narf knew nothing, so she clung to what she knew. A blind person doesn't start seeing, even an amazing doctor like her father wouldn't be able to do such a thing. The girl had little information, but what she learned became a fact and didn't leave her mind.

Her father kissed her goodnight, and the sounds receded as he left the room.

"Has he gone?" The boy whispered, and Narf answered with a brief yes. "Thank you for not talking about me. I swear I'll leave in the morning and..."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call the police?"

Silence for long seconds. "No... need to. Thank you." Again, the boy started crying, and before Narf could ask, he asked first."Hey, what's your dream?"

"My dream?"

"Yes, what future do you want for yourself?"

Again, silence. The girl wasn't a dreamer because she already had everything she wanted: people who loved her, a good life. Narf was happy with what she had. "... I don't want my future to be different from my present. I love what I have here."

"You really are spoiled." The boy said in a dry tone. "But, well... you have something few people have, enjoy it well. You owe it to many."

"Owe? My father always taught me that I owe nothing to anyone."

"Because he's a liar... Tomorrow, before I go, I want to share my dream with you."

" Why not now?"

"Because I need inspiration to keep dreaming. My heart is almost dead like the others'."

"Other slaves?" The boy confirmed. The girl heard small noises in the corner as if the boy were finding a place to settle. They spent the rest of the night in silence. Who was he? Why didn't he want help from the police or anyone?

Driven by the questions her mind was trying to process, the girl fell asleep, dreaming again of a grand party. She had gained her sight, and the world was as beautiful as she had imagined. Everyone celebrated, everyone was happy, and went to their own dimension of parties.

This, keep smiling. Life is beautiful. Even being blind, the girl is happy. Even without a mother, the girl is happy. Keep laughing, and let Narf bring joy to you.

The night passed, and morning came.

"Hey, girl, come here." The sound of the boy's voice was what woke Narf. The girl was confused for a moment until she remembered who he was and what he wanted to tell her. They had to be quick before the servants or her father came to check on her. When they finally stopped running, Narf felt a slight breeze on her face. She reached out her hand and touched something, feeling around and breathing in; the girl soon realized they were in front of a window.

"So, what is your dream?" More silence, but even silence spoke volumes, for in silence there were heavy, tired breaths, and Narf could sense the great burden on the boy's shoulders.

"My dream is to reach the horizon..."

"Horizon? But..."

"The line where the sky meets the earth. Maybe if I could get there, I could leave for a better place. The problem is it's so far away... how can I reach something that's always in front of me? Something I'll never be able to reach..."

"Then stop chasing it. If you'll never reach it, then it's better to give up on it. Line where the sky meets the earth? Everyone knows the sky doesn't touch the earth; it's just a ridiculous dream. I've learned to live in the real world, and I advise you to do the same."

"You really are blind..."

"What?"

"You say the sky doesn't touch the earth, but I can see the horizon with my own eyes. How can you, someone unable to see what I see, say that I have no chance of achieving my dream? Don't be ignorant; just because you don't see or feel it doesn't mean it's not real."

"What you see is an illusion; you can't actually touch."

"Dreams live in the future. My dream is to reach my future... Who are you to tell me what's an illusion or not? And what if your reality is an illusion, and you're just unable to perceive it?"

"What nonsense. Your future will come, boy, you just need to wait and live your present. You'll never reach the horizon, so be happy where you are."

Narf, such an intelligent girl with such a closed mind, don't speak about what you don't know. You've never been enslaved; you don't know what that boy's present is like to have the right to speak.

"You don't deserve the life you have..." said the boy, and this time, Narf felt a clear emotion in his tone: hatred. "... You live among so much and are completely unaware. You don't even know who your servants are, do you? Have you ever stopped to talk to them? About something other than yourself?"

"Well..."

"I already know the answer. Now that I've spoken, I'm leaving." And without hesitation, he turned to leave, leaving the girl alone with her thoughts. Limited thoughts.

The young girl meditated on what the boy might have been trying to say. Yes, she had never asked about the lives of the servants, it had never even crossed her mind, but it was because they constantly asked about her that she forgot...

And after all, what was that talk about if it was real even though she couldn't see it? She already knew that very well; she wasn't ignorant or stupid, she knew that things existed even if she didn't see them. It was somewhat ridiculous to infer otherwise. It wasn't as tragic as he made it seem; he didn't want to call the police, so all that talk of enslaved children must have been a complete exaggeration on his part. It must have just been a kid who ran away from home and invented an elaborate story to fool her. On the same day, the child told her father about the runaway boy and that it would be best if someone found him before he got hurt.

But even concluding that she was right and the boy wrong, his words wouldn't leave her mind. Over the following days, the girl began to reflect on her interactions with her servants.

