Preface

“This book is a work of pure fiction”

When I first started to write this book, I had the idea that the preface would be just a one-liner, the captioned sentence above, and left it at that, thinking it was enough of a preemptive defense for whatever and whose religious sensitivities the contents might trod upon, wittingly or unwittingly. But, as I wrote a substantial portion of the book, I began to have second and third thoughts; “second thoughts” because a preface had always been used by authors for diverse purposes. Some to introduce the subject matter, some for providing background information, putting the book in proper context, and others for personal justification in taking a particular ideological stance and so on. “Third thoughts” because I might have mistakenly presumed that my readers, all of them, have good working or at least a general knowledge of the more “popular or well-known” Books of the Bible to tell the difference between Biblical “fact” and my “fiction”, and in seeing the difference be more willing to forgive any resultant religious transgressions, or, worse, perceived insults. So, as the readers are all my friends, (whether they like it or not) and not all are Christians, I wouldn’t want to take that dangerous chance.

Therefore, I thought a short background introduction would not go amiss here. Here again, I hope I’ve got it (mostly) right as well.

The story of Adam and Eve is of course found in the religious writings of the Jews, Christians and Muslims; but this book is fictional in the sense that it tries, as far as I can with only an academic knowledge of the Christian Bible, to fill in the “blank spaces”, meaning filling in what I gather were “gaps” where the Bible is silent in its limited narration of the two principal characters of this book. However, where the Bible is not silent, I try with all the honesty I can muster to be as faithfully close to it as I can, taking, purely for the selfish purposes of telling an interesting story, limited literary license, but with due care and respect for religious sensitivities. If an offense is taken, here are my apologies in advance.

The New Living Translation (2nd Edition) of the Bible, at Genesis 3, verse 24, says, “After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And He placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life” And at Genesis 4, verse 1, (i.e. immediately following on from Genesis 3, verse 24) it says, “Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!”

The Bible (in whichever version) is therefore silent on the events that must have happened between the time immediately after Adam and Eve were “sent out” of the Garden of Eden and the time immediately before their first child, Cain, was born. And assuming Eve got pregnant after leaving Eden, (as Genesis 4, Verse 1 implies) a period of at least eight to nine present-day calendar months were not accounted for in the Bible.

This book however is not about why the Bible is silent, and where one might find non-Biblical books that say something about it. Though a chapter is devoted to the time immediately before they were “sent out”, a large part of the story is to fill in, fictionally, the “gaps” from the time they left the Garden up to the time Cain was born, where my story ends, and where the Bible takes up the story. This latter portion of my story is of course the fictional, imaginative part.

All readers will, I think without exception, understandably bring with them their own ideas and views to bear (religious in nature or not) when reading a story (even if fictional) that is based on characters and themes found in scriptures. My wish (more a fervent hope) is therefore that readers will, if nothing else then at least for relaxation sake, read the book like any fictional novel, and try to look beyond their inherent religiosity (if any)

Finally, I thank you all in any case, whatever you may think, or think nothing at all, of this book which has been a most interesting, remarkable and gratifying journey for me, not because it happened to be my first book, but that I even dared to attempt it at all.

I must now thank Adam and Eve, without whom (and howsoever one may view them) none of this would have, or could ever have been possible, and I dedicate this book to them and all their children.

Wayne Cheah

November2009

Chapter One

THE END

Eve took Adam's hand. It was more an urgent grasp, a hope for a reaction, a need for understanding, for forgiveness. Adam’s hand was limp, lifeless, drained of strength. His eyes stared straight ahead, into a vast expanse of land he never knew existed, stretching farther than he had ever needed to look before, until now. It pained his eyes and the first tears rolled down.

The sun shone on Adam’s face, it seemed warmer, harder than he had ever felt, biting into his skin, and the drying tears glistened.

Eve let go of Adam’s hand, pointed to a mountain in the distance and said, “What is that?” and Adam replied，“God’s works”

Eve narrowed her eyes, stiffened her lips, as though willing for the mountain to come closer so she could get a better look. A large flying creature flew overhead with a shrill piecing cry, heading for the distant mountain. Adam took Eve’s hand and said, “Let’s follow God’s creatures”

They scrambled onto loosely strewn rocks, still pristine, jagged, un-eroded, cutting into their naked soles. Then Adam felt a resistance from Eve’s hand. He stopped, looked back and saw Eve’s head turned back to Eden. He saw a strange light shining forth from inside the Garden, a red flame of fire shooting out, but not up into the sky as a flame would.

It was dazzlingly bright, brighter than the sun, a finger of red lightning, like a flaming sword flashing just above the ground, illuminating everything in its path, waving back and forth. Eve, with fear in her eyes and dread in her voice, asked, “What is that?” and Adam replied, “God’s Anger”

In the midst of the flaming sword, they saw large figures, unmoving, looking out, as if on-guard, keeping out intruders. With the brightness of the moving flame behind them, the faces of the figures were in darkness, though they had the bodily stature of humans, only much larger, appearing as towers of strength and fearsome power, with high broad shoulders that seemed to flutter with a life of their own, rising and falling like shimmering wings of gold.

Eve whispered urgently, “Who are those, are they like us, I cannot see their faces” Adam did not answer, but tightened his grip on Eve’s hand, his strength now returning, and suddenly from deep within him, strange unfamiliar feelings of anger welled up, surging like an army of angry ants up into his chest. He felt a numbing pain deep inside him, as if black sharp claws were trying to tear his heart out.

His breath was thick, labored, and a battle began to wage in his head, fighting the angry thoughts raging within, looking for and not finding the words to tell Eve of a foreboding of evil, and of hate, or both, that was now burning into his bones. For the second time, tears rolled down. These were not tears of despair as were the first; these were tears of anger, turning slowly into something he never felt before, never knew existed, never thought possible. He began to hate.

But he felt strong, heavy, and dense; as if he could sink into the earth. An unnatural feeling of raw power began to flow through him, like a dark red stain spreading out like liquid wildfire seeking out every corner of his body. Every muscle, sinew and fiber hardened like drying mud, and he felt his life-blood started to boil. He was strong.

He was angry. Anger made him hate, hate had made him strong. His tears stopped.

Adam gave a forceful pull on Eve’s hand. Eve refused to move, and kept her unblinking eyes fixed in the direction of Eden and the human-like figures guarding it.

She then turned to Adam, looked searchingly into his angry eyes, unsure of what she was looking for, uncertain of what she might find.

Adam squeezed hard on her hand, and with an angry stare, demanded that she move away with him. Just then Eve felt her whole body began to shake, a gripping sense of despair overcame her; then in a moment of terror she felt empty, hollow inside of her, as if devoid of any internal substance, as if her very being has been sucked out of her.

