Short Story: His Side, Her Side, and the Truth

            To every story, there are three sides: his side, her side, and the Truth.

His side:

I have always known perfection. Ever since the beginning and for most of my life, I have only seen the goodness of this world. Up until this point, I have never seen the downside to life. My days were perfect. Hours upon hours were spent having a pleasant time. Well, I was alone for a short little while. But then He saw it wasn’t good for me to be alone, and that was when He brought her into my life. We spent days exploring by ourselves and with Him. There was never a dull day in this garden. It was always enjoyable. I never felt ashamed or different, betrayed or sad. It was all happiness and perfection — just the way life should be.

My favorite part of the garden was the middle, and it was hers too. We would go to the center and look at the two magnificent trees growing there. They were old yet beautiful. As strange as it sounds, it was almost like they held wisdom far beyond our knowledge. They provided a warm shade that would cast shadows in just the right places to keep you cool on a hot day. There was one sumptuous river that came through watering the gardens and we often played there. We would race our leaf boats down the river since it split into four, and would take our best guess on which one it would go down. We were partly in charge of caring for the garden when He was away. We were allowed to indulge in anything. There was an abundance of options, save for one.

There was one stipulation to the garden. We could eat from every tree, vine, or bush, but were not allowed to eat from those two trees at the center. You could tell He was protecting us from something, but what? The garden was so safe, what would eating those innocent looking apples do? He did not build a wall or fence around the tree, so it couldn’t be that bad. Could it? It was up to us to stay away from it. He made it clear that terrible things would happen. I had from time to time imagined what it would be like to taste the fruit. It was a small nagging voice calling me to succumb to that desire. But whenever I did, I felt an overwhelming darkness and so I quickly put it out of my mind. Yet, she didn’t.

 I never thought she had it in her. Every experience was shared. I trusted her with everything, and I would put my life in her hands. I would never expect betrayal. There was nothing to be backstabbed about since there was no evil to be done. Then, when I heard the wondrous thing she was describing, after all my life imagining the horrid things that could occur, it sounded unworldly. I have never desired something more, simply because of the description she gave. I sensed no wrong in this action, for she had never misguided me.

I had no doubts until she led me to our favorite part of the garden. There was something in her hand, an apple. This wasn’t like the one I had ever seen before. It was purely the most prepossessing and alluring thing I had ever set eyes on. I knew immediately what it was. The elegance gave it away. It was the stipulation. Just the sight of it made everything around me fall to pieces. I knew better than to cave into my desire. What I hadn’t initially noticed was the mark already in it. Her failed morality influenced mine, I knew better than to take it — until she started telling me of the knowledge that had been given to her. It looked harmless enough. She wasn’t screaming or crying. There were no physical effects. She wasn’t in pain, so it seemed fine. She explained how much He had been hiding from us, and how much more I would see if I just joined her. She said we had been together through it all and that I couldn’t go back on her now. However, she said all this to me while partly obscuring her body. She kept herself mostly hidden, at the time I wasn’t sure why. She rambled on and on about the knowledge and how I needed to join her.

I felt jealous, yet skeptical. If she could have it, why couldn’t I? Even though we were specifically told not to, she would never betray me. I trusted her completely. She would never lie or lead me astray. I wanted to believe her and give in, but there still was some common sense left in me. I accused her of being crazy, and I reminded her of the wondrous things in this garden. Everything we’ve done and seen, experienced and loved. I reminded her of Him, and how I couldn’t bear to have His eyes look upon me with disappointment.

She didn’t care. She said He’d never know. As she said it over and over again, and slowly it wore away at my. I didn’t want to know what it was like. Deep down I did have the desire. Ultimately, that desire was stronger than my sense of reason.

I gave in. It was too much. I caved. I had such a sudden and deep inclination. Her words. The temptation. The feeling of being left out. It all piled upon my heart. I couldn’t take it any longer. I fully and completely trusted her. Trusted her, more than Him. My mistake.

Her side:

Death? Disease? Pain? What did I know of these? Nothing. Nothing until that conniving creature completely tricked me. I tell you, I was tricked. What he promised and what he delivered were two completely different things. I’m sorry, truly I am. Now it doesn’t matter anymore that I’m sorry. I can’t unknow what I now know. I cannot unsee what I have seen. I cannot undo what I have done. Now I live with these new and unfamiliar feelings. My heart races and my brow sweats. I feel nervous, anxious. My eyes are finally opened to the evil in this world, and I have no one to blame but myself. I gave in to the temptation of the unknown. I wanted more than I was given. Inside I knew it wasn't right.

