The Second Garden

It was found that a young man and his wife had violated the policy of a very exclusive garden. The Owner was not happy and said the only reasonable option was the couple should be banned for life. The young man's wife cried bitter tears, she loved walking with her husband in the garden and she knew grapes wouldn't taste the same anywhere else.

"I'm sorry my sweet," said the young man trying his best to comfort her, "We still have each other, Don't we?"

"You have my companionship still, my friends." said a wolf, 

This story took place a time long ago when animals could speak. Back then a wolf, snail, or even a snake, could talk to a man as easily as I write to you now. As it turned out, an eagle and an ox, as well as the wolf, all left the garden for the sake of the young man and woman's friendship. 

"We'll never have anything like our garden again," the young woman cried, "We'll never be happy again!" 

"Don't say that honey," said the young man, "Of course we will be happy again! I'll build you a garden just as wonderful as before!"

"And we'll help!" said their friends,

She wiped her face. Fooling herself into believing that her husband could rebuild their life the same as it was would give her the hope needed to survive.

"Thank you, my love" 

The young man got to work at once. The wolf revealed that plants are grown from small rock-looking things called seeds. The eagle scoured the world for these 'seeds' and found one for every plant in the garden and even a few that weren't. Every muscle and thought the friends could muster was put in the garden. Man is often credited with the invention of the plow, but we can thank the wolf for this crucial addition to farming. After the first few years of farming grapes and wheat, he discovered the ox was a better candidate for pulling it than the man. That didn't mean the young man didn't do any less work. From the suggestion of the wolf, he dug the first irrigation system before the shovel was invented, built the first house as well as expanded the farm as far as the eye can see. When the 'young man' was not such a young man anymore, the garden was just as big and diverse as the garden they left behind. He walked with his now pregnant wife through the garden a very tired man. They cut across their watermelon patch to get some grapes when the man saw feathers scattered all over the ground. He recognized the red juice that coated them from a hand injury while working in the fields. The wolf called it blood. The feathers were unmistakenly his friend the eagle. Tears started to grow on the man's face. What could have done this? The man carried the feathers to the wolf.

"What can we do?" the man cried,

The wolf looked down.

"There nothing we can do" he answered,

"Can't we fix him like we fixed the plow?"

"Remember those watermelons that dried out last summer? How you wished to revive them but couldn't? It's like that."

The man began to cry again. 

"I forgot to water the watermelons then. Did I not water eagle enough?"

There are many inventions that the wolf gave to humanity. The lie was not one of them.

"Adam, it is not your doing. I did it, Adam. I killed him."

"What? Why?" said Adam wiping his face of tears,

"I wasn't right ever since I left the garden. Fruit is bitter to me now."

"We are in the garden!"

"You can't compare it. You and I aren't what we used to be"

"You're not right, stop it! your not right!"

"You can grow as many gardens as you want but you can't block out death and grief, and hatred." 

"Why did you do it wolf?" 

"I'm sorry Adam, I was hungry"

Adam picked up a stone and smashed it on the wolf's skull. He did it again and again until the wolf was limp as a sack of potatoes. 

"I'm sorry Adam" were the first last words ever recorded. 

Adam sat in his house until his garden grew rotten from neglect. Adam's wife and the ox worked hard, but her pregnancy hampered her progress and the ox could not plant without help. Adam's wife grew sick. It wasn't long before they ran out of food. 

"Adam we are starving," said Eve,

"The soil is barren and there is no fruit," said Adam, "What can I do?"

"We are going to die soon, and so will our children."

Panic and hunger combined with grief and guilt is the most powerful force in history. Adam looked out at his barren fields. He looked around and found an invention the wolf had suggested Adam make to cut the fruits in the garden easier. Adam attached it to a stick. He would think of a name for it later. He walked out to the garden.

"Hello, Adam," said the ox, "Nice to see ya outside again."

"It's been hard without you" continued the ox, "Eve tries her best but she has too much growth on her stomach and not enough on her arms."

"I've carried on best I could but without those um a, seeds wolf was always a talkin"

The ox realized his mistake he tried his best to change the subject.

"What have you got there Adam? I never saw anything like it" 

Adam shoved the thing later generations would call a spear right into the ox's heart. Adam had no knowledge of anatomy. It must have been a guiding hand that lead it there, if it had not perhaps oxen would rule the earth rather than humans since even with the fatal blow, the ox struggled and almost killed Adam but he was able to drive the spear deeper and deeper down until the ox had nothing in his body to fight back with. 

"I'm sorry ox," said Adam, "I was hungry."