Eve collapsed onto the stony ground. A dull, numbing pain began to throb in her head, pounding out a steady rhythm that seems to be in time with the beating of her heart. She needed to scream, to hit her head on the ground, anything to stop the pain.

The pain turned into a low guttural rumble, like the growl of a trapped animal, and then it slowly receded away into the distance like a dying thunder.

With the terrifying pain gone, Eve curled up her body tightly, shut her eyes and hid herself in the darkness of her mind, shutting out everything around her, creating an invisible barrier to stop the pain from coming back. After a while and feeling safe, Eve opened her eyes, turned her body and looked towards Eden. Eden looked different somehow; darker, foreboding, menacing, and seemed smaller.

She stood up with an ease that surprised her.

Adam asked, “You too?”, and Eve, now with tears rolling down her cheeks and still looking longingly at Eden, answered, “Yes, me too”, and turning to Adam, said softly, as if to herself, “Can we stay here and wait. God loves us. He will let us return to the Garden. We take care of the Garden like before. We will not go near the tree again. We will not listen to Satan. We will ask God for forgiveness. The Garden will die without us.”

Adam answered sharply, “No”. Eve asked defiantly, “Why?” and Adam, gazing vacantly into the distant horizon where the setting sun is slowly sinking into, said softly, “It’s God’s plan”

Adam sank to the ground, sat, hunched forward, picked up a pebble and threw it as far as he could, heard it struck something and as the sound echoed back and slowly died away into the empty air of the approaching dusk, said to himself, “It’s God’s plan”, sounding more like a question.

Eve, looking restfully at the streaks of ember rays shooting out from the fast disappearing sun asked searchingly, “God told you?”

Adam answered loudly, “No”

A soft dusty breeze then began to sweep quietly across the vast darkening landscape, and the green treetops started to turn a blackish hue of murky brown and strange, unfamiliar sounds were heard looming louder and louder out from the humid darkness now closing in from all around; their origins and meanings unknown to the man and woman now laying side-by-side on the hard stony ground, trespassing and eavesdropping onto long private conversations of the unseen creatures of the night.

Chapter Two

It is midday, hazy, humid and hot. The blue sky seems bluer than usual, with soft white clouds stretching out in long cottony streaks from horizon to horizon. The air too was unusually still. The Garden, though bathed in the blazing glow of the midday sun, seemed to have a dreadful gloom overhanging it, like dusk had arrived suddenly ahead of time. The winged creatures around the Garden were nowhere to be seen and ground-burrowing animals stayed underground.

Adam, with a stick in hand, is walking beneath some shady trees, inspecting his work on tree pruning done the previous day. He is happy and satisfied with his work and thought surely God will be happy too and will bless him. This is a good day, he thought, and hoped that God will pay a visit. He had just planted some new seedlings by the banks of the river this morning as instructed by God some days ago and these needed watering later in the day. Yes, everything is fine with the Garden. Adam picked up a pebble and threw it into the river and saw a fish leaped out of the water as if in acknowledgment, and the widening ripples were quickly washed away by the river current before it got any bigger. Just then some small furry animals came to the riverside for a drink of water.

Yes, everything is fine with the Garden, thought Adam again. It suddenly occur to him that Eve is nowhere within sight. Where is the woman, Adam casually wondered. She was to help him tend the Garden as instructed by God. It is getting late in the afternoon and there are things to be done in the Garden before God comes round. God’s anger can be frightening at times, with flashes of brilliant white, blinding light punching the very vault of heaven, followed by a deafening boom, so loud and terrifying that even the big four-legged animals standing as high as trees scurry for any form of cover or cower on the ground with fear. Yes, it is not good to make God angry.

Adam quickened his steps and began walking in the direction of a short stretch of sandy riverbank where Eve washes herself three times a day. Adam has never got used to Eve’s need to wash her body so many times a day. Once is all one needs. “Wasn’t Eve created by God out of my flesh and bone, and so was to have taken after my nature, and, as God once said, even like unto God Himself?”, thought Adam, now almost reaching the river bank, with the sound of running water getting louder.

Eve is nowhere to be seen, and Adam sees no footprints of Eve on the sandy riverbank. Just as Adam was about to shout out for Eve, a soft voice came from behind, saying, “I am here” It was Eve.

She looked tired and flushed in the face. She stood perfectly still. Adam was neither happy, having found Eve, nor angry that she needed searching to be found. He was more concerned about getting the work done in the Garden for the day. Adam took a few steps towards Eve and then stopped when he saw in Eve’s right hand an object that was vaguely familiar and yet couldn’t quite place it for the moment. Then shock and panic coursed through Adam as he finally realized what it was Eve was holding. It was dark red in color with a deep purplish hue. It was a half-eaten fruit, with the inner white pulpy flesh still fresh and juicy looking.

Adam and Eve stood looking at each other for a long time, neither knowing what to say; both deep in their own private world of dreadful imaginings and fear. The harsh midday sun beat down even harder now, but Adam and Eve hardly notice it. The concerns of the day’s unfinished work no longer concerned Adam. For Eve, it was time; but time for what, she had no real idea. She suddenly felt heavy, weight down by the small piece of half-eaten fruit she now must either cast away or do what she had wanted to do just moments ago.

She walked towards Adam and held out her hand holding the fruit.

“What have you done?” Adam nearly choked on his question.

“Eat”, Eve said simply.

“No!” replied Adam with a shout and looked up at the sky, as if asking for support and confirmation.

“Eat and you will be like God”, Eve said with an even tone, and in a matter-of-fact way.

“You ate it?” Adam asked softly, hoping for a denial.

“Yes”, Eve said, looking straight into Adam’s eyes, searching for some clues to Adam’s inner thoughts.

“Why?” was all Adam could muster enough strength to ask.

“Because, because I wanted to”, Eve muttered, unconvincingly.

“Why?” Adam asked again impatiently.

“Because I wanted to be good”, Eve said, this time with conviction.

“How do you become good by doing bad?”, Adam asked loudly.

“I did not do bad”, Eve answered, and holding up the fruit once more, said, “This is God’s works, sprung from a tree which God planted in this pure and beautiful Garden. How can it be bad to eat it?”

“God said we could not eat the fruit of this tree. If we did, we shall surely die”, Adam said with a worried look.

“I did not die” Eve said triumphantly.

Adam was quiet for some moments, then said, “God will be very angry”

“Why?” Eve asked.

“Because you disobeyed God’s word”, Adam said in a whisper, and pausing for a moment said a little louder, “If you were hungry, there are other fruits just as sweet and tasty in the Garden, why must you eat of that tree?”

Eve looked at the ground and then muttered “Satan said we can be like God if we eat of the fruit”

“Why do we want to be like God?” Adam asked angrily.

“Because God is good and Satan said if we want to be good like God, eat the fruit”, Eve said loudly.

