And he answered saying: This high mountain which thou hast seen, whose summit is like the throne of God, is His throne, where the Holy Great One, the Lord of Glory, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with goodness. And as for this fragrant tree no mortal is permitted to touch it til the great judgement, when He shall take vengeance on all and bring to its consummation forever. It shall be given to the righteous and holy. Its fruit shall be for food to the elect: it shall be transplanted to the holy place, to the temple of the Lord, the Eternal King.

In the morning we wove our way up a hill through the ruins of mankind’s first home, to Eve’s first home. Our horses had to pick their way carefully on the overgrown road that had long given way to disuse and ruin. The top of the slope was a flat plain that ended abruptly at a wall of thick trees and the darkest most tangled undergrowth that I had seen before or since. The mere sight of it on the horizon chilled me. It was as far from the paradise of legend as a cute puppy from a hyena. The closer we rode the taller and more menacing it seemed concealing an eternal night within the choking branches.

The forbidding wall of green was complete and impenetrable save in one chasm that burrowed into dark and looked suspiciously like the maw of a patient hungry creature. Not far from the garden was a crumbling pile of stones. As we approached Eve dismounted then placed her hand on the crumbled altar.

“Is this the altar?” Seth asked. He gently touched the stacked stones with his fingertips.

“Yes,” Eve said. “I suppose you don’t know this place. We left while I was pregnant with you. A lot happened here.” She smiled sadly then walked on and beckoned for us to follow.

As we got closer to the garden the horses pulled on their reins and would not move any more than we made them. The dark entrance was sharply contrasted by the bright blue sky, making the shadows all the more impenetrable. Once we were close enough to hear the sounds of the forest a white light appeared in the darkness. Eve stopped to wait and a glowing figure came out of the deathly maw. It was a person, but more and less. They seemed brighter, but of less substance. It was strange like a distorted reflection as if when he turned sideways he would disappear but so blindingly bright and powerful. He had long white hair and wore gleaming armor with a sword sheathed at his side and a shield hanging on his belt. I was seized by both fear and wonder and it was unclear to me until he spoke and commanded my attention whether I would stay or flee.

“Who comes to the garden?” His voice was clear and piercing though soft, like a single tone from a reed. I could feel it resonating in the earth and myself, much like an atlantean device but clearer and more distinct. I shuddered but Seth and Eve were both unaffected.

“Hello Simiel,” Eve said as if she were a shopkeeper greeting a regular customer. “You know who we are and why we are here.”

“And you know that entrance is forbidden,” Simiel replied. “If you die this day it will be of your own choosing. Turn away. Be at peace with the gifts you have been given.”

“What if I will not?” Eve challenged.

“So be it,” the armored figure answered and grasped the hilt of the sword at his side. As he drew the blade the air around him bent and warped. Light coalesced and clung to the blade like a flame of power, glory, and terror. From behind him sprouted tongues of light in the shape of wings. “Repent from this foolishness,” he warned as his feet left the ground and the earth trembled.

I would have run had the shock not dropped me to my knees. I would have crawled but fear froze me. Eve stepped forward into the overwhelming light and defied the power that could extinguish her in an instant. I learned something that day. Justice serves no one. Justice destroys all imperfection and everything falls into that category. Though appeasing it is sometimes possible, the price is great and terrible. More than I ever wanted to pay.

“I bring an offering,” Eve’s voice rang in the trembling air. “If the price is paid we may enter.”

The inescapable flame hesitated. “Make your offer,” Simiel boomed.

Eve gestured to Seth and I could see regret in his eyes as he took me by the arm and dragged me to the cherubim. He was reluctant, but he did it. He led me, unwillingly, to die in his place. My legs were numb and I could not fight the booming vibrations that emanated from the flaming figure of light. I was helpless like a lamb on the altar. No, not like a lamb, I was the lamb. I couldn’t believe it. I was betrayed. Of course, I should have known that sacrifice was the only way to appease God. If only I could have stood. If only I had understood what was happening I could have simply said no, but I was young and weak and could not set aside the vibrations that I could have harnessed to deal justice to those who betrayed me. But it is well that I didn’t know. As I explained before, justice did not serve me and never has.

The cherubim approached and I was coated by a sheen of sweat. His sword was inches from my face as I looked up helplessly at my doom. I was shaking so badly that the image came to mind of myself falling on his blade by accident. Would that ruin the sacrifice? I found it odd that I could still feel embarrassed at such a critical moment, but so it was. Then I noticed that the tip of the blade closest to my face was mere steel. It was still more than enough to end me, but the fire was slowly extinguishing along the length of the blade.