            Now he, my partner in life, has these feelings towards me. New and unfamiliar feelings. I am absolutely sick to my stomach. My head is spinning. I feel a weight that isn’t physically there. It is as if something is sitting on me. I have brought something into this world that is new and terrible. I don’t have a word for it, He never showed us this before. Even he seems afraid, unsure of all his surroundings. We have lived here our entire lives, yet have never seen things in the way we do now. Someone took off our rose-colored glasses and now we step out of the garden forever. Banished. As we walked away from our home, from a place so graciously given to us, I felt the remaining light and warmth leave my body. Now joy is gone, and I fear it will never return.

            I want to go back, to erase everything that happened and start anew. I would go back and be grateful for every sunrise and sunset, every plant, tree and animal, every little thing, all of it. If I could just undo the damage I’ve done, I would. Actually, this isn’t my fault. No, it's His fault. Why would anyone purposefully put that temptation there knowing the risks, especially in the middle of the garden? If He knew that temptation would inevitably lead to me making that mistake, why place it there in the first place? We are supposed to be curious by nature, and He knows that better than anyone else. Why would He be so foolish to trust us! He could have forgiven us like He always does and always said He would. He said He was forgiving. Why can’t He do so now? It was a careless mistake. I didn’t do it to intentionally hurt anyone. He should know that.

             Not only am I being kicked out of my only home, I’m being thrown into the outside — something that until this point I didn’t even know existed. My whole reality and my whole life was in the safety of His love. No one ever fully warned me. No one ever showed me how protected I really was, or how grateful I should’ve been. No one ever cautioned me that the full extent of my actions would be put upon others.

            I brought this upon myself, upon both of us. It’ll never go back to the way it was, ever. It’s too late, it’ll trickle down and affect everything, all because of my irrational mistake. I can't undo any of it. I can't unknow everything. I know, it's all too late. Now I have unintentionally altered the course of not only my life, but his as well. I’ve betrayed him, dragged him along with me. If I hadn't given in, if I had just listened, none of this would’ve happened to us. Now we both have to suffer the consequences. This isn’t fair to him. I shouldn’t have put this on either one of us. If He would just forgive us, this nightmare would all be over.

            Surely He’ll take us back in, just let us learn our lessons and take us back. Surely He loves us more than to completely banish us forever. He loves us too much to put us through this torture of what’s outside. Maybe this is a test or a trick? I hope that I will wake up from this treacherous nightmare and be back in my euphoric home and everything will go back to normal. I wish that those words could be the truth, but even as I repeat them to myself, I knew they weren’t close to my new reality. It’s all gone. The bliss, happiness, and pure joy was pulled out from under me, and unfortunately, I voluntarily made that decision. Now it’s too late. I’ve done the deed and it’s all over. I need to accept it, but I don't want to.

            I exchanged bliss for my selfish desire. Everything I love, gone.

           

Truth:

Nothing is more beautiful than the morning sun, and I knew that very well. It was early morning, a perfect time for a walk and I always took advantage of that. The newly awoken sun shot its golden rays down over the garden with its masses of luxurious lush flowers, trees, and life. No other garden could or would compare to this one, and I had made it all. I strategically placed every life, plant or animal, in just the right spot for them to flourish and grow to their full beauty and potential. Unlike the warmness and joy of the garden around me, I felt mournful, yet resolute on that fateful day. Within this garden, beyond what meets the human eye, was a story. It’s a story of love and rebellion, compassion and heartbreak, a story that would change reality.

It was an almost perfect spring day, a day when the warmth is brought in by a breeze. On this breeze, however, you could smell the faint scent of salt. I was walking unhurriedly down a lightly worn path. It was hidden between the fruit trees. The lemon grass brushed up against my legs. The strong but beautiful fragrance of the wild poet's jasmine and the smell of grass of a summer's day wafted through the air. My mind went back to a time when I wasn’t alone in this garden, a time when others enjoyed this garden alongside me, a simpler time.

