ADAM
"Eve," I say realizing the deepness in my voice and the darker tone. Eve I think and look at her face, her eyes widened with fear, her lip a straight line, her nose is flared. Oh no, she is scared of me. An aggressive tweeting starts up behind me and look back to see the birds wrestling over a piece of leftover fruit. They are pecking too viscously it makes me think of the other animals, the animals that Eve...
"EVE!" I scream as I see her running away. I start running as fast as I can try to catch her before something else does. But it is not the animals she is running from, it is me. She thinks I'm the monster, the beast that screamed at her... "Eve," I call again and again, but she doesn't stop. She is only getting further out of my sight. "Faster Adam," I demand myself, "catch her." I'm huffing and puffing unable to breathe air into my lungs fast enough. "Eve..." I call again when I finally stop, but through deep breathes I see nothing. She is gone. "Please come back," I say, but I know she can't hear me, she doesn't want to either way.
You shouldn't have yelled at her, why did you yell at her? I move to the stream and slurp up some cool water. She screamed in your ear to wake up, that is why you are mad. I reason with myself and agree, yeah she did. She woke you up to see if the animals were alright. What about us? Are we going to be alright? Did she see the birds pecking each other's eyes out? Maybe she didn't want to leave me behind. But she did leave me behind. She ran the opposite direction deeper into Eden and who knows what has changed since before.
"God," I call out as I rise and move in the direction Eve had disappeared. "If you can hear me, please keep her safe. I'm not sure what's happening with Eden and the plants and animals in it, but she's out there. Eve is out there all alone." I look again to see if I could see her brown hair through the see of trees. "Please keep her safe," I rise up from the stream and pick up my pace, but have no idea where she might have gone. We had walked so far yesterday and now she is going to backtrack as if yesterday didn't even happen. Anger fills up inside me again and I hesitate. She ran away from me because I was angry, I relax my shoulders and unclench my fingers. "God help me with my temper; help me to be the man Eve wants me to be. The man I know I can be." I feel silly talking to the sky like Eve does, but it doesn't feel right to say it in my head when I don't know if he can hear me anymore. "Come back," I say to both God and Eve. "Please".
"Eve, I am so sorry" I call out to the trees hoping my voice will travel and she will forgive me. "Please come out, I will help you find the animals. I will never raise my voice again," I continue to scan the trees for her but Eden remains still. "Eve please come back, I am so sorry and-"my mouth hangs open as I watch a figure move slowly out of the bushes. "Eve?" I move towards her but she stands with her arms crossed at her chest. Give her your grand apology speech I force myself to move closer to face her, to relax and try and remain clam.
"Eve, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you" she looked down but I wanted her to look to me to believe that I was truly sorry "I know my actions scared you, and they scared me too." That got her attention "please don't run away from me, please help me to be better." I held out my hand hoping she would move from around the bush but she stayed in her spot. Her eyes remained fixated on me. "Pleaseeeeeeeeeee" I sing out raising both hands she gives a small smile, she tried to hide it but I saw it. "Please eve, let's get through this...Together" she moved from around the bush and I thought she was going to run again but this time she ran into my arms and enveloped me in a hug.
"Don't ever be scary like that again, alright?" she said squeezing me tighter.
"Never ever will I intentionally do anything that might hurt you again, I promise." She pulled away from the hug and smiled a big grand smile that made all the splinters and worries disappear.
"Shall we go find some of our animal's friends now?" I questioned and she hooked her arm in mine and headed down the path. Thank you I think, thank you giving Eve back to me. I won't take advantage of her presence; I will cherish her and take care of her as you did for us.
As we walked eves bubbly personality returned and all seemed right again with Eden. The sky seemed brighter, the grass seemed to stay green, and we came across only living flowers, thank God for that I couldn't imagine another breakdown this soon to regaining a sense of relief. My feet burned from the ground, all the stones and sticks diving deeper into my flesh. So, we walked on the grass, its smooth soft texture softened the dirt, rocks and sticks on the surface, the barrier of my feet relived at the comfort.
"Usually we see them by now." Eve stated as she stopped in the middle of a field of tall flowers and growing weeds. "It's not like them to hide".
She was right, they would always be moving along the stream, or playing in the trees, or chasing one another through the fields. I saw only old faded paw prints but no animals. "Meredith!" eve called out cupping her hands around her mouth trying to make her voice spread throughout the land but her echo didn't reach far enough for anyone to hear, or if they did hear they didn't care to come.