“How does Satan know?” Adam asked in a whisper.

“Because Satan was created by God before you were created and was one of God’s angels in Heaven”, Eve said matter-of-factly.

“We cannot disobey God”, Adam said, reaching out quickly, attempting to take the fruit from Eve’s hand. Eve took a step back and put her hand holding the fruit behind her back and said loudly, “Do you want to work in this small Garden like the animals of the field, doing work with only the labor from the hard sinews of your clumsy hand. Don’t you want to be like God and know the mysteries of God’s creations and do wondrous works like God and see into the inner nature of the glory of the Garden and do great works, and bring great abundance to the Garden?”, Eve said quickly and, without pausing, added, “God will surely be pleased”

Adam, without hesitation, said again in a quiet voice, “We cannot disobey God”, and pausing for a moment asked, ”How do you learn to talk with such fine words so pleasing to the ear and touching heavily on the heart?”

Eve said slowly, “I ate the fruit”, and looking deeply into Adam’s eyes, slowly lifted up the hand holding the fruit and offered it to Adam again, saying, “Eat and you will see better the ways of the workings of the plants and creatures of the Garden, do more work faster and better, and will please God more”

Still holding out the fruit, Eve continued, “God love this Garden and all the plants and creatures in it and we shall show God our love for the Garden too. Eat of this fruit and you will uplift the fine workings of your hands and good works will come from it, and your eyes will open wide to see better the secret wonders of God’s works and plans, and learn to be like God yourself, so that you will understand better God’s plans and His works and do His works better when given to you, and I your helper, has taken of the fruit, and I feel in me a cold fire burning my head and filling it with knowledge of me in myself and myself in God’s wondrous plans”, and lifting the fruit high above her head said with a quivering voice, “I am now a shining jewel in God’s crown of Creation, I stand high above the dumb creatures of the Garden, I can see how yesterday’s works bring today’s harvest, I can see how the sturdy root of plants bring forth the fragrant flowers and thence the sweet fruit. This fruit I now hold in my hand is from the tree, the roots nourished by the good earth and water of this holy Garden; only good come from good and this Garden is good, the tree is good and the fruit is good”

“We cannot disobey God”, Adam said quietly and quickly added, “There is also another tree, God called the tree of life, and its fruit is also forbidden”

“Yes, I know”, Eve answered thoughtfully, and then brightened up when she asked, ”God said if we eat of the fruit of the tree of life, we shall have everlasting life, just as if we eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, we shall surely die. What if we eat of fruits from both trees?”

Adam stared hard at Eve, not knowing how best to answer. Eve triumphantly continued, “Both trees bore fruits that when ripen dropped to the ground and creatures in the Garden ate of them both.

We saw no change or strange behavior in them”, Eve paused, and seeing Adam was still keeping quiet, continued, “God made you high above the creatures of all His creations, endowed with good thinking and fine working hands, so that you work well in the Garden and tended good care to the trees and creatures. You can better your skills and works, be ever higher, and it will be to the Glory of God that you rise to face God as equals and let God see the betterment of His own creation, and all this can be yours by eating of the fruit, also of God’s own creation. Planting the tree in the midst of the Garden is God’s secret plan, for God is all knowing of yesterday, the day before, tomorrow and the day after. When you take of the fruit today, God already knew that you would long before your own creation and must have already approved of it, if not, why create you and all the other wondrous works knowing you will take of the fruit and then punish you for disobedience when you, and I, are just carrying out His pre-ordained plans?”

Eve looked long at the fruit and said quietly, “We are not disobeying God, we are doing His Will. God wants you to be…to be more in His image, the image He created you. He wants you…and I…to be more like Him”

After a short pause, Eve, raising her voice, asked “Why would God not want us to be better, more good, raised ourselves up higher over the dumb creatures of the Garden?”

Adam looked at the fruit, then looked up at the sky, and lowering his head slowly, looked deep into Eve’s wide unblinking eyes. For long moments neither said a word, both stood rooted, as though any form of movement signaled a sign of betrayal of one’s stand, a softening, a tacit defeat.

Finally, Eve took a step towards Adam and, with firmness in her voice, said, “Be a master of yourself, be what you are meant to be…a true and pleasing image of God”

Once again Adam looked up into the sky. All he saw was a vast expanse of the pale blue sky with scattered white clouds drifting lazily. He was searching for something, a word, a sign, anything to tell him what he must or must not do, or how he should answer Eve’s fast and clever words. His mind was confused and his heart troubled. Troubled by a strange feeling of being lost, not knowing in which direction he must now go. Surely if he needed God’s help, it is now.

Adam’s eyes grew misty, feeling a little faint, his heartbeat started to quicken. He could feel his blood rushing to his head. His eyes slowly settled on the fruit in Eve’s hand. It looked fresh and the exposed part where Eve took a bite looked even redder now, as if being exposed to the air has energized it, made it come alive. It seems to be calling him. He could almost hear it speak to him in his head, and then reaching down to his heart, for his being.

It promised him something, though not clear what. It urged him to do what he felt he could not do. For a brief moment, he felt a sense of destiny, a dark destiny, and yet he saw fleeting flashes of light, blindingly bright for a moment and then receded just as quickly. He was confused, frightened, elated, joyful and sad.

Adam closed his eyes, clenched his fist, tensed every muscle in his body and held his breath. In this brief moment of anguish, he heard Eve’s voice. It appeared distant, small, but clear and with a commanding resonance, “Eat”

Familiar words, blurred images began to swirl in his head. He tried hard to think. A blank numbness was all he felt.

He felt heavy.

He asked himself, “Is this God’s plan?” and he thought he heard an answer coming from the deepest recesses of his mind. It sounded like a “Yes” and yet…

He asked another question, “Is God testing me, after testing Eve…and Eve did what God had wanted…had planned for to do? It is true Eve did not die after she took of the fruit, and Satan, also of God’s creation and…sent to test us…test our obedience to God…but…which way? Disobedience of His warning not to take of the fruit; or, disobedience of not doing His Will, His Plan.

Adam wanted to open his eyes, but was afraid, afraid to look into Eve’s eyes and see an answer he might dread to see…an answer that will force upon him to take an action…an action he never wanted to take at all.

Eve’s voice then intruded into his troubled thoughts, and softly but firmly she said in a tone of voice he had never heard before, it sounded lower, it sounded different, it sounded like someone else was speaking through her, “Adam…God fashioned you from the clay of the earth and to the earth you shall return, and until you do, you have a destiny to fulfill, a destiny ordained from the very beginning by the eternal God who was here before the beginning; you are to rise above the other creatures as befitting your creation in God’s image. You are meant to be master of all other creatures as God is master over you; you are a man, you walk and talk like God, you talk with God, you eat from the labors of the dumb creatures, you alone come into God’s presence, you are made for great doings, great things await you, you are to be great as God intended; as one made in His own image…to be all that, you must be free, free to chose, free to decide!”

