Joe leaned back in his chair, his voice low but steady.
Joe: “You know, Nelly, people chase power like it’s the air they breathe. But real strength… sometimes it’s in the power to let power go.”
Nelly tilted her head, her eyes narrowing in thought.
Nelly: “That’s rare. Most who taste power can’t step away from it. They grip it tighter, afraid they’ll vanish without it.”
Joe nodded, his gaze turning distant, as if reaching for a memory not his own.
Joe: “Think about Gagarin. The first man in space. He had the whole world in the palm of his hand, but he didn’t use it to command nations or start wars. He didn’t seek a throne. He just… looked back at Earth and said it was beautiful. That’s a kind of power too—the refusal to claim it.”
Nelly smiled softly, resting her hand on Joe’s.
Nelly: “So maybe the greatest power is humility. The ability to rise higher than anyone before you, then come back down and still be human.”
Joe squeezed her hand.
Joe: “Exactly. Power isn’t about domination. It’s about choice. Gagarin chose wonder over control. Maybe that’s the lesson for us.”
Nelly: “And maybe,” she whispered, leaning closer, “that’s why you’re the only man I trust with power, Joe. Because you don’t cling to it. You let it go.”