A Likely Conversation









Ezra Azra

.


 
© Copyright 2023 by Ezra Azra

Photo by Rivindhu Geeneth on Unsplash
Photo by Rivindhu Geeneth on Unsplash
 
"The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of knowledge, thou shalt not eat of it." King James Bible.

You have been at that tree, again, Eve, haven't you?

Yes. How can you tell?

You have its aroma all about you.

A good aroma?

Positively drinkable. Come here.

If both of us tended it together, I would find you drinkable, too.

I am sure you would. But you know how I am about that tree ever since the Lord banned its fruit from us.

Why us only? All the animals eat the fruit; they enjoy the fruit, and nothing bad happens to them. Those slimy multilegged Serpents, especially; they practically live in that tree. Anyway, only its fruit, Adam, is banned. Not the tree. We were told to tend the whole garden. You should not be neglecting that tree.

It is not neglect while one of us is doing an excellent tending. And, I could say the same thing about you since I cannot remember when last you helped me with that other banned tree.

Uh-uh. The situations are different. That tree is so far away from our home; this tree is down the road around the corner.

Far away is no excuse, Eve. The Horses are always eager to give us rides. I am thinking of coaxing an Eagle to give us a ride.

What about aroma? This one is drinkable, according to you. I do not discern any aroma about you from that tree.

I am not surprised. It hasn't had any fruit, up to now. Even stranger is that so far I have not seen any bird in it. No insects; even a Butterfly.

As I said, it is so far away, and so high up. It is too cold for animals up there. And as for this tree, you are going to have to help me, sooner or later, because of the creeper vines. They are on every branch. How much longer can that tree carry the weight?

Get the Giraffe's to eat the vines. That's why they were created; to eat the out-of-reach problems.

Way ahead of you, Adam. I brought in the Giraffes. Matters got worse because those slimy multilegged Serpents among the vines got the Giraffe's to engage in playing games; and now their games got the vines into knots.

Eve, why are you saying the Serpents are slimy?

Because they are, Adam. They give me the creeps.

Then order the Serpents out of the tree.

I can do that?

Yes, Eve, you can do that. Remember when we ordered those Frogs out of the river?

You ordered the Frogs out of their river, Adam. I like the Frogs. They complained to me about you.

Really? And did you tell them that it was you who saw the mischief they were up to against the Tortoises, and you reported it to me? You expected me to take charge, and I did. Now, this second time, it's your turn to take charge.

Good. I will. And then we might get to see what that fruit is that has been forbidden to us only.

You have not seen it yet?

No, because those slimy creepy Serpents gobble them up the moment they ripen. Have you ever seen a ripe one?

No. As you know, I have not yet been near enough to that tree.

I've had glimpses. It looks like a berry of some sort.

All the more reason to be extra careful. If it’s among other berries, you could eat it without meaning to.

Will that count as disobedience?

I do not know, Eve, and I am not going to risk it. My advice is, stay away from that tree and its fruit. I wish the animals would keep eating all the fruit off that tree.

Is it fair that the animals eat the fruit all the time and nothing bad happens to them?

Eve, please, do not go there. It is not about what is fair and unfair. It's about obedience. There are countless fruit trees with spectacular fruit better than piddly berries. Berries are for Birds, Insects and Worms and Snakes. Two days ago I discovered the Hapus mango. Each one a handful. Sweeter than an Archangel's righteousness. Yikes, did I just say that?

Did you bring a Hapus mango one home for me?

Sorry. I think I ate about five of them, and then I went into a blissfully hypnotic sleep. Anyway, before I forget, we have been invited to a celebration.

A celebration? By whom?

The Lord Himself. All the animals are invited, too.

That reminds me, Adam. I have been meaning to ask you. Why has the Lord not given the animals the ability to speak?

I do not know, Eve. Because it is not needed? We understand them and they us in every situation.

Yes, Adam, but without speech, there can be no discussion. I would like to hear an Eagle describe the experience of being able to fly so high above the clouds.

That's an excellent thought, Eve. Ask the Lord.

You ask Him, Adam. I stammer too much when I speak to Him.

Uh-uh. There you go again. Remember that situation with the Froga? You were afraid to implement your great idea. Not this time, Eve. You go for it. Ask the Lord.

Okay. You will be there, too?

Always.

Perhaps we can get the animals to ask?

No, Eve. You ask the Lord. I will be right next to you.

Okay, okay. I'll do it. What if the Lord is displeased?

Then He will have to be displeased with the both of us.

Thank you. If I decide to not ask, will you be disappointed?

Absolutely not. Let's do it like this. At the celebration, we distribute Hapus mangos. It will drive everybody into a state of hypnotic ecstasy, perhaps even the Lord Himself. Then you ask the Lord the question. If the Lord is displeased, we will apologize and blame it on Hapus righteous intoxication.

As far as I remember, Adam, the Lord did not teach us to speak.

No. He did not need to. He made us with his DNA, and so we inherited it.

So, only the three of us speak?

Yes.

To whom did the Lord speak before He created us?

Eve, again and again, I do not have the answers. Let's just focus on preparing for the celebration.

Okay. What are we celebrating?

I have no idea. I think it's a surprise. Everyone is to dress up as something other than themselves.

I'm going dressed up as the Lord.

Eve?

What?

The Lord is a Spirit. He has no definite shape. Whichever shape you choose will be a one-in-infinity likelihood that anyone will agree with your choice. Even the Lord Himself might not know. Why would He need to care?

How about you and I have a bet? Whoever recognizes the other, gets a wish the other must grant?

You're on.

Good. I'm letting you know my wish is going to be you help me with those vines on the tree of Knowledge.

This is incredible!

What?

We are so alike. My wish is going to be you help me with the tree of Life.

Quickly, let's hurry off. There's one of the multilegged slimy Serpents coming this way.

Okay. Did you say you like the Frogs?

Uh-huh.

You don’t find them slimy? 


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