After a moment of silence, Eve said loudly, “To be free, you must choose. You must choose to be free. You must want to be free”

Adam opened his eyes. He saw a new Eve, she looked strong and panting with labored breathing, with beads of sweat clustering on her forehead, she also looked sad, or was it disappointment? He wasn’t sure. He looked deep into Eve’s eyes now and saw that it appeared to glow. More than that, it appeared that her whole body was glowing, a bright shimmering glow.

Once again Eve slowly lifted the hand that held the fruit and said loudly, “Eat and be free!”

Adam looked passed Eve and vaguely in the distance he saw some creatures wallowing in the mud by the bank of the river, their bodies covered in dark mud. They appeared contented, unhurried in their individual pursuit of the kind of happiness only they knew how. He felt a sudden sense of calm; his thoughts appeared untroubled. He felt happy, glad that he can now make a decision.

His mind wandered back in time, to the time when God made Eve from his bone, to be of one flesh with him. It is only now that it occurred to him to ask why. Yes, God said she was to be a helper to him, but is it all there is? Why do I have this great liking for Eve, a liking different from my liking for the other creatures in the garden that God brought to me, before God brought Eve to me? The other creatures helped me too, long before Eve was made. God gave me Eve. God intended that I should like Eve above all others? What if I don’t eat of the fruit? Will God in His anger punish Eve alone? Can I save Eve if I lie to God? Once again his mind was troubled.

Adam fixed his eyes on Eve and he knew that Eve could not be punished alone. Eve, he thought, is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh, and we are one as God intended, and we must be punished as one, one punishment for two wrongs. He felt calm again.

“Give me the fruit”, said Adam, stretching out his hand.

Chapter Three

Adam opened his eyes. The sky is still dark, but he knew it will be light soon, the sun will rise up into the sky and brightness will spread on the land. Already he could hear the morning creatures starting to stir and chatter. He turned and looked at Eve next to him, still asleep. The events of the previous day came flooding back. He pushed them all aside. He had decided. He and Eve were punished together, as one, as it should be.

In the cool calm morning of his first day away from the Garden, he feels strangely at peace. He feels free, but not quite sure free from what. A new kind of feeling he had never felt before, never knew it was possible to feel that way. He suddenly realized he had no work to do like what he had to do every morning in the Garden, tending to the plants and creatures and waiting for God to come round, to give instructions for the work to be done for the day. He suddenly felt lost, empty.

He pushed those new and strange feelings aside and began to re-live the unexpected happenings of yesterday. Things went so fast. But it was the final decision he made to eat the fruit that he wants to think about now.

Why did he do it? The reason seemed unimportant now; it was what he did that mattered. And yet the reason would not go away. He had to ask himself again…why did he do it, to disobey God and eat the fruit God had forbidden?

It seemed so simple, the reason had nothing to do with all the things Eve said to make him eat the fruit, things he could not understand well, things which sounded good and grand when Eve said it, or was it someone else saying through her? No, it was none of those things, things about being great and doing great things, to rise above all the other dumb creatures, to be free, free to decide and to chose, something about destiny and how important all these things were and finally to be like God.

To be like God. Adam was not sure what that really meant; it sounded proper, right when Eve said it…if God is good and to be like God is to be good? But what does it mean…to be good. What is good…and how is God good?

Yes, Adam wanted to be good, something he never thought of or wanted until now; and to be good like God…what does that mean? He never understood. No, Adam almost said aloud; it was none of those things that made me eat the fruit; I just did not want Eve to be punished alone. Now, with the calm leisure of an untroubled mind, Adam began to ask himself why.

Adam had never thought so long and so deeply before. He had never needed to think much about anything. The Garden and God gave him all he needed and God was always there to give instructions when he had any problems to worry about. But now he had to think all alone and to think long and hard. His mind is now troubled once again, not for having to make any decision, as he did when deciding to eat the fruit or not, but to find reasons now for the decision he had made. Reasons seem so important now.

Why is it that he now feels the need to find reasons for his decisions when throughout his life until now he never had or felt the need to? He just could not understand the sudden urgency to think about finding reasons and to argue with himself as to what he did was right or wrong, and good or bad? Why? Was the reason he gave himself not the real one, and he was not being truthful?

He turned towards the still sleeping Eve, hoping the sight of her could help him find the reasons that seemed so clear when he took the fruit from Eve’s hand; but now appeared so difficult to find, perhaps he was afraid to admit to himself the real reason.

He looked at the dead creature’s skin that Eve’s body is now covered with. Now for the first time he has the ease of mind to take a closer look. The skin is from a large furry creature that burrows into the ground by day and comes out at night to feed. It has a light brown color with black stripes down its back and God has often referred to how the creature keeps itself warm at night with its furry skin.

Covered now in this creature’s skin, Eve looks strange, different, as she has never been covered in anything before in the Garden.

The skin is from a creature that had died sometime ago in the Garden and God had taken it from the ground, pulled out the dried bones and flesh and covered Eve’s body with it. Adam could not quite understand then why God did that and all the more so when God did the same for him.

As Adam looked at Eve now covered in the skin, which seemed to make the gentle rising and falling of her chest from her breathing more pronounced, unfamiliar thoughts well up from somewhere deep inside him; thoughts he never had before since God brought Eve to him so long ago. What are these thoughts?…thoughts which had not come to him before, but only now when Eve’s body is covered in a long dead furry creature’s skin?

In a half crouch, her body in a curl with her legs pulled almost to her chest, and facing away from Adam, Eve seems to take on the likeness of the dead creature whose skin she is now covered with. Her round shoulders blend perfectly with the contour of the striped furry skin, and for a moment Eve’s hair and the fur seems to look the same. Adam begin to wonder whether the dead creature has now come alive again in Eve, or that she is now the living spirit of the dead creature.

Not knowing why, Adam feels a sudden surge of fear, and yet a strange excitement stirred in him. He feels feverish. For the first time in his life he felt warm and cold all at the same time and began to sweat. He turned his body slowly away from Eve and looked into the far distance, of high brown hills and tree-covered flatlands. A question now keeps crowding out all other thoughts…what do we do now?

Stay here which is just a little distance away from the Garden, and hope that in time God’s anger will subside and take them back into the Garden again and have nothing more to do with Satan…and might even beat him if he sees him again, like beating the other creatures of the Garden which sometimes stealthily eat the newly grown vegetables? Yes, that may make God happy again. Perhaps Eve will say something when she wakes up and decide on this. She seems different now, talk more and loudly and know things he did not know she knew. She gets angry easily and her bodily movements are stiff.