She started asking about their lives and noticed that the answers were always evasive and even worried. As a result, the servants began to avoid talking to her, as if their lives were a secret the blind girl shouldn't pry into.

"Father, do you know the life story of any of our servants?" The young girl asked one night during dinner. Her father seemed to choke on his food for a moment.

"No, I try not to interfere in what doesn't concern me. And it's rude to ask such things. Why the sudden question, daughter?"

"Nothing... it was just a silly question..."

"There are no silly questions, my daughter... it is questions that initiate the search for knowledge. However, just because every question is valid doesn't mean it should be asked. There are questions that are better left unanswered."

"Why, father?"

"Because the world is like clay; it molds itself according to what we know."

"That doesn't make sense. The world will remain the same regardless of what I know."

"Hmm... yes, my daughter, in a way, you are right. But let's think about it this way: before I cure a disease, it is the end of the line. There is no cure, no salvation. That disease is synonymous with death. But once I find the cure, reality molds itself, and what was death becomes just a struggle. There is a cure, there is treatment. See? With knowledge, the world changed."

"But there is a difference; the world literally changed. Before there was no cure, then you created one. It wasn't just a matter of you knowing something, you physically changed things."

"But I didn't change anything."

"How so?"

"Let's imagine there is a deadly disease, and I am the first person in the world to discover that mixing apple with banana cures it. I didn't create the cure; I didn't decide that apple and banana cure the disease. I discovered a fact that already existed, but humanity didn't know. See? The world didn't change, but our knowledge made it change."

"The world didn't change, but it changed?"

"What is reality? Is it what is or what we believe? You should think about it, among all people, my daughter. You've never seen the world; you only imagine how it must be. If one day you gained your sight and saw how it really is, would it be the same world you grew up imagining?"

After that, dinner proceeded as usual. The girl then thought about the power of knowledge for humanity... how it can shape what exists almost omnipotently. And following her father's words, the rest of the dinner was visualized as a field of flowers, peaceful, where the wind carried them.

So... the girl's curiosity was piqued... how great was the power of knowledge? What other things could change in her life if she discovered what she didn't know?

"Miss?" called one of the servants while Narf was dining alone. Her father had not yet returned home, being held up at work.

"Magda? Can I help?"

"Well... you've been asking us many questions lately, and... everyone is afraid to tell you. But I want to be fair to you. Now that your father isn't here, it's the perfect time to talk to you."

"And what do you want to talk about?"

"Miss, do you know what Nazism is?"

"... I've heard that word being said once or twice, but not much. I only know they are very bad people. Why the question?"

The child had no idea, not for a single second did she suspect what might be happening in her home, around her, who was who. Poor child who had not yet tasted the fruit of knowledge, living in complete peace in the confidence of her ignorance.

But just one bite, and the whole Earth feels pain.

"Well, it turns out that..." A pause. One that carried fear, insecurity, pity, anguish, tears that wanted to fall but, after so long crying, the eye was already dry for something so small. "... your father is a Nazi doctor."

"What?"

"He is the one who takes care of the soldiers' diseases and injuries... using Jews as experiments. He amputates their arms to find out how to treat an amputated arm... he uses us as rats to find out what works and what doesn't in surgery."

"M-My f-f-father does that? No... he's a genius in medicine; he only needs to see something once to treat it..."

"Yes, he only needs one person to learn how to treat."

Lie. False. Fantasy. Your father was too loving and intelligent for something so barbaric.

Oh Narf, this is how human beings deceive themselves with knowledge; instead of spending time studying or learning from their failures... they learn from others' failures. You don't need to study or suffer if you use the suffering of others as a stepping stone to learn.

"W-Why are you lying like this? This joke isn't funny!"

"Sorry! But I couldn't let you stay ignorant, especially after everything he did to you and your mother."

"What are you talking about, you crazy woman? I don't want to know. You're crazy. HELP!" The girl screamed. In desperation, the woman held her and covered her mouth. Narf used all her strength to struggle but couldn't free herself from the woman's hands.

"Listen to me, your mother was Jewish, Narf. She was a victim of your father, and you were born. He himself killed her but didn't want to let you go, so he tried to hide you from other Nazis as much as possible."

She didn't want to hear. She didn't want to know. It was too much. Too much information. Her loving father would never do such a thing. Her good life was happy; there was nothing to worry about or be ashamed of...

But the woman wouldn't stop destroying her reality with information.

"It turns out you didn't have Aryan traits, and that embarrassed your father. He dyes your hair; you don't see it, but your hair isn't made of gold. It's hideously bleached yellow from so many chemicals... and... and... and...."

Stop. She doesn't want to hear. She loves the world she lives in, she loves the things she has. That's not what she wants... Let her be ignorant.

