A Human Child and an Aesir Veteran

The most illuminating interracial interactions are not always those between adults. At a railway station I once saw a Human child staring openly at an elderly Aesir veteran whose left arm ended below the elbow. The child’s mother repeatedly told him to stop, and he did not. Eventually the Aesir looked down and asked whether the boy wanted to know what had happened. The boy nodded while his mother apologised. The Aesir ignored her and told the child that a cannon had taken the arm during a war.

The boy considered this, then asked whether the cannon had kept it. The Aesir laughed so loudly that half the platform turned around and said he supposed it had. The boy then asked whether Aesir arms grew back. The mother nearly died. The Aesir said no, which appeared to disappoint the boy, who after some further thought asked whether the Aesir could still carry people with the other arm.

The Aesir picked him up with one hand and placed him on his shoulder. The mother objected for perhaps three seconds before realising that nobody involved was interested. I have seen diplomats labour for months to overcome cultural tension with less success than that child achieved by asking an appalling question honestly.