Shall I wake Eve up now? The question surprised him as he had never needed to ask the right or wrong or good or bad or whether or not to do anything concerning Eve. Is he afraid Eve might not be happy?…that too surprised him as whether or not Eve was happy or not was of no concern to him before. What is happening?

Adam turned towards Eve. The sun is getting higher in the sky and it's getting warmer. He reached over and tapped Eve on her shoulder. Eve stirred slightly and turned slowly, hesitatingly, faced Adam and looked unblinkingly into Adam’s eyes. Not knowing why, Adam felt startled. There is something different about Eve’s eyes; they seem to blaze with an inner fire, a defiant glow. For long moments, neither spoke.

Eve then looked away from Adam, sat up with knees pulled towards her chest and casually turned her head towards Eden. Adam followed and sat close to Eve.

The furry skin is a little large and as she sits up, it falls a little away from her shoulders. Having to wear anything for the first time, the skin is uncomfortable, too warm and during the night while Eve slept on the hard stony ground, the dried hard edges cut into her skin, leaving reddish marks on her shoulders.

“Adam…” Eve asked quietly, “…is God still angry?”

Adam remained quiet for a while, and moments later with sadness in his voice answered simply “Yes”

Adam then stood up, turned towards the distant hills and said with as much command in his voice as he could muster, said, “We must go find food” and started to walk away from Eve. Eve stood up but without moving said, “What if God is no longer angry and want us to go back to the garden?” Adam turned, looked at Eve with eyes moist with held-back tears answered, “God’s anger is mighty, our punishment will be long; we want to be free, be like God, live like God”

The answer startled Eve. She almost started to shake with fear and felt a sudden chill ran through her…something she had never felt before…and she choked on her question, “Live like God, how, where?”

Adam did not answer but started to walk towards the distant hills.

Eve, not following, looked at Adam’s bare back still covered with dirt from sleeping on the ground. His lower body is covered with the hide of a creature that once lived near the river. God had fashioned a garment with the hide to cover up his lower body and had said then to Adam something about the fruit would bring him knowledge of good and evil and with it the knowledge of shame, shame of his own nakedness, shame which the naked creatures of the Garden would not have knowledge of and never would. When God said those words to Adam, Eve had no understanding of what that meant even though God had already covered up her body with a furry creature’s skin.

As Eve now recalls it and begin to think about God’s words, it suddenly occur to Eve that God too was covered up, though not in any dead creature’s skin, but with something she had never seen before, but it moved like the swaying of tree leaves in the wind.

Looking at Adam now as he walks away from her with purposeful strides of his long legs, Eve can see a different Adam, no longer limp and lifeless as when they first left the gate of the Garden. Adam had turned back then a many times, perhaps expecting or hoping that God would call them back into the Garden, but God never did.

Now as Adam walked further away from the Garden, he never looked back. There is an unfamiliar hardness in his shoulders, and his head is tilted a little towards the sky. Eve knows she has to follow Adam wherever he goes now; there is nothing else to think about, not even how or why she so much wanted Adam to eat the fruit. Everything is getting hazy now and seems quite unimportant. Today, tomorrow and the day after is what is important now, and for that, she must be with Adam. Eve ran after Adam to catch up.

As Eve caught up with Adam, she asked urgently, “Where are we going?” “Away from Eden”, Adam answered loudly, with eyes fixed on the distant hills.

They must have walked a long distance. Adam had stopped and looked back and Eden is now a small dark green patch in the distant horizon and the river running through it is no longer visible.

Adam then looked away and gazed in the direction of the distant hills, now appearing nearer and larger, and after some long moments said, more to himself, “Inside Eden is so small and outside Eden is so big. Is there no end?”

Turning towards Eve, Adam said, “We rest here”, and sits down on the ground which is now no longer as stony, hard and dry, but overgrown with lush vegetation and some trees which are different from those in the Garden. The trees here are larger, with huge trunks and big roots that rise above the ground. Eve sat down next to Adam, and reaching out plucked a handful of ground vegetation, feeling and turning it in her hand said, “The plants here are not the same as in the Garden. God made another garden, bigger?” Adam was quiet for a while, and then said, “I think God made one Garden for us and another big Garden outside?”

Just as Adam finished those words, a loud angry roar from a creature was heard a short distance away, then followed by sounds of heavy fast running footsteps, as if one large creature is chasing another. In sudden fear Adam grabbed Eve’s hand, stood up, clenched his other fist, looked towards the direction of the roar, and said, “Look, what creature is that?”

Eve released her hand from Adam’s, bent down and picked up a fist-sized stone, and said, “These creatures are not from the Garden; they show anger to other creatures…”, and with greater urgency and fear in her voice, continued, “They will do the same to us…they are different…I think they eat each other”

Adam looked at Eve for some moments, and sensed more changes in her. He doesn’t quite know what it is…what exactly he is sensing…what is it about Eve now that’s different, but he knows she is different now.

She knows things fast. She is quicker with words, and her bodily movements are stronger. She speaks louder. She walks faster. And happier, sadder…Adam is not sure which.

There is no thinking of these things now. The two big creatures are snarling fiercely at each other, showing long sharp fangs, and circling round slowly, every muscle rippled, tensed, and with a speed Adam had never seen in any creature in the Garden, the two creatures pounced at each other, roaring, biting, clawing, entwined in a tangled mass of bloodied flesh. Never had Adam and Eve witnessed such ferocity. Eve was shaking with fear and crouching down on her knees, started to cry. Though having great fear himself, Adam felt a sudden surge of heat running through his body; he was afraid, his palm was sweating, his breathing quickened and yet felt strong. He had never hurt or taken the life of any creature in the Garden. He and Eve ate only the plants and the fruits of the Garden. But now Adam thought he knows why the two creatures want to hurt and also to kill each other.

He thinks, feels, he is as strong and ferocious as them and can hurt and kill them himself. Fear has now made him brave.

They watched the deadly fight, with horror, revulsion and, inexplicably fascination. The blood, the cries of pain and raw exposed flesh resulting from deliberate violence were something they had never seen before, nor thought it possible, that one creature would, could with so much anger inflict such intense pain and violence on another creature. Eve felt a little faint from the sight of the blood, reddening the green grasses on the ground and thunderous cries of pain. Then it was all over. There was an eerie silence, except for the labored panting of the victorious creature. The vanquished creature lay motionless, whimpering and gasping for air. The victor, just as bloodied with open wounds all over its body, sits on its hunches, watching with cold expectant eyes the last dying breaths of the vanquished.

Moments later, the victor tore into the dead creature’s body with its bloody fangs, stripping off skin and fur and bit off large chunks of flesh, chewed and swallowed. Never had Adam and Eve seen such a frenzy of feeding by any creature on the flesh of another. A cold fear ran through Adam, and yet he felt an uneasy connection with the victor.