That time was most joyous. It was complete harmony. We cherished every moment to its fullest, never a dull time in this garden. We enjoyed climbing the tall limbs of the elegant crab apple trees, jumping over the babbling brooks that glistened in the sunlight, and hiding in the brush as we playfully hid from one another. We would walk by the shore at sunrise or sunset, and have rock skipping contests, I always would let them win. We would lay in the grassy fields and watch the birds hustle through the air. And at night, we would watch the expanse of stars glisten before our eyes. It was bliss.

I let them do whatever they pleased. Their childlike innocence protected them from any harm. They knew nothing of the evils of this world because I had guarded them since their beginning. The garden was the most joyous place of all, almost nothing could interrupt the euphoria of it. It was a pure utopia.

Making my way further down the path, I thought of that fateful day, the one that would destroy our unity. In every good relationship, there is a need to have boundaries and there was one boundary that I put into place — a stipulation to it all. Temptation is an amusing thing. You have the willpower to stop yourself the minute the idea is planted, but you almost never apply it. There is no outside pressure, no one else besides you. It’s almost like you don't have control of your own willpower,  even if the consequences are clear.

You see, with every good thing there is a downside, a purposeful drawback set in place, to counterbalance it all. At the epicenter of all this beauty, there were two marvelous trees, they were not only magnificent and tall but wide. They twisted around and provided shade and comfort to anyone who came to enjoy and bask in their presence. They produced fruit that was beyond tempting. They were opposites. One radiated wisdom, solace, and life. The other exuded the wisdom to tell the difference between good and evil.

They were like sibling trees, good but contradictory. No one was to eat from this tree, that was the one and only rule. I gave the inhabitants everything, I know it was foolish to expect them to obey that command, and I knew that it was only a matter of time. I just didn’t want the joy and peacefulness of our togetherness it to be over. I wanted to be with them always. I cherished our time together. I experienced the joys of life alongside them.

But now it was too late. The time had come, and I had to let them go. I battled it over and over in my mind. I couldn’t just let them go. They mean too much. They are my happiness. I couldn’t do this to them or me. Now as I walk past the peach trees and the fragrance wafts through the air, I realize it was the best choice, but the one that truly shows my love for them.

As many say, “If you love something, set it free”. Sometimes no matter how hard it is, you have to let the thing you love leave the safety of your nest. They crossed a line, and even though I would do anything to protect them from the harsh world outside the garden, I needed to do the fatherly thing. Let them go. They were mine, I had done everything for them, but they ultimately made the decision for themselves. They strayed too far away to come back unscathed.

I still walk along that same cliff each and every morning. It has been a very long time, in human years, since that fateful day. The memories of what happened there still linger like a soft dagger blow to my heart. Each time I come to the edge of the path I can still see the memory of Eve dancing in the wind, the salt-bearing breeze whipping around her hair. I can see Adam casting pebbles into the surf and hear his laughter fill the air. I can still to this day feel that warmth. I have created a new way for my beautiful creation to reach me. I have built them a bridge. Some choose not to take it, while others do. It reminds me of how we each have a choice.

Adam and Eve. My first creation. Eden their wonderful home. My first children made their choice and now you get to make yours too.

 Afterword:

This story is my story. This story is your story. This story is the foundation of mankind. It is a story that's repeated not only throughout books and history multiple times over, but throughout our own lives. The importance of this story is incomparable. It shows us that temptation is a common human trial. My hope in retelling this story is that you find comfort in knowing how this pattern of temptation and sin began. There's consolation in knowing that we are all sourced from this rebellion and every time we see this cycle played out in our  lives, we can be reminded of its source, documented so clearly in the Bible. We’ve all seen events similar to the one told in the Genesis in our own family story and through those around us. We choose drugs over family, lust over love, fear over faith, we make choices antithetical to God’s way.

The beauty of this story is that it so delicately explains the trap we can fall into and warns us that our circumstances don’t prevent our downfall. It almost doesn’t matter if life is completely perfect because you can still be baited and tempted. Sin can creep in from any side. Adam and Eve lived in perfection, a place or feeling we cannot replicate in this world, and yet they desired more. They desired something they knew could hurt them and still went after it. Let this story be a lesson to us all. Someday you may face a sin and temptation so great that it can change the course of history. What will you do? Will you turn to God for his help, or will you do what you want without regard for the consequences.

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer and part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourself to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the laws, but under grace.” -Romans 6:12-14