The Writers' Circle

12,000 years ago.
    A warm, gentle breeze blew over the fertile valley below. It helped carry the eagle higher as it passed slowly overhead. It cast a fleeting shadow over the lone figure rolling in the grass far below. As it passed over her naked, youthful body Eve stopped rolling and sat up to gaze at the eagle passing in the warm morning air. A look of pure joy quickly ran across her beautiful face.
    "Good morning my graceful friend," she sang out. She used the musical sing song language she and Adam shared with all the other creatures living in the garden. They lived in complete harmony with these creatures. They were their friends and companions and had nothing to fear from any of them. They were their brothers and sisters and they all took care of each other.
      Eve quickly jumped to her feet and raced through the waist high grass that ran throughout the valley. She ran to the giant oak tree that sat near the center of the fertile valley. It was her favorite place in the garden and she spent most of her time there. 
      She climbed up the weathered bark running up the tree and reached the branch high where her adopted family lived. "How are you doing today?" Eve asked the chirping bundles of fur. She settled down on the thick, well worn branch. The little bundles swarmed towards the sound of her musical voice. She picked one of them up and lovingly pressed it against her soft cheek. The mother eagle gracefully landed on the nest.
     "Hello, Eve." It sang to her.
     "Hello Bara, how is our family doing this morning?" Eve asked. Next to Adam, Bara was her closest friend. She place the chick gently back into the nest so it could bask in the afterglow its mother was giving off. Bara had just come back from the Tree of Life and was full of the life giving energy it radiated. She let her children soak in the nourishing energy. The chicks stood still, mesmerized by this miracle of warmth and life. 
     "We are well, my dear Eve, Father has blessed me with a strong bunch of children this time. They are growing faster and stronger than any other I have had." She beamed with pride at the half dozen eagle chicks fanned out before her in the nest.
     "Father is most beloved and generous in his libations Bara" Eve stated. "He will keep them safe and healthy." As she said this, they both felt the cold reach of death touch them as the wind changed direction. A strong shiver overwhelmed Eve as this deadly energy washed over them.  It came from the far edge of the garden; a place they were strictly forbidden to go by Father. It was the cold still energy the radiated from the Tree of Death. No matter how many times Father explained it to her; Eve couldn't understand why such a horrible thing was here in their garden paradise. But Father said it was necessary so she accepted it without question. "Stay away." Eve murmured as the wind changed back to its original direction. 
     She had seen many small creatures in the garden wander too close to this forbidden area and she watched as the gift of life was quickly drained from their bodies. She had nightmares where the shadow of death ran throughout the garden and snuffed out all it came across. It left the garden a cold sterile wasteland. Father always came to her after these dark dreams and assured her that nothing could harm them long as they obeyed him. She was thinking these dark thoughts when a deep peacefulness came up from behind her and settled into her soul. Father had arrived.
     "Tension, so much tension, what is bothering you this morning my child?" Father asked.
     "Father? Tell me again why the Tree of Death is in our garden. It frightens me so." Eve pleaded.
      "Stop fretting my daughter, you are so young you indulge yourself in worry when you should be happy and content. I have provided this wonderful garden for you and yet you dwell on just a small part of it. Ignore the darkness and enjoy the light."
      "I try Father but I don't understand why the darkness is in the garden." Her eyes wandered towards the dark corner of the garden.
     "Very well," Father sighed, "I will try and explain this to you again. But you must promise to try and ignore the darkness if I do."
    "I promise "agreed Eve.
     Well my love, in order to give you and Adam and everything else in the garden the Gift of Life I had to create Death. The universe is based on balance, if there is an up there must be a down, if there is a strong there must be a weak, if there is a light there must be a dark." God explained trying to put this idea in terms that Eve's young mind could understand. "So, if there is life, there must be death. This is a fundamental law of the universe that even I cannot change. Do you understand my beloved child?"
     "Yes Father," Eve replied though she was still not sure what he meant by law or universe. She accepted his word that it was needed and that was good enough for her. "Thank you Father."