He could smell the burning odor of the drying blood and, in spite of his revulsion, could almost taste the raw bloody flesh himself, and he began to wonder what it actually taste like to eat the flesh of a creature. It frightened him that he could have such thoughts, and yet….

Eve startled Adam out of his thoughts, asking urgently, “We must get away”

Adam stood rooted, unable to decide. He wanted to keep watching the bloody scene as the victor has now tore open the torso and started to eat the insides. Adam had never known what is inside the body of any creature, and the sight made him curious.

Once again Eve spoke loudly, “Adam, we must….”, the sound of Eve’s voice must have been heard by the feeding creature as it suddenly jerked it’s head up and looked in their direction, scanning left and right with cold unblinking eyes, fresh blood dripping from its mouth. Instinctively Adam and Eve dove into a low crouch, and held their breath. The creature began to walk slowly towards them.

Adam had never known such gripping fear. Eve grabbed his hand hard, and he saw the same stomach-wrenching fear in Eve’s eyes, pleading for a decision of what to do next. Adam stood up quickly, pulling Eve with him and shouted, “Run!” With that they turned and ran towards the highlands, uncaringly stepping on sharp stones and thorny bushes that cut painful welts into their bare soles. They jumped over sandy crevices, their hearts pounding hard and fast for the first time in their lives. Coming to a stretch of flat hard ground they gathered speed, and the fear they had now seemed to energize them, and perhaps thinking, rightly or wrongly, that they had outran the creature. They ran without once looking back. On reaching a small rocky hill, they scrambled up the steep slope, rounded the top and just as they gingerly make their way down the other side, Eve, weight down by the heavy furry skin, stumbled and fell and would have tumbled uncontrollably down the steep slope had not Adam held onto her hand. Just then a menacing growl from behind was heard. Adam turned and saw the creature standing on top of the hill, panting, looking down on them triumphantly.

Adam and the creature stared fixedly into each other’s eyes. Neither seemed to want to make the first move; perhaps both were too exhausted, or perhaps on the creature’s part there was no real hurry. In any case both were seeing another creature of a kind they had never before seen, and not too sure what to make of each other.

Adam felt a tug on his hand, turned to look at Eve and was surprised to see a lot less fear in her eyes. There was no time to wonder why. Eve then picked up a fist-sized stone, and with knowing movements in her eyes directed Adam to do the same. It seems the only thing to do, as running away is no longer a means of escape. They now for the first time in their lives had to fight; to kill another creature of God’s creation so that they might live. To stay alive seems so important to them now. Living in the Garden, the thought of death and dying had never crossed their minds. Good or bad is also of no concern now.

Adam bent down, picked up a stone and waited, still looking into the creature’s eyes. The creature is not very large, about half the size of Adam, with a large head, long pointed ears, two fangs protruding from the side of its mouth, and round paws with curved claws digging into the ground. It has a dark almost black coat of fur. But its bloodshot eyes never seem to blink. They watch Adam and Eve now with a steady gaze, and they widen suddenly with a look of alertness as Adam picks up a stone.

Adam could sense hesitation in the creature, which now swung its head around as if to look for something. It gave a loud cry, a shrill growl that came from deep inside, that carried and spread across the vast flat emptiness of the land. Moments passed. As Adam tensed every muscle of his body, expecting an attack at any moment, out from behind the creature emerged another creature, much bigger, with a darker coat of fur.

Adam went limp, and almost lost the strength to hold the stone in his hand. Looking into the second creature’s eyes, Adam sees it is different from the first, not just bigger, but it shows no sign of any hesitant gesture, its gaze looking out from slightly drooping eyelids tells Adam it has fought many battles before, and won, and the next one will be no different. Out of the corner of his eye, Adam could see Eve, still sitting on the ground, almost shaking with fear. Sensing Adam’s concern, Eve stood up and held his hand. Her hand is cold, and he too feels a chill running through his body.

And again neither side made any move. The second creature suddenly jerked its head up to look at the sky, and the next moment a brilliant flash of lightning cut across a dark cloudy sky, streaked downwards, struck a tall tree, and a deafening bang reverberated across the open plain, to be followed by another and another, and torrential rain poured down. The creatures turned and went out of sight.

Adam dropped the stone, looked at Eve whose furry skin is now completely drenched and looking smaller with the fur plastered down as the rain ran off it and dripping onto the ground in large drops, and said softly, “Let’s go” They slip-and-slide their way down the wet and slippery slope to the bottom of the hill. The rain had not let up and there was no shelter of any kind in sight. They stood at the bottom of the hill and let the rain poured on them. Neither said a word nor looked at each other, perhaps the sound of the pouring rain and the constant clap of thunder would have drowned out any attempt to talk. In any case there is nothing to say.

Both knew the other must be similarly glad that they were spared a horribly painful death had the two creatures attacked and had not been rescued by the thunder flashes and torrential downpour. The rain, heavy as it is, is more than welcomed. It washed away not just the mud on their bodies and the skins, but the tiredness, aches, pains and fear.

The rainwater is now gradually getting colder, and Eve’s lips are turning a pale blue and she began to shiver a little. Eve then stuttered, “We must find a place”, and Adam pointing to a far away tree with a large spreading canopy replied, “Lets go to that big tree” They began to walk slowly, as if there was no point in running, and on reaching the tree which provided some shelter though the rain, filtered by the canopy, comes down as a fine misty spray. They immediately sat down on the wet soggy ground, resting their backs against the tree’s massive trunk and, as if by an unspoken agreement, both closed their eyes, not concerned with the continuous rain, the cold, or whatever might come next.

When the rain stopped, it was getting dark. In the distance, flocks of flying creatures can be seen flying towards some hills, perhaps homing back to roost. The sounds of the creatures of the night can be heard and getting louder in the chilly air of the coming night.

Adam opened his eyes, and as if with foreknowledge, Eve opened hers. The skins they wore were soaked and heavy, caked in damp mud, with a musky odor of dried sweat, and no longer kept the body dry or warm, and now quite uncomfortable. With a swift absent minded move of her right hand Eve pulled the top part down to her waist. Some moments passed with each occupied in their own private thoughts. Eve then felt Adam’s gaze, turned toward him and saw that he was looking intently at her, at her upper body, and then quickly shifted his eyes away. She thought nothing of it. She started to examine herself.

Her legs were lacerated, bruises on her feet, arms and hands. Her toes and spaces in between were all stuffed full of mud mixed with small blades of torn grass. She cautiously felt her breasts and found them sore to the touch due to being chafed by the rough underside of the dead creature’s skin. She feels very tired now, and very hungry.

The setting sun is now almost gone and in the gathering darkness there is an uncomfortable and eerie stillness in the cooling air.