"And... you weren't born blind; he burned your eyes because they weren't blue. Believe me."

She believes, she just doesn't want to accept it. She doesn't want to believe... because knowing... hurts so much.

Because if it's all true, the world she's been living in will shatter, and she will be forced to recognize how ignorant she's been about everything around her.

What she understood as her father's love.

Lie.

The joy of people at her party.

Lie.

The compliments she received.

Lie.

Now, knowing the world as it was would only force her to face the raw truth.

That the girl "was a horrible person."

Now, Narf, who is the one living in an illusion? Who refuses to see reality? Wasn't it you who lived in the real world?

The boy was right, Narf: you really are blind and ignorant.

"IT'S A LIE!" The girl screamed louder and louder. Magda now regretted what she had done, begging and pleading for the young girl to stop talking.

She just wanted to tell the truth. It was the girl's right to know the truth. Magda hadn't done anything wrong, had she? Should she have left the girl in the dark?

Was it okay for her world to be destroyed as long as she knew the truth? Or was it more important for her to know nothing and live in peace?

The fruit of knowledge or Eden? Which is worth more?

Knowledge is too powerful for humans to understand how to handle.

But Narf kept screaming incessantly that it was a lie, attracting the attention of the entire mansion, the guards outside, and even her father who arrived early.

Narf threw herself to the ground when she heard more people entering the room, covering her ears from any more lies Magda might throw. She knew there was a great commotion in the room but only wanted to act as if she wasn't involved. She knew Magda was being reprimanded but wanted to act as if it had nothing to do with her. She knew everyone was furious but wanted to ignore it all.

Until after a while of crying in fear, a gentle and familiar hand helped her up, her father's hand.

A hand that calms her, a voice that protects her, a person who loves her.

He makes both of them alone, and after calming her a bit, he asks what happened. Will you speak? After all... it's frightening to say something out loud. Because it seems that when something is spoken out loud, it becomes real... especially for Narf, whose entire reality was based on sounds... if this truth Magda told her echoed from her own mouth, would it become reality?

But her father insists so much, and she can't lie to him... she is someone who doesn't shy away from the truth or lie.

Her father remained silent for a moment, a disturbing and frightening silence, because in silence, there is no world for her. So how will she know what's happening?

"Did you believe her?" He asked, with the driest, most morbid, and harsh voice he had ever used. This tone of voice, this brief question, made Narf visualize the place she was in:

Like an interrogation room, and her father's voice was like a gun pointed at her head. But... it was her father... why was she afraid? Why was she suspecting him and feeling so much hostility? No. It was the effect of the stories Magda had planted in her head.

He was still her father. The reality hadn't changed with that woman's words... the world hadn't changed.

"N-No." Even struggling to believe, her hesitation was evident in her voice.

Silence again... Narf could hear the imaginary gun reloading. Was he going to shoot? Or was he going to put it aside?

Wait, what are you talking about? There's no gun, it's in your head.

Now the world she visualizes is collapsing, what is true and what isn't?

After a few more minutes, her father sighed.

"Let's go. It's time for you to take a bath." Was there frustration in his voice? No, her father wouldn't be like that. It was another feeling for sure; it must be concern. But what if it's anger? Or simply exhaustion from a long day of work and more confusion?

What is it? What does he feel? How is he? What is happening? Her world was getting darker and darker. She wanted to know. But was afraid to learn. Staying in that darkness... what was the truth?

Then, an understanding came to the girl, the truth is limited by knowledge; this means that the less knowledge you have, the freer you will be to shape reality to your will, right?

.........

She didn't want to know anymore.

Nothing is happening.

Or rather...

It doesn't matter what is happening.

Just be happy with what you don't know.

"Yes, Daddy." The girl said with a sudden smile on her face, something that greatly surprised her father. "I would love to take a bath."

She then followed her father, happy because he loves her.

Happy because she is happy.

Happy because she loves the life she knows.

Wait... but this path they're taking is different from the usual way to the bathroom... Why?

Oh, forget it, it doesn't matter. Let's make up a reason; your father must have created a new room made entirely of diamonds, extremely luxurious for you.

Yes, that's it.

But why did your father leave you in the bathroom and not come in with you?

Silly Narf, stop thinking for a moment. It's because he thinks you're old enough to bathe alone.

Yes, that must be it. You can relax.

Alright, take off your clothes and get ready for your bath.

Where's the faucet to turn on the shower? It should be around here...

The floor is a bit warm... and it seems like there's something on the floor, but you can't tell what it is.

So it could be anything you want. Sweet. Chemicals. Brooms. Concrete. Flowers.

Where's the faucet?

Everything here can be shaped by your thoughts... so it's all okay, right?