As she called out I couldn't help but think about us calling to God. "Meredith-"she called out all her furry friends' names but none showed themselves. We called out to God over and over but he didn't answer us, he didn't show himself, he left us alone. Right as I was about to call out a swarm of birds flew overhead blocking the sky of all light. They swopped and weaved as if they were preforming a dance, or running from an invisible monster.
"What are they doing?" eve looked up to them "they usually do not swarm so close-" my eyes followed them as they slowed moved on to a new area and the sky filled once again with a dim light.
"Let's follow them" I was intrigued, I thought that it was strange as well but they were the only animals we saw, so maybe they would lead us to the others. Eve set off before my eyes had a chance to move back to the ground.
"Come on" she said impatiently as she marched in the direction the birds disappeared to. She went from confident to fearful to fearless so quickly that I felt as though she was the complex thing on God's green earth. This women, I think as I jog to catch up with her, this women is amazing, confusing, stubborn, I don't think I will ever fully understand what goes on in her head.
Eve couldn't breathe. She felt as though she had been running for miles but the garden could only be so big. Adam was ahead of her calling for her, it was coming and it was gaining on them. Eve tripped on a fallen tree branch and called out for Adam to slow down, but he was out of her sight. Many yards ahead, Adam had stopped for air in a shallow ditch. His chest burned; he gargled up saliva trying to breathe. As he looked down at himself he suddenly became aware that he was naked and afraid, and eve, he turned slightly but her slim figure wasn't coming. Eve looked down at the red substance dripping down her leg, it stung. Tears filled her eyes, washing over her once Rosie checks. "Adam!!!!" Eve yelled. What's happening? Where are you? She never felt like this before. Adam heard Eve call out in the distance. He tried to respond but his voice was hoarse and weak. He had never lost his strength before. "Eve..." he choked out, but it wasn't loud enough. What have we done?
The King
Their physical appearance was the first to change. As Adam and eve dressed in leafs and covered what they felt most private their confidence grew but their faith wavered. The sky stayed blue though the sun was descending for the day. The grass stayed green but the flowers looked more and more distressed as the day lagged on. As for the animals, they no longer came to Adam and Eve, they moved far away into the darkness of the Garden.
Adam wrapped leaves around himself tighter tying knots on the stems----
The beast must have lost them, while they lost each other. Eve gathered her strength while Adam tried to figure out where his went. Eve hobbled along the broken pathways to find Adam. Adam felt defenseless, he needed protection. He needed to find Eve - if he felt this way Eve must feel even worse. Adam felt the ground around him; he needed something, but what? Eve continued on her journey to find Adam he must not have gotten that far. Something hard and long reached Adams grasp and he yanked it out from the withering leaves. A branch larger in diameter then Adam's fist, he clenched the branch and hoisted himself up. Eve, he thought I'm coming for you. Eve was tired and weak, afraid and alone she thought of calling out to Adam again but what was the point. Leaves crinkled beneath Eve's feet as she found her way past a little ditch. Leaves were woven together like coverage Eve thought and tied the leaves around her. Adam must be close, I can feel it. The trees no longer sang but howled, and every sound made Adam cringe, swinging his branch back and forth. Swoosh. "Ouch!" Adam turned to find Eve. "Adam, that was ...." Eve couldn't find the word to describe what she wanted to say. Adam began to help her up, "Sorry Eve." Sorry? He thought, what does that mean?
Eve stared at Adam for a moment unsure what she was feeling. She looked at his waist and the leaves he had fastened around him and then down at her own. He smiled at her and the way he looked at her and her at him was different,
Different from before.
She wanted him. Adam never realized how long Eve's hair was as it draped over her body almost down to her leafy covered bottom. She was simply perfect and, she was bleeding. "Eve what happened?" Adam asked, dropping down to one knee. Eve blushed unintentionally, not understanding why this gesture made her feel like butterflies were inside her.
"It's strange," Adam said after covering the sticky substance with a wet leaf. "What is it?" Eve asked. Adam played with the red substance along his hand, "I don't know, but it can't be that bad, right? Does it hurt?" Adam questioned. "What?" Eve had never hurt before. "What is hurt?" Eve asked him. "Does your leg... feel funny?" Adam questioned. "Oh yes, very much, but less since I found you." Eve smiled.
Everything felt new and foreign, what were these feelings and words they couldn't describe and what was it about that darn snake.
Even the animals Adam started,
What about them? They are our friends; they must be just as confused as us. Eve turned to see the little lion cub Adam had named eve baring her teeth at them.
Eve, eve called out, remember we are your friends. But the little cub charged them and Adam pulled eve away and kicked the cub away, it scurried away back into the darkness.