Simiel hesitated then stepped back. His sword began to blaze again right before he returned it to its sheath. Eve and Seth looked on dumbfounded, but not as much as I. The vibrations calmed and my strength returned. The light around the cherubim contracted inward until only a slight glow remained around Simiel as before.

“You are not bound by this justice,” he said softly, and even he seemed confused. “You may pass.”

The aching in my everything subsided as I stretched and stepped away from the traitors that had sold me to my unexpected savior. I could have almost believed Simiel were just a man if it were not for the glow and his edges being too clean for a mortal creature. I could still feel a humming from him but the earth shaking aura was gone for the present. He beckoned for me to pass and as I did so I looked back at Eve and Seth who still gaped in shock. I had trusted them and they had tried to kill me. I wasn’t about to march in there and bring back the fruit for them, but at the same time I wanted to go. I wanted to see it. I also didn’t want to stay and talk about it. Facing Eve and Seth right then seemed more formidable to me than an unknown, dangerous, wild, jungle. I told you I was vain and foolish. I marched away on shaking legs but gained firmness and resolve with each step.

“Namir, wait,” Seth called.

I felt Simiel’s power spring to life again but I was far enough now that I didn’t stumble and I didn’t look back.

“Namir,” Eve yelled as I passed into the shadow of the trees. “Be careful.”

I brashly stepped into the darkness ignoring the pleas of the woman who had sold me. It was a long time before I remembered that I had entered with neither horse nor provision. I had fled to the forest out of spite, anger, and pride but I couldn’t eat them nor could they keep me warm and dry. When I thought about my horse I hoped that Eve and Seth would be kinder to Moonfreckle than they had been to me. By the time I looked back my path was lost. The trees were thick and the undergrowth wove a labyrinth that led me deeper into the darkness. It was hard to conflate this wild forbidding living maze to the garden paradise from the stories. Eve was right when she claimed that not only had mankind fallen, but all of the world. Would the tree of life still be there?

I continued as straight a course westward as I could, but regularly discovered that I had been going a completely different direction. Late in the day I found a clear stream and wild grapes growing beside it. It wasn’t much but perhaps it would be enough to keep me going for one more day. I had no pack nor waterskin so I picked a part of the vine that I could easily carry and continued on my way. The grapes heartened me. After all, this had once been a garden surely I would find more to sustain me. I saw many animals, but only in fleeting glimpses, from rodents and lizards to birds and deer. There were insects so large that I thought they were birds and frogs more colorful and varied than the flowers that grew from the forest floor or drooped from the trees above.

As beautiful as the scene was when darkness came it was accompanied by the snarls and cries of predator and prey. I could not kindle a fire that first night and it was in the utter dark surrounded by the wild that I first second guessed my impetuous decision. The next morning I found a fig tree and was able to drink some gathered rainwater that had fallen in the night. The garden held no fear of mankind nor did the beasts which nearly cost me my life more than once.

The second morning I was awakened by a bear snuffling and nibbling at me. It was a surprise to say the least and it took some time convincing it that it could find an easier meal elsewhere. What finally dissuaded it was that I stumbled upon a tiger eating its recent kill. The bear fled like a reasonable creature and I did the same though more carefully. At one point a troop of monkeys hounded and chased me for about three leagues. By the fifth day I was exhausted, starving, and bedraggled. Going back to be sacrificed did not sound as bad as it once had.

The air was close and muggy. The trees crowded so thick that I was lucky to catch a glimpse of sunlight each day. The animals were relentless, and the terrain impassable. But on the bright side I did not have to worry about sunburn and I did regularly find enough water and food to keep me alive. Near a spring where an apricot tree grew I thought that if I had some tools I could probably build some kind of shelter. It wouldn’t take much to have a nice home there. I wouldn’t have to worry about neighbors, ever. My gate would be guarded by angels. Not even a king could boast that.

In spite of all my juvenile plans I knew that eventually I would find the fruit and go back. There was no altruism or heroic drive to do good to those who cursed me. The truth was that I was lonely and afraid. Maybe a peace offering would tempt them to take me back, and I had to know.

It was on the seventh day that the trees began to thin out and I emerged into the dazzling sunlight of a huge clearing. In the center a hill rose massive like a temple. At the top of the ascent were two trees, one gold and green like the young tender leaves of spring and the other silver and dark like a pine covered in snow. Each tree flowered and bore fruit that looked like glass globes filled with liquid light that swirled and gleamed like a fish in a bowl. I wandered beneath the boughs in wonder where the silver and gold mingled dropping light that fell like rain around me. The leaves and fruit glittered like stars and planets above. I had finally found the paradise that had been promised. I was enchanted, which was why I didn’t notice the hulking scaly mass coiling around the whole hilltop. I reached up to touch where a gold and silver fruit grew side by side like the sun and moon shining together rather than blocking each other out.