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Along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates stood a large date palm that provided ample shade for the man beneath. He strummed a few notes on his guitar, a golden instrument gifted to him by an angel who found him staring off into the arid landscape.
How long he sat there he wasn’t sure. Time was of little consequence to him now that he had to work for his food. Today was his rest day, after working the earth to provide for him and his wife.
“That was beautiful, Adam,” a woman declared, her black gleaming in the sunlight as her dark brown eyes sparkled with enthusiasm. She clapped as he finished his song.
Looking up, Adam saw his wife, Eve, standing before him. His eyes softened at the sight of her. Wanting to make her happy, he plucked more chords, creating a melody. He switched up the notes as he played, earning applause from his lone audience.
“What’s beautiful in this desert is you, Eve.” Adam stated, his gaze still fixed on his wife. In his eyes, Eve was the loveliest being to exist. The Garden of Eden, which in itself was a sight to behold, paled in comparison to the beauty that was his wife. “Adam, you flatter me too much.” Eve responded, not meeting his stare.
“I speak the truth.” Adam replied. He stood up from his seat and approached Eve and took her in his arms. He leaned in closer and brushed a few stray strands of her dark hair away from her face. He tenderly traced the outlines of her face, memorizing each shape and shadow that appeared before him. He cupped her chin and tilted it upwards, kissing her softly.
The feel of Eve’s lips against his own sent a jolt of electricity that coursed through his veins. The hand that cupped her chin was now slowly tracing the curve of her neck. He brushed his thumb against the pulsating throb he felt under her throat, eliciting a slightly strangled sound from her.
Adam pulled away from her, letting their foreheads touch. He looked into her dark brown eyes and noticed the feverish look they had. He moved away from her further, though he let both of his hands cradle her face, loving the warmth he felt from her skin.
It was as memorable as the first time they kissed, though much less awkward. Adam remembered Eve’s surprised reaction to their first kiss. Her asking what did that mean, and him replying that it was what people did when they loved someone.
“I love you,” she whispered, kissing each of his fingertips with a tenderness that made his heart ache.
“I love you, too,” he replied, brushing her tear-stained cheek with his thumb.
“How could you love a wretch such as me?” Eve asked, choking back a sob.
“Because you are you. What other reason must I have?”
“I have condemned you to a futile existence, toiling away at the cursed ground. Were it not for my foolishness, you would still be living in the garden of Eden.”
Adam sighed and wrapped Eve into a tight hug. “How many times do I have to tell you that this is the life I chose? Staying in Eden would have brought me no joy,” he murmured into her hair.
In his eyes, the blame fell squarely on the shoulders of Lucifer, the fallen angel who had cursed humanity with his hubris. Tempting Eve into consuming the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was all a part of the fallen angel’s ploy to bring about chaos and misery to all of creation
It wasn’t the first time that the fallen angel had ruined Adam’s life. The first time was when Lilith, his first wife, had run off with the scoundrel and abandoned him completely. Too much free will was dangerous.
Even that feeling he had just now, this strong feeling that could be described as extreme displeasure was something that did not exist up until Lucifer persuaded Eve to bite the cursed fruit. Up until then, all emotions Adam had felt were of happiness and tranquility. Positive feelings that were in line with the rules of the angels who created him.
Though Adam had been offered the chance to stay in the garden of Eden for not eating the fruit, he had opted to leave and follow Eve into her exile, abandoning the paradise that he once called home. Where was paradise if not in her warm embrace and honeyed laughter? What was home if not the careful way she would say his name as they embraced?
“Will you stay the same?” Eve asked, looking into his golden eyes. She wanted reassurance that he would not change despite the challenges they now face. Challenges that were brought about by her moment of weakness, when Lucifer offered her that cursed fruit that had damned her and all of her eventual offspring with illness and eventually, death.
“You won’t see me change. Not one bit.” Adam replied, smiling at her as though she was an angel, a being who only knew what perfection was.
Eve pressed her lips to his cheek, causing his cheeks to blush from the sudden affectionate gesture. “I know you won’t.”
“Wherever you’ll go, I will follow, even to the ends of whatever plane we are living on.” Adam murmured, giving her forehead a kiss.
“What if the angels will split us up?” Eve asked, horrified at the thought.
“Then I’ll look for you everywhere. I’ll search for you under each and every surface of the earth.” Adam answered, his golden eyes shining.
“And what if they will replace me the way they replaced Lilith?” Her dark brown eyes were brimming with tears.
“I choose you. Not some cheap copy of you.”
“You’re too kind. Too loving. And so very wrong” Eve responded, nuzzling her husband’s cheek as they stood under the dark, signaling the end of day.
“You were created by the angels to be loved by me. There is no sin in that.” Adam responded, squishing Eve’s cheek gently.
Even if their lives had now been altered forever by that cursed fruit, Adam knew two things: that Eve was his paradise, and that he didn’t mind giving up Eden to be here on earth with her.