Where's the faucet?

But if everything's okay... why are you crying, Narf?

Where's the faucet?

You're happy... stop crying.

Where's the faucet?

You wipe your tears and feel those scars... NO! Ah... I mean... they're not scars, he... hehe... they're... just birthmarks... yes... just that.

Where's the faucet?

STOP CRYING, GIRL, THERE'S NO REASON TO BE SAD OR SCARED!

"WHERE THE HELL IS THE FAUCET?!"

She shouted, and the walls echoed back. Making her hear her own scream over and over. The pain and fear in her voice over and over. Her reality over and over. The girl kept searching the wall until her hand bumped into something. What a relief, it's a shower. It's a shower. She was really in a bathroom.

What a relief.

"Hey. Hey."

"Huh? Who's there?"

"Hihi... hihihihihi..." The laughter came from all sides, and the voice seemed to belong to a younger girl, but Narf couldn't discern the location from the sound alone. It was playful and immature, carrying no hint of malice, only mischief. A sweet and delicate voice but, for some reason, it didn't convey any confidence.

"Where are you?"

"How curious... you don't even know where you are, so why do you care where I am?"

"Oh... well..."

"Do you want me to tell you?" This time the voice whispered in her ear as if whoever it was was right behind her. But in an instant, the presence vanished, as if dancing through the hall.

"A..." Narf hesitated. She wanted to say "yes," but the words wouldn't come out. Without waiting for a response, the child continued,

"At the beach!"

"Huh?"

"You're at the beach."

"What a lie..."

"Lie? Why do you say it's a lie?"

"I don't feel the sun, the ground is hard, and I don't hear the sound of the sea."

"Oh, it's simple. It's nighttime, we're on a rock, and the sea isn't very strong today."

"That's ridiculous, the wind..."

"Who are you to say that I'm wrong? Do you know everything? Are you never wrong? As long as you don't know, for a fact, where we are, what does it matter what answer I give? This place could be hell or paradise; it all depends on your point of view, on how much you know about this place. Oh, that's right, you already know a lot about where you are, even if I say you're at the beach. Your father already told you that you were going to bathe. Those two pieces of information contradict each other... and the one closer to reality is the one that gains strength."

"The one closer to reality?"

"Yes, for example, you believe that your father loves you, and if I tell you that you're just a headache to him? Which would be more likely to be true?"

"N-No, he loves me."

"How do you know?"

"I... I...." 

"Listen, Narf, you don't know, you believe. But faith is nothing compared to knowledge. There's no way you can continue believing in something once you know it's a lie. Your ignorance has limits."

"So I don't want to know! Stop talking! I don't want to hear..."

"How long will you continue turning your back on the facts? Does that mean you prefer to be ignorant?"

"Yes... I don't want to know... I don't want to see... Why do I need to know?"

That's it. The question she was waiting for.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't understand this human need to keep searching for the truth. What does it matter if everyone lived trapped in their ignorance? As long as they're happy in their own worlds, it doesn't matter if they're false or not. To me, knowledge is something trivial and foolish; it only serves to pull us out of our comfort. Out of our truth. How good would it be if it didn't exist? The truth is that reality is harsh and cold, and all we have to defend ourselves from it is our world of dreams, pretending that everything is okay. But unfortunately, we can't pretend we don't know because we do. A lie is still a lie." The voice, which had been sweet until now, turned into a dry, desert-like harshness, as if the child had transformed into a ghost. "Narf, it's not possible to be truly happy in the real world."

"B-But... but..." The girl wanted to be stubborn and deny everything she heard with absolute conviction, but that feeling was missing. "STOP! I ALREADY SAID I DON'T WANT TO KNOW! LEAVE ME ALONE! PLEASE"

Her tantrum ceased when the girl firmly placed both hands on her cheeks. Narf felt her breath right in front of her, very close, calm but at the same time... distorted? It was strange to hear.

"Do you want to save the world from knowledge? Return the fruit to the tree? I can help you with that. Know that if you follow me, people can live in peace in their fantasies."

"Can you really help me? But how? Who are you?"

"Hihihi, haven't you learned yet, girl? It's not worth wanting to know all the details. Just trust me. But if you want to know so much: I am Lily, and you, Narf, are so ignorant, your desperation is your ignorance, and your hope is the destruction of knowledge. Come, you will be one of my generals and in the future, you will grasp your hope."

Then the girl disappeared. Leaving Narf alone in the unknown once again.

But of course, Lily disappeared. It was time for the bath; she didn't want to be there. The water was a bit hot, scalding like fire. And the bath washed everything, cleaned every pore of the girl, removed the dirt from each strand of hair. Every muscle. Every fiber. Even the bones.