Turn of the Millenium: People of their time
Prologue
“OOWULL”, the jab to Adam’s back startled him. He stepped
up his pace, nudging Eve, his wife, likewise.
“Keep moving.” The holy angel’s loud voice was without malice, but he
was a full head higher than Adam’s, and not one with whom to trifle. The man and woman had been walking for …
awhile; they had only been permitted to pause long enough to grab and eat an apple
here, or a peach there, and cup a handful of water, from this or that stream. They were not allowed to carry anything within
the folds of their coats – not even so much as a sunflower seed.
The hazy sun was nearing the horizon. Too near.
Up ahead, loomed The Hedge, a forest of massive trees - mostly redwoods
- which bordered the Garden of Eden; a beautiful landscape about the size of modern
day New Jersey. Though still late
afternoon, As the evicted couple grew nearer, the forest’s interior appeared
more like dusk.
The couple approached Eden’s border, crossing into the
forest, their eviction was final. Cherubims
were on hand to make sure the two didn’t get the notion to reenter under cover
of darkness. If this team of holy angels
wasn’t enough to urge the couple onward and eastward, the flaming sword turning
every way, posed further incentive to keep moving.
Before them lay, what appeared to be a sort of path, one
only wide enough for the two to journey side by side. Yellowish stones, about
two palms (6 inches) in height and one palm in width, dotted along its borders. The forest was dark, and very quiet. Too quiet. The couple was accustomed to the twitters of
birds, the calls of beasts, the rustlings of greenery, the drones of insects.
“THUNK!”
The couple about jumped out of their skins. An acorn, having fallen from a high branch, was
about the size of a tangerine – and a near miss. Point taken, to remain on the path, stepping cautiously,
for the slightly raised ground, they trod upon, was softer in some areas than
in others.
Having become too dark to go any further, the couple stopped
for the night. Hardly a few moments
later, Adam and Eve lay close, and fast asleep.
From behind the couple, and just off to the side, two young hyenas padded
their way through the forest; both looked at the sleeping couple and huffed,
the larger of the two animals tilted her muzzle slightly upward – as if to
express displeasure at having caught an unpleasant odor. They looked at one another, shook their heads. She huffed again. The four-footed couple trotted off. Above the sleeping bipeds, two moths fluttered
on by.
When dawn came, here and there streams of daylight mixed
with the mists which had upwelled during the night, and making the path even
more spongy. The couple awoke; both were
wet, and thirsty. Lying ahead of them, a
swath of mist-logged contoured leaves covered the ground. Both knelt and thanked the Most High God for His
gift of mercy. They carefully, so as to
not spill the precious liquid, slaked their thirst. In addressing their need to hydrate, and to
simply be with one another, neither had heard the flapping wings of two geese
flying just above the tree tops. Nor had
they heard the drone of two dragon flies, which had landed upon a nearby bough
– and then had continued their way also.
The leaves upon the path now nearly spent, Adam happened to turn his
head.
“What in the world?”
At a distance behind them, their footprints, from the night
before, were no longer visible, but instead the slightly downgrade path, and
areas on either side, was covered by young shoots. A few of the stones had yet
to be masked amid the sprouting greenery, others were displaced, and lay upon
their sides.
As they approached a modest clearing, a slight but luscious
aroma awoke their stomachs into fits of rumbling. They hadn’t eaten since the previous day,
shortly before exiting the garden of Eden – or had they entered into the forest
the day prior? Neither was sure. Ahead, and off to the side, a grove of fruit
bearing trees grew near the path; their boughs laden with ripe bounty. Several of the branches extended barely a reed
(about 8 feet) from their reach; the upper ones crossing partly over the trail. The closest trunk, grew just over two reeds (maybe
20 feet) outside the path. Adam paused, thinking. Just as he was about to turn sideways, and
head for the nearest tree, Eve held up crossed hands, shaking her head. Her eyes like saucers. As famished as they both were…Nope! Neither had forgotten the last time, one,
then the other, had…stepped off.
Adam looked around.
His eyes lit up. The stones. He pulled one from its place. It was significantly heavier than it
appeared. Perfect. He smiled, then backed up, and took an
aim. A shower of fruits hit the ground, several
landed within the path’s borders. As the
couple knelt, bowed their heads and gave thanks to their Most High God, another
couple – two starlings – jetted off to build their nest, elsewhere. Adam and his wife, ate of the fruits. Adam then, took another stone, sending
another shower. The couple ate their
fill.
Several of the fruits remained. Eve looked around. With no pockets, there was no way either of
the two could transport any of them. Until
the present, the very idea of carrying provisions, from one place to another, had
never been an issue. She then turned,
and noticed the end of a vine growing within reach of the path. She grabbed it and began to pull, but only so
much – and nowhere near enough – was she able to obtain. The other end held firm. Adam took the length, and with a yank, the
vine let go of its root system. While
Adam yanked other such vines, Eve cobbled together a satchel. Adam then took another stone to one of
overhead branches.
They gathered up the fruit, put it in the bag, and
continued their way.
Awhile later, the couple obtained walnuts in a similar
manner – this time, using the stones to crack open the shells. Eating their fill, Eve then bagged most of the
unshelled which remained within their reach.
They continued their journey.
“This can’t be!” Eve gasped at what lay beside them. Two sets of tracks, embedded a short distance,
alongside the path, before veering off. “No!”
she looked at her husband. He appeared
to be as dumbfounded as his wife. “How?”
Eve blurted, “their gestation period is…” she left off the statement, “It
hasn’t been that long,” she began counting upon her fingers. No this couldn’t be. “Has it…??” she looked
to her husband, her eyes pleading for an answer.
Adam recognized the tracks.
They were…his eyes widened, of second generation – if not the third. The answer to his wife’s question, was one he
could not provide. (An answer which,
some 6,000 years hence, still left men of great learning, mystified).
“Unto Adam also and to his
wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Genesis 3:21
“So he drove out the man; and
he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword
which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” Genesis 3:24
