Six Crime Stories (25 page)

*****

"
Take my hand
,
"
said Adam
,
reaching toward me.
"
Let
'
s not wait any longer.
"

I scrubbed away my remaining tears
,
then took his hand in my own. Though I knew his skin was callused from hard labor
,
his palm felt warm and soft against my own.

As we turned to face the Garden
,
he released a deep sigh.
"
I always knew this day would come
,
"
he said.
"
The happiest day of our lives.
"

I looked at him proudly and nodded.
"
You had faith
,
"
I said.
"
You never gave up.
"

"
Because of you
,
"
he said tenderly.
"
I did it because of you.
"

Genuinely touched
,
I leaned up to kiss his cheek.
"
Thank you
,
"
I said
,
forgetting for an instant that we were on the threshold of a place that could kill us
,
being watched by an enemy who desired our undoing.
"
I love you.
"

"
I love you
,
too
,
"
said Adam
,
and then he squared his shoulders toward Eden.
"
Now let
'
s go home.
"

He was eager to reach the boundary and walked fast; I had to hurry to keep up. We took one
,
two
,
three
,
four steps
,
each bringing us closer to the Garden. I judged it would take no more than ten before we crossed the line.

Five steps. Six.

I let him pull me further to build the suspense. I would wait until the last moment to make my move.

Seven steps.

"
Get ready
,
honey
,
"
said Adam
,
sounding giddy.
"
Here we go!
"

Off in the grass
,
I imagined
,
the enemy was probably barely able to contain himself. This
,
I was certain
,
was what he had wanted all along.

Us
,
dead.

In the Garden
,
he had tricked us into eating from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge
,
which had led to our exile...but maybe
,
he
'
d been hoping for a more severe punishment. Later
,
pretending to be God
,
he had pushed Cain to the point of murdering his brother. Now
,
he wanted us to reenter Eden
,
where we would surely be killed.

Eight steps.

He hated us. It was the motivation for everything he
'
d done...but maybe
,
there was a reason for the hatred. Something I hadn
'
t considered until now.

Maybe
,
while masquerading as God
,
he had told my gullible husband a version of the truth. He had said that the New People wanted to kill Abel to keep him from horning in on their setup with God. Maybe it was the same for the enemy.

Maybe
,
his wanting to ruin us had something to do with love and longing like that which drove Adam. In fact
,
I was counting on it.

Nine steps.

"
We
'
re home!
"
said Adam
,
dropping one foot in the outside world and raising the other to step into Eden.

Before his foot could cross the boundary and descend
,
I tugged him backward. He stumbled and bumped into me
,
knocking us a few steps from the edge of Eden.
"
Adam
,
wait!
"
I said.

"
What?
"
he said
,
steadying me by putting an arm around my shoulders.
"
What is it?
"

"
Don
'
t you hear that?
"
I said
,
wincing.
"
Someone
'
s talking!
"

Adam paused and angled an ear upward. Then
,
he frowned and shook his head.
"
I don
'
t hear a thing
,
"
he said.
"
Who is it?
"

I pretended to listen for a moment
,
then slowly turned to Adam with an expression of grave amazement.
"
It
'
s the Voice
,
"
I told him.
"
Oh
,
Adam
,
it
'
s God.
"

*****

Adam stared at me with a look of wide-eyed expectation.
"
What
'
s God saying? What does He want?
"

Closing my eyes
,
I again pretended to listen.
"
He wants me to pass a message to someone else. Another of his children
,
he says.
"
Turning
,
I gazed into the greenery outside Eden.
"
Someone who
'
s here with us right now.
"

Adam also turned to search our surroundings.
"
Who?
"
he said.
"
I don
'
t see anyone.
"

Slowly
,
I took a step forward
,
away from Eden.
"
A wayward child
,
"
I said. I paused for a moment
,
as if listening
,
and took another step.
"
One who has turned away and no longer hears the Voice of God.
"

"
What
'
s the message?
"
said Adam
,
walking over to stand alongside me.

Though I heard no movement from the grass and saw no sign of the enemy
,
I felt his eyes upon me.
"
You are forgiven
,
"
I said.
"
Even for what you have tried to do here today. You are forgiven.
"

"
I don
'
t understand
,
"
said Adam
,
shaking his head.

"
That
'
s because the message isn
'
t intended for us
,
"
I said
,
and then I pretended to listen again.
"
God says the wayward child is forgiven. He is welcomed back into the fold.
"

Frowning
,
Adam turned to me.
"
What
'
s that supposed to mean?
"

"
Long ago
,
you were banished from Eden
,
"
I said
,
speaking for the enemy
'
s benefit.
"
Now
,
the way is open to you once more.
"

"
To us?
"
said Adam.

"
To him
,
"
I whispered
,
waving at the surrounding vegetation to indicate the intended recipient of the message.
"
Come forth
,
"
I said
,
raising my voice again.
"
Return to your home. Return to Eden.
"

I fell silent then
,
watching and listening for movement in the underbrush. It remained as still as if no creature lurked within it...but I had no doubt whatsoever that my enemy was there.

It seemed it would take more to flush him out.

I decided to make my performance a little more interesting.
"
Father
,
I have a question
,
"
I said
,
looking skyward as if I were speaking directly to God instead of just listening.
"
What about my husband and I? May we return
,
too?
"

For a long moment
,
I continued to look upward as if listening to God
'
s reply. When I finally lowered my gaze
,
I saw Adam staring at me expectantly
,
impatiently
,
desperately.

"
Well?
"
he said simply
,
touching my arm with lightly trembling fingers.

"
Not fair
,
"
I said softly
,
disappointedly.
"
It
'
s not fair.
"

Adam withdrew his hand from my arm.
"
Why? What did He say?
"

"
I
'
m sorry
,
Adam
,
"
I said.
"
We
'
re not invited.
"

Immediately
,
Adam looked crushed.
"
But last night
,
He told me we could return. He promised me.
"

Gently
,
I reached out and caressed his cheek.
"
He doesn
'
t love us as much as his other child
,
"
I said.
"
He doesn
'
t want us in Eden.
"

Adam
'
s eyes glistened with tears as I pulled him close and wrapped him in my arms. I hated to hurt him with the lies about what God was telling me
,
but I thought it was necessary to convince the enemy.

And anyway
,
I knew that at least some of what I had said was true. I knew in my heart that God would never let us back into paradise.

It was a terrible thing to know
,
especially now that I had been reminded of just how wondrous Eden could be. It was enough to make me cry tears of my own as my husband sobbed against my shoulder.

"
God forgives you
,
"
I said
,
raising my voice for the enemy.
"
Go to him. Go before he changes his mind.
"

Then
,
as Adam and I held each other and wept
,
I finally heard it.

The rustle of grass. The whisper of something sliding through it
,
pressing soft blades beneath a long
,
supple body.

Then rasping over the ground. Slithering closer.

Hissing.

And then
,
I felt it. Rippling right over the tops of my feet.

I clutched my husband tighter and clamped my eyes shut
,
willing myself not to move.