CHAPTER 5
I stood there, unwilling to ruin their moment. There was something precious yet dangerous in it, questions started to assail my mind. Was this truly wrong? Shouldn't a creator care for it's creation? It was hard to tell if at this point he viewed her only as a child or if there was something more but the need to protect her was clearly motivating his choices. He loved her, but I wasn't sure in just what capacity. We had never created something that needed instructions. We made an animal, created it to know how to do it's job and let it go. Lillith had no built in design other than to learn, grow and create. How do you not care for and protect something that you have created in your own image?
His voice crept into my awareness, “Remiel, come, join us. I will inform her that I have a task elsewhere and leave her with you for a short time. She can tell you what I have already taught her.”
“We don't know how long Elohim will take to create her mate. Would you like me to explain what has been agreed upon?” As soon as the thought reached him, I felt his pain and anger. He would never be able to tell her.
“Yes, she has to be given the choice.”
For all his faults, and Lucifer had many, he never once swayed from the idea of choice and free will. “I am sorry, I know this upsets you.”
“My feelings on this have no bearing at the moment. Come, let me take my leave of her, please.”
I joined the two of them, Lillith favored me with a truly beautiful smile.
“Hello Remiel. It is nice to see you again.”
Either Lucifer was the universe's best teacher or she was a language prodigy. She was barely a day old and yet was capable of engaging in pleasantries.
“Hello Lillith, you're learning fast I see.”
She just beamed at me and looked into Lucifer's face. “He likes to talk, I hear fine.”
“Listen, Lillith, you listen well.” He gently corrected her. “Remiel is going to keep teaching you, I have a task I need to attend to. Listen to what he says, it's important. Understand?”
She nodded and took hold of my arm, a little shock of energy ran through me. Lucifer had given her more than just a spark of himself. He and I were going to have to have another discussion it appeared.
“I understand Lucifer. Good bye.” She gave him a small wave with her other hand and he disappeared.
She and I were about the same height, I looked into her intelligent eyes and asked, “Well Lillith, what has Lucifer taught you so far?” She then launched into a rather extensive list of things, he had shown her more fish, taught her the names of several birds and trees and some rough ideas on the dangerous plants she should avoid eating. Then the questions started.
I have been alive for countless years and have watched many parents go through the “Why?” phase with their children. The children expect the parents to know all and at some point or other the parent's knowledge is exhausted and they say “Because that's how it is, that's why.” I should not have had this problem, being one of the creators after all. Unfortunately, often our choices for things had been driven by aesthetics, not any scientific reason. Science is a human creation, an amazing one to be sure but honestly, genetics wasn't something we were acquainted with. So when Lillith would ask me why a flower was purple, or why sand at the beach was completely different in appearance and texture than dirt in the forest quite often I was reduced to saying “Well, because we thought it looked better that way.” I distinctly remember her giving me a few disapproving looks at my answers.
“So white sand is nicer than brown?” She asked.
“No, not at all. It's well, there is a bit of an actual reason for it. The sand is white for a few reasons, what it is made of, the water washing against it and the sun that shines on it. All those things over time change the sand. Plus it does contrast well with the blue water don't you think?”
“It is nice.” She paused, “Remiel? Why does the water move back and forth here at the beach yet runs one way in the river over there but doesn't move in the pond that Lucifer and I were at before?”
It would have been nice if Lucifer had warned me he had created a genius. Fortunately, that wasn't based on design choices and I launched into as simplistic of an explanation of the pull of the planets as I could and how water blends and shapes itself around it's environment and obstacles in it's path. She nodded a few times then opened her mouth to ask something else.
“Lillith, how about we get you something to eat? You must be hungry doing all this walking around and learning.” We had been together for several hours at this point. I had a feeling that Lucifer would be returning soon and I wanted to discuss her mate with her before her did. She tilted her head to the side as if pondering if she was actually hungry, perhaps she didn't know what the sensation of hunger truly was yet.
“I do feel something here.” She put her hand on her stomach. “I wasn't feeling it earlier.”
“That is your body telling you to eat. Come, there's some fruit this way and we can sit under a tree and rest for a few minutes.” I led her across an open section of the woods to one of the many fruit trees that abounded around us and acquired some food for her. I had no idea how to tell her about her mate. As I looked around I saw several birds engaging in various courtship dances and decided to use them as examples.
I lightly touched her arm to get her attention and pointed at the birds. “See those birds?” She nodded in between bites of fruit. “They are in pairs. The colorful one is the male and the one with less color is the female. They are going to eventually create life.”
“What does that mean? Elohim brings things to life that you create, that's what Lucifer said.”
I was a bit surprised Lucifer had acknowledged that to her. “Yes, that is true. We create the original versions of these things, then they mate and reproduce on their own.” I just dove in at that point, “Elohim is making you a mate.”
“Why? Isn't Lucifer my mate? He's very colorful.”
I couldn't fault her powers of observation or logic on that point. “He, I, Elohim, we are not the same as you. A mate must be the same as you.”
She finished the last of her fruit, pulled her knees up to her chest, placed her cross arms upon her knees and appeared to be getting comfortable for an extended conversation. “You move as I do but are more colorful. How are you different?” A quick smile graced her soft features.
I decided the easiest way to get her to understand would be to show her how we truly looked. “We move this way because when we are walking on the earth it is easier. We have no actual form.” I shifted into a shaft of light. A sharp scream erupted from her lips, she scrambled behind a tree and started to shake. I shifted back into the form she was used to seeing. “I am sorry to have scared you but you need to understand. That was the easiest way to explain it.”
She had raised her arms over her eyes. When she heard my voice I saw her fearful green eyes peek out between her fingers. “I thought it ate you, like when the big fish ate the little fish.”
I had to smile, genius she may be but she was very much still a child. “No, nothing ate me. Come out from behind the tree.”
Slowly, with much temerity and frequent glances up and all around she rejoined me in the clearing. “I don't think I would like to do that.”
“You are not able to so no need to fear. Do you understand now that Lucifer is not your mate? That we are not the same as you?”
“Yes.” A question crossed her features but she seemed afraid to ask it.
“What is it child?”
“If Lucifer is not my mate and you are not the same as me, what are you?”
That question has brought humanity so much suffering over the eons. “We are part of the universe, the balance. It is hard to explain. Our task is to create worlds and fill them with creatures such as you.”
“Why?” She had finally asked me a question I had no answer for. That moment has always been crystal clear in my memory. The creation asking the creator about where the creator came from and the creator not knowing the answer.
“Honestly Lillith, I don't know. We have just always been, have always existed.” As the enormity of her question filtered through my mind I started to get a glimpse as to the source of Elohim's actions. Perhaps he could no longer stand not knowing from whence he came. Over the eons I have seen humans push themselves to the point of madness trying to answer that question. Such a small word, why. Three small letters that have opened the door to insanity for so many.
(Some humor and some philosophy. Always a good mix. Let me know what you think.)