Adam stared into the semi darkness. The distant hills they had wanted to get to looms over the grayish plain, and as the darkness grew around them, the hills seemed to grow higher and bigger, looking more ominous. His body too has scars all over and the aches and pains are unimportant now as hunger and thirst begins to take over. What is it he is feeling now, Adam asks himself involuntarily. Foolishness? Regret? Anger?…the punishment don’t fit the crime? He is surprised that he has such thoughts at all; where do they all come from?

And the strangest thing was why he had to, felt the need to, quickly look away from Eve when she saw him looking at her body just now. He had seen her body before, right from the beginning when God brought her to him; when he woke up from the deep sleep that God put him into. Eve was the first thing he saw. She looked almost like him, but different from all the other creatures of the Garden, uncovered in fur or hair, just like him.

Though there was no sign of disapproval from Eve just now, he felt…it was not right…he felt bad…why? With a need to summon up courage, he turned to look at Eve again.

It was dark. He could barely make out Eve’s face. She appeared to be staring at the ground in front of her, her hands held loosely on her lap. He could feel that she was very tired, and dejected. His eyes unconsciously wandered to her upper body. In the darkness, he could make out the light grayish outline of her torso, her round narrow shoulders drooping and hunching forward a little. Her breasts were in total darkness, hidden behind the shadow of her arm. Adam found it strange that his eyes lingered on. There was nothing new to see, and yet….Eve’s voice startled him when she said, “I am hungry”

Adam quickly answered, “Yes, I am hungry too”, looking into but not seeing clearly Eve’s face. And there was silence…because what could be done about it? Just then behind black gloomy clouds, the moon comes serenely into view and shines through. Its eerie blue light strikes the open plain, lighting up patches of wet ground and puddles of water with a faint silvery glow. A quiet peace falls all around. “Can we find things to eat?” Eve asked hopefully. “I don’t know”, Adam answered slowly, and added, "Let me look around"

With that Adam got up, took a quick look round and headed out into the darkness.

With Adam gone for a while, Eve felt a sudden sense of foreboding. She then feels a presence, not of Adam...but a creature, approaching her in the darkness, with soft measured footfalls. She leapt to her feet, went round to the other side of the tree trunk, flattened her back against it and waited, not knowing what else to do. A deep low growl came from behind, and Eve could feel the tree trunk reverberated. She froze, held her breath, dug her fingers into the tree, wanted to but unable to scream. She felt very cold. She closed her eyes and in her mind called for Adam.

An unexpected silence followed. No sound of movements or footfalls. Everything seemed unnaturally still. Then a sudden ferocious scream pierced the air. It was Adam. From the other side of the tree Eve heard horrifying sounds of bodies falling to the ground, tumbling about, rolling, flesh and bone hitting hard ground, scrapping against sand and stones, loud cracks of snapping of twigs and branches. A roar of pain and defiance from a creature, then a dull thud of stone hitting down on flesh and bone, followed by another and another, and then it stopped. There was silence save for the sounds of heavy labored breathing.

Eve still shaking with fear turns round from behind the tree and sees in the pale blue moonlit semi darkness the crouching shadow of Adam. On the ground, laying on its side is the lifeless body of a large dark furry creature, its jaws frozen in an angry snarl, exposing blood-stained ivory fangs, and a widening pool of glistening blood turning a dark purple in the moon light.

Neither moved nor said a word for long moments. Then Adam still holding a stone in his hand slowly looks up at Eve. It is then that Eve sees vaguely the long bloody scratches on Adam’s face and body.

A warm breeze begins to blow and the moon is slowly covered in clouds.

“Good work, Adam, good work”, a soft but clear voice with an unseen smile comes from a short distance away in the surrounding darkness.

Adam and Eve made no reaction. They knew who it was.

Adam stayed crouched over the carcass, his body went limp, dropped the stone, and let out a long sigh. Eve leaned against the tree and looked intently into the darkness, but saw nothing.

“More is to come, more is to come. Adam, see that bright twinkling light in the sky?…walk…use it as your guide…you will find fresh flowing water. Wash with it and it will heal your wounds. Eat of the fruits you find there and you will be well. And Eve, be by Adam’s side. As I promised you, you will be the First Lady of all of God's Creation, Mother of all Humanity to come. Both your minds will have knowledge and untold wisdom beyond your present comprehension; you will venture out of this misery soon and see the wondrous beauty of God's Works here and beyond; set free your imagination, enjoy the limitless bounty of the fruits of the earth as God said you would, and with your unbound feet, walk the Path of Destiny that awaits you both as it was ordained since the beginning of Time; and your sacred consummation now will bring to fruition and final completion of God's Plan to give dominance to you and your children over the whole of God’s Creation”, and with the voice drifting away like a dying echo said finally, “And I’ll be there to see it….remember my words"

Eve looked into the dark shadows of Adams eyes, asking a question which Adam already knew…do we listen to Satan again? Adam muttered, “What else can we do?”

Adam and Eve walked into the darkness, following the twinkling light in the sky.

A sound of running water bubbling over rocks is heard. The air is suddenly cooler, fresher and lifted the tired spirits of the two walking figures. The moon appeared again behind the clouds and once again bathed everything with a blue silvery light. Their footsteps quickened. A river comes into view, its rushing waters seem to sparkle in the moonlight. Adam and Eve discarded their animal skins and cautiously waded into the river and sat neck deep near the bank. The water was cold, but soon it turned into a comforting balm, cleaning Adam’s bloody wounds and soothing his aching body. Eve dipped her head into the flowing water, the current streaming her long hair away downstream, gently swaying like the waving tail of a lazily swimming fish.

As the cool calming waters gently soothe away aching muscles and painful wounds, each are now deep in their own private thoughts. The nightmarish events just passed began to replay themselves. It all seemed impossible to have ever happened.

And Adam had to relive the horrifying act of killing one of God’s creatures, smashing its head with a stone, unable to stop, not until it laid lifeless, dead. Never had he seen so much blood, gushing out, splashing onto his hands and face, the nauseous stench of blood still lingering on his skin.

How could he had done it? It was a creature of God, a fearsome creature, but a creature of God, like those in the Garden.

But Eve was in danger, he had no other thoughts then, there was no other way to save Eve. Was it right doing what he did because he had to save her? He had never needed to think about right or wrong before in the Garden. God was always there to say what was right or wrong. Now he had to decide for himself, and he had to decide quickly. He push the thought away, his head is feeling dull and heavy.

Adam looked around. In the pale moonlight, he could see the river meandering away into the distance. On its bank he could see the dark silhouette of large trees, with branches dipping almost onto the river. It reminded him of the Garden. He felt a sudden pain in his heart. He felt lost.