     "Adam is looking for you; he is down by the river. You should join him."
     "Yes Father." She climbed down from her perch and ran towards the four points where the river came together. That was where Adam could always be found. Father slowly drifted off to tend to the rest of his garden.
     She found Adam laying with his face in the river watching the fish swimming past him in the strong current. She grabbed his feet and lifted them until he fell into the water. He quickly turned around in the water and pulled her in with him. She screamed in delight and tried to dunk him under the swift moving water. They splashed and laughed in the warm stream as the fish watched them play in the early morning sunlight. They climbed out of the water and rested on the riverbank taking in the morning hand in hand.
    "Where were you Eve?" Adam asked still laughing from their frolicking. "I sent Father to find you."
    "Father found me. I was with Bara and her children," Eve replied.
    "Again?" Adam asked. "What do you find so fascinating about them?"
     "I don't know, I just like taking care of them," she answered back. "Adam?"
     "Yes, dearest?"
     "Why do all the creatures in the garden have offspring?  Why don't we have any?"    
      "If Father wanted us to have children he would give them to us. Why should we want children we already have everything we need. Father takes very good care of us. If we had children we would have to take care of them. I don't think I would like that."
     "I think I would," she murmured back.
     "What?"
     "Nothing," she answered.
     They days passed one after another each day just like the one that came before it. There were no Sunday's or Monday's or Wednesdays. There were no weeks or months or years. No seasons, no Falls or Winters or Springs. No annual death and no annual renewal of life. 
      As this eternal time passed Eve became more and more despondent. Her heart sank with every passing day. Soon she didn't have the strength to even get up from the place she slept. Adam became more and more distressed as her condition worsened. Father had been busy tending something in the garden and hadn't noticed anything wrong. Adam cried out to get his attention:"Father, come quick, something's wrong with Eve, I think Death has come for her!"
     Father was nearby, and came quickly at Adam's cry. The crowd of creatures that had gathered to speak to him broke up and went back to their families. Wherever he went the creatures of the garden gathered to ask Father for things and to hear him speak. He was adored by them all. Father took good care of all of his children.
     "What is it my son?" Father asked.
     "It's Eve, Father, I think she's dying," Adam cried, nearly in a panic.
     "Let me have a look at her," Father said reassuringly.
      He took her head in his shimmering hands and held it close to his own. He held it there several minutes and then gently placed it down of the soft grass bed. He gave out a long soft sigh.
     "What is it Father? What is wrong with her? Is she going to die?"
     "No, no, she is going to live." he slowly answered.
     "Then what is it Father?" Adam asked, feeling a little better.
     "I was afraid this might happen," He answered. "You see Adam when you asked me for a companion a few months ago, I took one of your ribs and create her. When I created you I made you out of the cold, solid earth. You are like the earth; solid and steady in your emotions and temperament. Eve is from you, a part of you that is close to your heart. She is like you're heart; passionate, loving, and caring. I thought this difference would please you my son."
     "It has Father, I adore her as much as I adore you," Adam pleaded.
     "I know, my son, I know. But it has also made her long for the one thing I have denied you so far. The one thing I couldn't give you as long as you live here."
     "That's not true Father, you have provided everything we have asked from you," Adam assured him.
     "This is one thing Eve couldn't bear to ask for. She was too afraid I would say no. And if I did she felt it would break her heart. I should have known, I should have suspected the truth."
    "Father, what is it? What is this truth? What does she want so badly?"
     "She wants what every other creature in the garden has. a family. She spends her time watching the children of the foxes, fish and birds and asks herself what it would be like to have children of her own. She longs for this more than anything else, more than I could imagine she was capable of. That is what is making her sick, Adam."
    "Father, please make her better. Please make us a child. If you do this, she will get better then, will she not?"
     "No Adam I cannot simply create a child like I created you and Eve. I can only make the start of a species but after that it is up to them to procreate. Even I have rules that I have to follow just as I have to accept Death as the price to pay for creating life."
