Blood, earth, and water. Rain, mud, and red. In the end, that is all that exists. What is man but a combination of these three elements? Nothing. This story begins and ends with them, with the water pouring down, the earth reaching up, and the blood caught in between.
Two figures lay curled up among the leafy ferns. Around them, nature cried out in agony. The evening skies, which had been merely rainy before, were dark and stormy. Lightning crashed overhead, and unseen creatures scurried to find shelter beneath the tree canopy. Night was coming.
The man stood up, shouting into the wind and the storm. He struggled to be heard over the howling wind, his words filled with rage and loss.
“Where are you?” He screamed, “Why have you abandoned us?”
“It’s no use.” The woman said quietly. Louder, she yelled to the man, “There’s no point. He’s gone.” The man turned, his face twisted in the semi-darkness.
“He can’t be gone; he would never leave us like that.”
The woman stood also, matching the man’s height. “Wake up Adam, he already has.”
The man turned on his wife. “You’re right. He is gone, and it is all your fault.”
The woman glared at him with smoldering eyes. “My fault? My fault? How can you even say that? You were right there next to me the whole time.”
“You’re always telling me to let you do what you want! And you looked pretty happy eating that fruit.”
“Do I look happy now, Adam?” She snarled, “Don’t pin this all on me, at least half of the blame is yours.”
“I’m not the one who ate the fruit, Eve!” He bellowed.
“Yes you are, Adam!” She screeched back, “You ate it before I’d even finished! You grabbed it out of my hand and shoved it into your stupid face!” She began circling around him, out of reach.
“I’m not stupid, that’s why I’m the leader.” He growled.
“You’re a weak leader,” she jeered at him, “I knew that even before my eyes were opened.”
“Stop it!” He yelled, rotating in place in order to keep her in view, “Just stop it!”
“The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” She cackled.
With a wordless cry, he lunged forward, grappling at her. She met him gladly, a ferocious grin on her face. They toppled over into the mud, straining against one another. The storm had ceased its fury; it appeared to be pausing simply to watch the two combatants below.
Blinded with mud, the man struck out blindly with his fist, connecting with the woman’s nose, breaking it. Blood gushed out and spilled into her mouth. She spat it at him, and raked her hand across his face, her nails carved four bloody lines into his cheek.
As suddenly as it had stopped, the rain started again. Heaven’s tears wept down upon them as they stared at one another. Blood dripped down to mingle with the muddy pools of water on the torn up earth. Darkness fell upon them, as night suffocated the earth.
“Now what are we supposed to do?”
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