I awoke to find my mossy little room aglow. I quickly found the source of the ethereal light. Rompano sat a few feet from me and the light was coming from him! I can not describe the color of the light, only that it was the brightest light I had encountered in my room, which now that I thought about it, was always bright. As soon as he saw I was awake, the light dimmed.
"Well, so finally you are awake. I turned the light bright to wake you up. I didn't want to just shake you awake. That is so rude. Guess where we are going today?"
I stared at him with my mind completely blank. I began to have a vision and knew that we were communicating in the way the hereafter let us communicate. I saw a lovely garden. It was beautiful beyond any earthly thing I could imagine. Every kind of tree and shrub. Beautiful flowers. The soil was fertile and everywhere I looked was a different vista. I looked beyond and as far as I could see, the garden extended. And then I noticed there were people in the garden. Across the garden I saw a man who was completely naked picking produce in a beautiful vegetable garden. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and a vegetable I did not recognize. I looked to Rompano for an answer.
"Okra" he said simply." That was one vegetable I had never really cared for so of course I would not recognize it. "The man is Adam. He is picking vegetables for their meal. Eve is over there picking fruit. They do not eat meat here."
I looked where he pointed and saw a lovely woman. She was also naked. Realization hit me! This was the Garden of Eden. This was where it all began! As I watched the woman I knew it was Eve and to my astonishment I realized she was talking to a snake. Oh, my God! I was witnessing The Temptation! For the first time since my death I had a feeling of helplessness. I wanted to run forward and grab the snake and throw it out of the Garden, but I could not move.
"Rompano! Why can't I move! I could throw Satan out of the garden and the world would be perfect again!" He only watched quietly and said not a word.
To my horror I saw Eve reach for the apple. I watched helplessly as she took a bite. I saw her face light up and then watched as she plucked another. She left the tree and went to where Adam waited by the vegetable patch. My feet were frozen to the ground as if I were one of the plants. I looked for Rompano, but I could not see him.
"Look Adam! I picked this from the tree in the center of the Garden. Oh, it is so good! You have to try a bite." Adam was aghast!
"No, Eve! That is the tree knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil. Father said we could not eat of it or we would surely die. Oh, my God! You tasted it didn't you?" Eve smiled a sly smile.
"Yes! And that is why Father said not to eat it. He knew we would then know what he knew, and it is so good. It is sweet and like nothing I have ever tasted. Look at me! I am the same. Nothing has changed. He just wanted to keep it all for himself. Here! Just take one bite and you will see. It hurts nothing, just tastes so good you will not believe it." She held the apple out towards him and smiled innocently.
I watched in horror as Adam took the apple and bit into it. I watched as he looked at Eve's naked body and then at his own. I watched as he ran to the nearest tree and plucked a branch to cover himself and then one for Eve. As I watched they seemed to age before my eyes. Adam's hair turned white as snow and the years began to show on their faces. My mind could barely absorb what I had just seen. I closed my eyes and escaped to my mossy little room where Rompano waited.
"Oh, Rompano! That was horrible! Why couldn't I stop her? Why was I there?"
"You do not exist, so how could you stop them, who also do not exist? You will see many things while you are here. I will take you many places, but you will not be able to change history. I want you to know all this, because while you know it on some level, you have forgotten. What you do need to know is that you were Eve. Every one you meet in these travels, you are. Well, you are not all of them, but you are one of the people. You are in for one big experience and when it is over you will be perfect."
And with that, he was gone. I was glad because I needed to think. I was Eve. I was the beginning. I had brought the knowledge of good and evil into the world. I wanted to change the world and I had, right from the beginning. What else had I done? Did I want to know? It did not seem to make any difference, because Rompano would lead me through my existence and make me face it all.
But for now, sleep was my only escape.
"Well, so finally you are awake. I turned the light bright to wake you up. I didn't want to just shake you awake. That is so rude. Guess where we are going today?"
I stared at him with my mind completely blank. I began to have a vision and knew that we were communicating in the way the hereafter let us communicate. I saw a lovely garden. It was beautiful beyond any earthly thing I could imagine. Every kind of tree and shrub. Beautiful flowers. The soil was fertile and everywhere I looked was a different vista. I looked beyond and as far as I could see, the garden extended. And then I noticed there were people in the garden. Across the garden I saw a man who was completely naked picking produce in a beautiful vegetable garden. Carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and a vegetable I did not recognize. I looked to Rompano for an answer.
"Okra" he said simply." That was one vegetable I had never really cared for so of course I would not recognize it. "The man is Adam. He is picking vegetables for their meal. Eve is over there picking fruit. They do not eat meat here."
I looked where he pointed and saw a lovely woman. She was also naked. Realization hit me! This was the Garden of Eden. This was where it all began! As I watched the woman I knew it was Eve and to my astonishment I realized she was talking to a snake. Oh, my God! I was witnessing The Temptation! For the first time since my death I had a feeling of helplessness. I wanted to run forward and grab the snake and throw it out of the Garden, but I could not move.
"Rompano! Why can't I move! I could throw Satan out of the garden and the world would be perfect again!" He only watched quietly and said not a word.
To my horror I saw Eve reach for the apple. I watched helplessly as she took a bite. I saw her face light up and then watched as she plucked another. She left the tree and went to where Adam waited by the vegetable patch. My feet were frozen to the ground as if I were one of the plants. I looked for Rompano, but I could not see him.
"Look Adam! I picked this from the tree in the center of the Garden. Oh, it is so good! You have to try a bite." Adam was aghast!
"No, Eve! That is the tree knowledge. The knowledge of good and evil. Father said we could not eat of it or we would surely die. Oh, my God! You tasted it didn't you?" Eve smiled a sly smile.
"Yes! And that is why Father said not to eat it. He knew we would then know what he knew, and it is so good. It is sweet and like nothing I have ever tasted. Look at me! I am the same. Nothing has changed. He just wanted to keep it all for himself. Here! Just take one bite and you will see. It hurts nothing, just tastes so good you will not believe it." She held the apple out towards him and smiled innocently.
I watched in horror as Adam took the apple and bit into it. I watched as he looked at Eve's naked body and then at his own. I watched as he ran to the nearest tree and plucked a branch to cover himself and then one for Eve. As I watched they seemed to age before my eyes. Adam's hair turned white as snow and the years began to show on their faces. My mind could barely absorb what I had just seen. I closed my eyes and escaped to my mossy little room where Rompano waited.
"Oh, Rompano! That was horrible! Why couldn't I stop her? Why was I there?"
"You do not exist, so how could you stop them, who also do not exist? You will see many things while you are here. I will take you many places, but you will not be able to change history. I want you to know all this, because while you know it on some level, you have forgotten. What you do need to know is that you were Eve. Every one you meet in these travels, you are. Well, you are not all of them, but you are one of the people. You are in for one big experience and when it is over you will be perfect."
And with that, he was gone. I was glad because I needed to think. I was Eve. I was the beginning. I had brought the knowledge of good and evil into the world. I wanted to change the world and I had, right from the beginning. What else had I done? Did I want to know? It did not seem to make any difference, because Rompano would lead me through my existence and make me face it all.
But for now, sleep was my only escape.
Now it's off to read the first installment and then all the rest. Soon you'll have enough chapters to publish your second novel. 🧡💜💖
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