It was common knowledge in Eden that there was something special about the Apple Tree at the center of the city. It was a tall and magnificent tree, with bright green leaves that shine brilliantly under the sunlight. But what truly set it apart from the ordinary apple tree was its singular Apple hanging from one of its lower branches, low enough that even a child could pick it off if they were on the tips of their toes. 

The Apple was bigger than most and coated with a beautiful dark red, the kind of red that spills out of heretics’ gullets when their heads are separated from their bodies; their mouths hanging open, still waiting to deliver one final plea of innocence that never made it to ears of the lookers-on. It swung back and forth and back and forth in the wind, as if it were tempting someone to just reach out and twist it off of its branch and take one juicy delicious bite after another.

Over time, the Apple had become something of an object of reverence among the people of Eden. A tree this magnificent, this beautiful, this majestic can only be a gift from God Himself, they thought. And the sole Apple produced by said Tree? Why, it must be the holiest Apple in the world! 

And the people swore by it and prayed by it and did all the things they thought of to show their utmost gratitude to whatever great being bestowed that holy gift upon them. It became a part of their communities, and a part of their culture.  The Apple was something they all shared, and something that belonged to each and every one of them. 

Evie never quite understood what everyone else saw in that Apple Tree. Perhaps it was because she wasn’t really a native resident; she had moved in with her parents just a few years back so that her mom could live closer to work. She thought an apple tree that spawned a single apple was the worst apple tree she had ever seen, since apple trees were supposed to make apples. Even an apple tree that only yielded two apples would be a huge upgrade. Evie was convinced that the Apple Tree had impaired apple-growing capabilities and that the sole Apple produced by said Tree probably tasted like crap, anyway.

But Evie never said any of that out loud. When they had first moved to Eden, she explained her doubts to her mother, who told her to “keep it to yourself, honey.” And when she asked why she shouldn’t talk about it with their new neighbors, she was met with “Well, what good would that do?” and Evie didn’t have an answer to that, so she decided not to press the issue further. 

Evie never stopped thinking about the Apple, though. It filled her mind with endless questions that she struggled in vain to answer. She didn’t wonder why the Tree was so magnificent or only produced the one Apple. That didn’t intrigue her one bit. What she found so interesting was the way everyone in town was so hung up on a fruit tree. You see, back in her hometown everybody Evie knew paid far less attention to fruits and fruit trees. There were quite a few apple trees, but those apple trees were far better because they produced a lot of apples. Besides, people were allowed to eat the apples, and Evie loved eating apples so she was understandably disappointed upon seeing the sad state of Eden’s apple economy. 

Even worse, the Apple was the only one in the city, and it was forbidden to bring other apples into Eden. The townsfolk felt having other apples would pull attention and value away from the Apple, but this meant Evie would have to leave the city for a taste of her favorite fruit. That wasn’t the only rule in town about the Apple, either. For one, every Sunday, everybody in town was supposed to gather around the Apple Tree to admire the Apple. And while some of them did spend their day complimenting and praising the Apple’s size or its redness or any other good qualities they found, most found it a good opportunity to catch up with their neighbors and talk about their week. Despite what she thought of the Apple itself, Evie learned to love attending those gatherings. Back when Evie was still new in town, she felt sort of out of place among the townsfolk gathered around the Tree, but after attending their meetings week after week, month after month, year after year; Evie began to look forward to the community gatherings. She loved seeing the friendliness of her neighbors and she loved seeing the crowds of smiling faces filled with joy at the sight of friends and family and she especially loved seeing the food everyone always brought to the table. But most of all, she loved going to each meeting because it meant she could see Adam. 

There wasn’t a single person in town who didn’t love Adam. He was the golden child of the city, the pride of every parent, the idol of all his peers. Some said he must’ve eaten all the apples from the Tree, except for the one left. Evie knew this couldn’t be true, because Adam wasn’t that fond of apples and the like. He preferred oranges, and had told her before that if the Apple had been an Orange instead, he probably would’ve fallen to temptation and eaten it long ago. After all, he was only human. But to the rest of the townsfolk, the possibility that Adam would do anything like that was unfathomable. They only knew Adam as the person who made Eden feel like home, and the reason every day in Eden was full of joy and laughter and warmth. He put the sun in the sky to brighten everyone’s day and taught the birds to sing their pretty songs and made sure nobody in town ever felt lonely. Every day with Adam around was a good day, and it was on one such day that Evie watched as Adam, her very best friend in the whole wide world, died miserably in a hospital bed.

It came as no surprise to anyone, really. Everybody in town knew Adam had been sick for some time, but nobody ever said anything. In fact, nobody even knew exactly what Adam was sick with, but the general consensus about the town was that it was either bad or really, really, really bad. But Adam never showed any sign of sickness-in fact, you couldn’t tell he was sick at all from just a glance. The townsfolk sang his praises, that he was so brave and so fearless for continuing to live his life despite his impending doom. 

But Adam never fully acknowledged their words of recognition and applause. 

“Well, what else am I supposed to do?” Adam would say. And Evie would just shrug, unable to provide an answer. 