     "Then show us how Father, please!" Adam begged.
     "I cannot do that Adam, unlike all the other creatures of the garden, I have given you and Eve a very special gift. Intelligence. The other creatures can reason and think but only you two can create new ideas, form new thoughts. That is a small piece of me that you carry with you but aren't aware of. And it's a gift that is dangerous not only to yourselves but to every creature in the garden."
     "Father, we would never harm anything in the garden, we love you and everything you have created here."
     "I know Adam, as long as it is just you and Eve, the garden is safe. But if I show you how to have children, they will have children, and their children will have children. And so it will go on and on until the day comes when one of these children will figure out how to kill. And once that is done there will be no way to stop it. The killing will spread like a disease among your kind and no creature in the garden will be safe. I cannot allow this to happen."
     "But Father, what will happen to Eve if we have no children."
      He quietly sighed as he answered Adam."She will slowly continue to lose her will to live and she will eventually die."
     "No Father, please, oh please, do something."
      "There is only one thing I can do, my son. You are not going to like it but it must be done. I have no choice."
     "What Father? What must be done?" Adam asked.
     "I will fill Eve with enough will to get her awake but you two must talk to the serpent that lives on the Eastern border of the garden in the apple grove and ask him how to have children. After that is done, you must both leave the garden through the emerald caverns and never return to the garden."
     Adam started crying as Father started to revive Eve. "Father is there no other way?" Adam pleaded.
     "No, my son, this is the only road for your kind now. With this knowledge comes a very heavy burden, you must learn to take care of yourselves from now on. The serpent will help you get started on your way, listen to what he says carefully. I can no longer take care of you anymore, you will lead your own lives from now own and your fate will be what you make of it."
    Adam was absolutely despondent as he listened to Father."But Father will we never see you again?"
    Father smiled at his child and said: "You and Eve and your children evermore will carry a piece of me with you no matter how long the journey or how far you travel. I will always be a part of you and I will always be with you until the end of your kind arrives. When that time comes I will take back that piece and put it back into my heart. You will always be with me until the end of time. It is now time for you to leave my son," he said as Eve slowly rose to her feet.
     "Goodbye Father, I will miss you more than you can know." He said pulling Eve towards the apple grove.
     "Goodbye Adam, take care of yourself and Eve and try and keep what you have learned here in your heart and pass it onto your children."
     "I will Father, I promise," 
     Those were the last words either one of them spoke to God. They spent that afternoon quietly sitting under the apple tree, as the wise old serpent there explained how they were going to live there new life. When he was finished they got up and crossed through the Emerald caverns that led out of Eden and into the land of Nod. That was going to be the new home from now on. 
    After leaving the caverns, a loud crash made them turn back and look at the way they had just come. The mountain that rose high above the entrance to the caverns was being push over it by the hand of God. They knew in their hearts then that there was no going back and that they were never going to be welcome in the garden ever again. They turn back towards their new future and started the long journey walking hand in hand.

To: Jackson Turner: President Mid-American Petroleum Corp.
Subject: Al-Qurnah, Iraq test drill site. 

 25 July, 2010
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 Reply | Amaad Karaseim to me 
     Mr. Turner, I have good news from the latest series of test drills. While we haven't found the reservoir of oil that was expected based on the ground penetrating radar readings from this area, we may have discovered something even better. A closer examination of the drill bits has shown that they have pulled up a sizable amount of emerald with them. 
     The monumental size of this discovery dwarfs any amount of oil we would have discovered here. If the radar profile is composed entirely of emerald and not oil we may have just found the single largest deposit of emerald every discovered. A quick running of the numbers shows quite a staggering profit for us from this.
     It looks like we may have to switch to the gem business here if we can get this mother lode out of the ground. I can't wait to see the size of our bonus checks for this one. I will send you daily updates on any progress we make. 
Amaad Karaseim,
V.P. in charge of Exploration and Development,
Mid-American Petroleum Corp.
Middle East Division.
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