Adventures in Paradise

Wow. This place is amazing, Josh thought as he sat on the deck of his cabin looking out over a verdant meadow sprinkled with wildflowers. A small herd of four deer grazed at the edge of the meadow.

Josh sipped his coffee. A perfect way to start the day, he thought. His wife Suzy sat beside him. Yes it is, she thought. Neither had spoken, yet each knew what the other thought.

How about we go up to the lake for a swim? Josh thought.

Sounds good to me, Suzy replied. She liked being able to read Josh’s mind, well sometimes she did.

They finished their coffee.

Josh felt hungry. A bowl of Toasted Oats with Blueberries and Bananas and 1% milk would be nice, he thought. A bowl of cereal appeared on the table.

You hungry? Josh asked.

No, think I’ll just have a piece of whole-grain toast with butter on it, she replied. The toast appeared on the table. Mmmm, toasted dark brown, just the way I like it.

How long have we been here? Suzy wondered as she munched her toast.

Don’t know, Josh replied between spoonfuls of cereal. I’ve lost all track of time. It’s as if time doesn’t exist here. We always seem to have plenty of it and I never get tired. Do you?

No, not at all. I feel as rested at the end of the day as I do now. Suzy replied.

They finished their meal and the dirty dishes disappeared as soon as they pushed them aside.

I really like the dishwasher here, Suzy said.  Busses the table. Loads itself. Unloads itself and puts the dishes away somewhere, I presume. Then, when we're ready for our next meal, out they come.

Yeah, it is pretty cool, Josh replied. He enjoyed the fact that he didn’t have to do the dishes anymore. Didn’t even have to put them in the dishwasher. Yep, this was paradise alright.

You ready for that swim? Josh asked.

Sure let’s go. Can we go the old-fashioned way? I feel like running. Suzy said. She knew they could be at the lake just by imagining themselves there, but she liked to walk and run. Today she felt like running.

Sounds good. With that, Josh got up and headed down the steps to the path that led down to the brook and the main path that meandered along the brook and up through the forest to the lake on the other side of the hill.

Suzy followed him. Once they got to the main path, Josh started to jog. Suzy did, too. Even though they’d just eaten, neither felt any ill effects from having food in their stomachs.

A mile of jogging through a fir forest with manzanita bushes growing in patches along the path brought them to another path that branched off and led down to a crystal-clear mountain lake. Though formed by melting snow from a glacier on the side of the mountains beyond the lake, the water temperature was perfect for swimming.

Josh reached the lake first and ran out into it. Water’s fine he said. Race you to the other side.

You’re on, Suzy replied as she ran out into the water. Neither of them wore any clothes, not even shoes. The ground was soft and never hurt their feet. Though the sun beat down, they had no worry of sunburn. Both sported deep tans from days out in the sun.

They swam across the lake. Josh underwater and Suzy doing her famous backstroke and sidestroke. The lake has to be a mile wide, she thought and marveled that Josh could swim across it underwater.

Suzy easily beat him. After all, I am an Olympic-qualifying swimmer. She thought.

When they got to the other side, Suzy pulled herself up onto a large flat boulder at the edge of the lake. It was the perfect size for her and Josh to lie on and let the warm sun dry them.

After a cool swim, this warm rock sure feels good, Suzy thought.

Josh pulled himself out and lay beside her. Neither was winded despite having just swum a mile, and Josh had done the entire distance underwater without surfacing for a breath. Sure, he’d been a Navy Seal, but he’d never come even close to such a feat during his Seal days.

They rested on the rock for a while.

This place is amazing, Josh thought. It’s like being retired. We can do whatever we want whenever we want.

I know, Suzy agreed. It’s even better than retirement.

Though neither she nor Josh were old enough to know anything about retirement, they had often dreamed of it.

Sure, when you’re retired your time is your own, but you still have certain obligations. And you are OLD. You have aches and pains and you don’t have the energy that we do, she thought. This place is way better than retirement.

Good point, Josh agreed.

After a pause, he continued, I’ve been thinking. We are like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We have it made here. Whatever we want seems to appear when we want it. This is truly paradise. I couldn’t ask for anything better. I love the cabin and the brook and the meadow and the mountains and being here with you. We’ve got the lake and the brook to swim and fish in, mountains to climb, a forest and meadow to explore and romp around in. This is just how I hoped Paradise would be.

I love it too, Suzy said. I feel perfectly at home and safe here. And, I adore these healthy new bodies. And we are both so young and healthy and full of energy. I’m amazed at the incredible things we can do like running up the hill and swimming across the lake without getting winded.

One thing does bother me, though, Josh said.

Oh? What’s that? Suzy asked, a note of concern in her voice.

Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Having been here for a while, I can imagine how sad and disappointed they were when God booted them out and banned them from the Garden forever. I don’t want that to happen to us. We have to be careful.

Why were they kicked out? Suzy asked.

Well, a couple of reasons. The official reason that’s always given is that they disobeyed God and ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result, they became like God knowing both good and evil. Before that, in Eden, they’d known only good. Just like us here, Josh began.

So, why are you worried? Suzy asked. I haven’t even seen any fruit trees here and God hasn’t been around to lay down any rules. Even if this is like Eden, I think we’re safe, don’t you?

Maybe, but the second reason, Josh continued, is that Adam and Eve became aware of their nudity and were ashamed of it.

Well, there you have it, Suzy said. No fruit trees here and we certainly aren’t ashamed of our nudity. In fact, I think it is one of the coolest things about this place. I love not having to obsess about clothing. Sure, it might be nice to dress up once in a while, but I’m sure we can do that if that’s what we want. We seem to be able to do all the other things we want to do. I just don’t see anything to worry about.

I just think we need to be careful, Josh said. I love being here in paradise, or Eden, or whatever it is, and I don’t want to take any chances.