But eventually Adam’s condition began to worsen, in the way that illnesses often do. And it was clear to everyone Adam would soon require more medical attention. He began to tire easily, and could do only a fraction of his previous workload, the rest of his time spent either in bed or the hospital. 

Almost out of spite for whatever force of nature that presented him with his illness - be it God, or the Apple, or both - Adam remained unmoved by his deteriorating health. The praises sung by the townsfolk soon turned to worry and concern; those who would ask him for help before began to turn him away, for they knew Adam would try to help out no matter his condition. But Adam wasn’t the kind of person to take others’ pity. Regardless of how he was treated by his peers, Adam refused to show any sign of his being unwell, and Evie thought he looked happier then than when he was perfectly healthy. 

The thing about illnesses, Evie learned, is that sometimes they just couldn’t be hidden very well. And despite Adam’s best attempts to look healthy, he wasn’t. Adam was very, very sick. He was so incredibly sick that one day, during the town’s annual charity drive that Adam convinced Evie to attend every year, one pitiful volunteer wandered into the restroom only to find Adam on the floor, in a pool of his own bloody vomit.

As Adam was rushed to the hospital, word of his injury spread like wildfire, and the entire town had a fit. All the townsfolk wanted to see Adam and make sure he was okay. They came out of their homes with their parents and their children, driving to the hospital as soon as they could, as fast as they could. They arrived so quickly, in fact, that they were at the hospital before the ambulance. Meanwhile, the ambulance itself was delayed due to traffic caused by all those who wanted to make sure Adam got to the hospital in time. 

By the time Adam arrived at the hospital, it was already too late. Evie knew very well, because she asked everybody in the clinic. The nurses said so, and so did the doctors. One nurse who came in from another unit took one look at Adam and offered her prayers.

Evie was devastated. She felt as if her chest would burst with anxiety and worry and she was so scared of anything that could happen to Adam, and yet she could do nothing but sit in the hard waiting room chair while her best friend struggled to stay alive in the next room over. Every once in a while, a nurse or a doctor would come out of Adam’s room and she would ask them if he was okay and what they were doing to him. And all they would do was look sad and apologize, and all she could do was say “Alright, I understand” and pray to the Apple for Adam’s health with the rest of the townsfolk gathered in the waiting room. But as they prayed and prayed, Evie realized there was something she could do. At night, she left the waiting room and went straight to the Apple Tree. 

The Tree was surrounded by a small, rather humble temple of sorts which was managed by a Ms. Nahash. Ms. Nahash was a tall, slender woman, with a long neck, and looked as if a forked tongue might slip out of her mouth at any moment. She was well respected by the townsfolk, and nobody else in Eden knew as much about the history of the Apple or about how to tend to the Apple Tree. While Adam breathed life and warmth into the town of Eden, Ms. Nahash made a community out of the townsfolk, and everybody knew that she was the reason it was worth visiting the temple on Sundays.

Evie walked in through the temple gates; Ms. Nahash never locked the temple. Evie asked her about it once, out of curiosity. “Aren’t you afraid people will come in and steal stuff?” She asked. Ms. Nahash laughed and said, “What can they steal that I wasn’t already planning to give away? Let them take what they want. It’s less work for me.”

Finally, Evie reached the Apple Tree at the center of the temple. A single ray of moonlight shone on the Tree, almost as if God Himself was pointing at it for the whole world to see. But as Evie walked toward it she saw the slender figure of Ms. Nahash standing in front of the Apple. 

“Why are you here, Evie?” Ms. Nahash turned around to face her.

“Ms. Nahash, all the doctors say Adam isn’t going to make it. I don’t think anything they’ve tried is working.”

“So why’d you come to me?”

“Ms. Nahash, please give me the Apple.”

“Evie, do you understand what you’re saying?”

“Look, nothing else is working! If Adam eats the Apple, I think at least maybe it’ll make him better. It has holy power, right? It’s got to at least be able to cure whatever Adam has.”

“Evie, the Apple is holy because it’s a gift from God. How can I just give it away to you? Even if it might save Adam, we don’t have the right to decide for ourselves who we give it to.”

“No, you’re wrong. God’s gift to us isn’t the Apple, it’s Adam. And right now, Adam is going to die if we don’t do something. Ms. Nahash, please give Adam the Apple.” 

To Evie’s surprise, Ms. Nahash smiled. 

“Well, at least you’re right about the Apple.” 

Evie decided it best not to ask her what she meant. Ms. Nahash twisted the Apple off of its branch and gently placed it into Evie’s open hands. 

“Thank you. I’ll make sure to come back with Adam, and we can thank you properly next time.”

She rushed back to the hospital. The night shift nurses were still out and about the unit, but she was allowed to visit Adam, as long as she was quiet. Adam was still comatose, lying peacefully in bed except for a feeding tube coming out of his torso. Evie took the Apple out of her bag. Looking at it now, Evie thought it seemed to have lost its gleam. Nevertheless, she took bite after bite out of the Apple and chewed before spitting into Adam’s feeding tube. After saying a short prayer, Evie closed the cap on his feeding tube and left the hospital.

The next morning, the townsfolk visited Adam’s room only to find, to their horror, a flat line displayed on his heart monitor.