Edom and Ava

a very short story

The young man was sitting on the highest hill at the center of the garden between two tall trees, a pine and an oak. The sun was going down, it was still warm, his hand gently resting on the back of his faithful canine friend. Then the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the air became cool, the birds went to sleep, all was silence. The man would have said to the wolf, I am so alone, for there is none like me, you have your mate, and so do all the other creatures I have named, even the trees in the center of the garden are two, but I alone am one. The wolf would have replied, Master, you are not alone, you have me, and the gods come to visit you often, and especially your father and your brother who made you in their image. Then the man would have ended the conversation with an indisputable fact, And yet I am not like them, for they have wives.

But the conversation did not happen because the wolf did not speak his language, and so the man felt all the more alone, for there was no one to converse with on equal footing. It was such a strange feeling too. It was true that the man had given the wolf its name, but they had grown alongside each other, discovering the world inside the garden’s walls together, but then there was a moment when he knew they were not the same kin, he did not grow fur nor fangs nor ferocious teeth, his skin was light and even where hair started to grow it was not the same kind, and by now he could see their ways of thinking were very different, and he felt shame at the thought that he had surpassed the furry creature in many ways. The wolf was still his best friend, but in so many ways so far from him, and now he had a partner, a helpmate like him, a mirror in which he could understand his wolf nature, but who was there to show him who he was, to complete him. The answer was no one, and so he began to cry from his loneliness. The wolf licked his tears until there was only salt and no water, but then the female wolf appeared, and she had cubs with her, his best friend was now a father. The wolf brushed his nose against the man’s face as if to say, I have to go now, but I will be back tomorrow. The man felt a whole new loneliness as he saw the wolf family walk away, but he had no more tears to cry.

During the day he could distract himself with his chores, preparing garden beds and pruning the trees, or simply enjoying the company of the wolf, yet every day the beauties of the garden were losing their interest as there was no woman to share them with. But the nights were even worse, he was alone with his loneliness, and he couldn’t sleep. He was looking at the moon, so full, and the thought occurred to him, She never gets to be with her mate the sun, maybe that is my fate. Then he had an idea, I will search out in this garden all the creatures, and see if there is any who is alone like me, the wolf had his mate, but perhaps there is one out there I haven’t met. Everywhere he looked there were pairs of creatures, and not only the animals but the plants and the rocks as well, save for one. He did not remember seeing it before, or giving it a name, so he was trying to call on his father’s spirit to inspire him when he was interrupted, I have a name already, I am the serpent, How come you speak my language, I speak all languages, for I have lived a thousand lives, And yet you are alone, just like me, Yes, I am, but I need no second, How, It’s easy, I go out of the garden and take a life, then I come back and shed my skin. The man seemed confused so the serpent said, Here, I’ll show you. The spectacle was disgusting and the man fled frightened, asking himself, Is this really the only way. In his fright he had ran all the way down to the gate of the garden, there was no guard, the door was open, he looked back to the trees on the hill, his loneliness had become heavy, there were voices in his head, some said, This is not the way, others said, Do it, do it now, until the chatter was too intense and he fell to his knees and cried, Father, why have you forsaken me.

In the heavens the father and the mother were observing their youngest son’s distraught, they knew what they had to do but did not want to do it, no parent ever wants to let the child go, to set him free, to give him his own life. They had seen some of their children go astray and never come back, and worse still others had become their enemies, so they could not bring themselves to invite more misfortune, for they knew that alone he would never leave the garden. They were beginning to doubt their own purpose, and they would have remained in their indecision if their firstborn had not seen the distress in his parents’ eyes and come to their rescue, Father, mother, is this not the purpose of life itself, that a man will leave his father and mother and be with his wife, and the father replied, It is, my son, and we were once full of hope, but even you, our firstborn, our miracle child, had to leave our house and squander your inheritance before you came back to us, But don’t you see father, how can a man ever value the sweet without tasting the bitter, I left in ignorance but I returned with knowledge, But of what worth is knowledge if the price we pay for it is suffering, Father, the joy of return is larger than the sadness of leaving. The mother had tears in her eyes when she said, You have become wise beyond your years my son, Thank you mother, that I gained only by failure, and now you see, I have wisdom, I have a wife and I have returned to you, and our station is not the same, nor diminished, but increased. The father’s countenance had changed, My son, you are now fit to rule over creation, No, father, I do not wish to rule but to nurture, I am no king but a gardener, and in a way the earth is my child, I have to let it go.

That day, for the first and also the last time, a woman was taken out of a man. First she looked around, the trees were in bloom, and then she saw the god, so tall and strong, and only then did she see the man, so small and helpless. The god smiled and said to her, Let him sleep, he must rest, a lot was taken from him. Then the god told her all the stories of his homeland, and only now did she notice the pattern, in all of them, it was from woman that new life emerged, the man planted the seed but she was the dark earth in which it had to sprout.

The sun was coming up and the man was still asleep. The god was worried, He should be awake by now, but the woman had noticed one other pattern, so similar. In all the stories it was the woman who fell asleep, and the man who woke her up with a kiss. And then she had the answer, I was born from him but afterward all will be born from me, and the god was surprised, You’re right, afterward it will be the woman sleeping and the man kissing. Then he stopped, and with a serious semblance he said, You know the consequence, and the woman replied, Yes, I do, and so she kissed him and the man woke up.