Adam turned to look at Eve. She had her head in the water and appeared to be vigorously rubbing her hair between her hands. Her head surfaced for a brief moment and went quickly down again to continue with the rubbing. This went on again and again. It was the first time he had seen Eve doing this. He could not help but watch and wonder. Finally she stopped and looked at him.

Eve was waist-deep in the water, her long wet hair plastered against her cheeks and shoulders, the falling droplets of water shimmered and sparkled in the moonlight. It was too dark for Adam to see her smiling eyes.

Eve turned quickly and waded clumsily towards the bank. As she clambered up the gently sloping bank, the foamy water shimmering in the moonlight cascaded down her bare back, splashing noisily back into the river. Once on level ground, Eve brushed and squeezed with her hands the water out of her hair, and shaking her head vigorously. She then turned to look at Adam. He is still in the water and looking towards the opposite bank, quite motionless. Eve looks at her own nakedness, and for the first time since they went into the river felt an uncomfortable sense of…something which she could not quite form clearly in her mind. All she knew was that she had to cover up her body with the animal skins…not really knowing why….and why only now?

She picked up both the skins and went back into the river, and begins to dip them into the river and awkwardly splashes them around, not knowing how else to get the mud and twigs off them as she had never done or seen it done before, though she had seen the furry animals dip and splash around in the river in the Garden to clean themselves.

“Adam”, Eve calls out loudly, “Take your skin”, and Adam turning quickly wade towards her.

She is waist deep in water. The slow current swirled, parted, met again behind her and gently flowed away downstream. He took the skin from her hand. It was heavy and Adam was surprised that she could hold it up to him with one hand. He waded to a rock near the bank, placed the skin on it, wondering how to get the water out of the skin. He squeezed parts of it with his hands, seeing the water draining through his fingers. Eve came up next to him, put her own skin on another rock, watched the process, and said, “We do together” She picked one end, and Adam, not knowing what is to follow, picked the other end. There was a long moment when neither moved, then Eve turned the skin one way, saying, “Turn the skin” As they twist and turn the skin, water starts to drip out and the more they turn, more water is squeezed out. There is a look of pride on Eve’s face. They then worked on Eve’s skin. Though not waterlogged, the skins are still wet. They stood looking at the skins, seeming to wonder why was it so important to want to wear them.

Was it because they were made by God and given them to wear?

It was still dark, but there was enough of moonlight for Adam and Eve to see each other’s body clearly. With the heartache of leaving the Garden overshadowed by the unending horrific events of the last two days, and having found what seems to be a safe place, Adam and Eve look and see each other unhurriedly now. They see each other’s body so much clearer, sharper to the eye now, even in the moonlight. Back in the Garden, their bodies appeared covered, not with any skins, but with a glow, a soft golden shine. The blinding shine is now gone and their own skins can now be seen clearly, just like the rough and scaly skins of the other creatures in the Garden.

For a brief moment they each saw the other’s intense gaze, and immediately averted their eyes away from each other, and they silently took their own skin and clambered up the bank, keeping a distance apart away from each other. They put on their wet skins, laid down on the grassy bank, the tiredness blocking out any more thoughts, and immediately fell asleep.

Adam opened his eyes and the blinding shaft of sunlight painfully stabbed his eyes. Covering his eyes with the palm of his hand, he looked around and not seeing Eve, stood up quickly.

There in some distance away near the riverbank he sees Eve.

She is under a tree, hitting at some fruits with a stick. Adam walked over, picked up a fruit from the ground and said, “The fruits here are not the same as in the Garden; can we eat it?” Eve, still trying to get at more fruits replied breathlessly, “I ate some. It’s sweet” Adam took a bite, yes, it’s sweet, and began to pick up more fruits from the ground to eat. A splash in the water is heard and turning towards the river, they see a water creature not found in the Garden. It is large, with a scaly body, a long tail, swims like a fish, but with its head above water. It looks fearsome and swimming towards the bank. Adam said urgently, “We must leave” They picked up whatever fruits they could and got to higher ground. They soon came to some low hills, at the bottom of which are some large holes, big enough for them to sit and lie down inside. It’s dry, has a good wide view of the river below. They went into one and started to eat the fruits. It was their first meal after two days.

“We can stay here”, Adam said. Eve made no immediate reply, then asked, “Until God finds us and we can return to the Garden?” “I don’t know” Adam said slowly, then continued, “I don’t know God’s plan”

The days passed and the only food Adam and Eve had were the fruits from the tree. One morning Adam saw some half-eaten fruits, each with a single bite, discarded on the floor, appearing as if thrown. He did not ask Eve about it as for some days now, she gets angry with him for which he sees no reason. And at other times she was happy while gathering the fruits and cleaning their animal skins in the river. Adam also noticed that the small wounds and sores on their bodies heal slower and tiny flying creatures come to feed on the blood of the wounds and sores at night. Adam thought maybe that was why Eve was not happy at times.

In time the fruits from the tree got less and less and they had to find other trees with fruits to eat, but were afraid to venture too far from the safety of the hole they spent the days and nights in.

One day dark clouds gathered and lightning flashed across the sky, striking tall trees and dry grasses which caught fire, burning a large tract of open ground in front of the hole. Creatures large and small ran away, but some could not get away fast enough and were burned to death, their burnt carcasses lay scattered everywhere. The acrid smell of their burnt flesh was carried by the wind to the hole. It was like nothing Adam and Eve had experienced before. It was a stench at first, but gradually it turned into something strangely pleasant. It caused a feeling of hunger. God had never permitted Adam and Eve the eating of a creature’s flesh in the Garden.

Evening came and the hunger increased. The smell of burnt flesh still hung in the air. Eve said, “I am hungry” and Adam looked into Eve’s eyes, and saw what was unspoken.

He looked out into the open plain, saw the burnt carcasses, some with other living creatures feeding on them. Without replying, Adam went out of the hole, down to the open plain below and returned later holding a piece of burnt meat and put it on a small rock in the hole. Adam and Eve looked at it. Long moments passed. “Will God be angry?”, Eve asked. “I don’t know”, Adam replied after a while. “There is no more fruits, we will not live. God will not want us to die”

Chapter Four

A scream comes from inside the hole. It is a scream from great pain. It reverberates around the inside of the hole, then out of the hole and spread out across the open plain below. Some creatures startled, looked up momentarily, then returned to their daily feeding. As more intermittent screams came and went for the greater part of the morning, the creatures no longer looked up or were startled.

As the burning sun is high in the sky, the screaming stopped and there is silence.

Then a sudden scream comes from inside the hole again. This time it is different from the first. The scream is not loud, it is tiny, soft, but it is strong and gets stronger and louder with every scream. It is not a scream of pain. It is a scream of defiance. A mother is borne.

THE BEGINNING