Venom
H. C. Smith
The sun bled through the canopy of the forest. The air was cool and soft, feeling light on Eve’s skin. The breeze was sweet on her lips. Innocent curiosity bloomed in her mind as she explored the unknown regions of an ancient garden.
As she made her way through the deep jungle, she plucked exotic flowers from their vines, cautiously taking in their perfumes to discover if their scent was sweet or sour. There were a hundred different tunes being sung by hidden birds. Fruits of every different shade and size were sprinkled throughout the garden, hanging from trees, swinging from branches, and falling to the ground with readiness to be consumed.
In Eve’s hand, she tightly gripped a spear. The shaft was made of a sleek wood. The spearhead was carved from heavy stone. It was a gift from her husband, Adam. With its sturdy weight, she felt powerful.
In the afternoon, once the cool of the morning had been swept away by the blazing sun, thirst began to itch her throat. After a few moments of searching, Eve conveniently found a small pond nearby.
In the pond’s glass-like surface, she could see her reflection. Eve recognized her wide eyes, round chin, her slender face, delicate nose and curved lips. Leaves and twigs had made a nest of her wild copper hair that tumbled down her shoulders and back. She began to pluck the fragments from it and combed her fingers through the knots.
She cupped her hands and brought the water to her lips and drank. The water was sweet and it raced across her tongue and cooled her burning throat.
After satisfying her thirst, she stood and was ready to continue her exploration, when she was startled by a faint noise. It might have just been the wind, Eve thought, but just across the pond she noticed slight movement in the trees. Eve did not think of it being significant, at first. Animals of all kinds roamed the woods. Beasts of every breed and brood lurked in the garden. However, the shuddersome feeling of being watched crept upon her.
She quietly reached for her spear and slowly lowered herself into a crouch. She was ready to run. The birds in the garden had oddly paused their singing and all Eve could hear was her heart pounding in her chest and blood rushing in her ears.
Suddenly, the faint shadow rushed away from sight and Eve could hear footfalls trail away. Curiosity blossomed in her mind again and she chased after the noise. Eve hurried through the jungle with her spear. She took powerful strides with her long legs. Her hair flew behind her as she sped through the trees.
As Eve fled deeper into the jungle, the trees grew closer together and less sunlight filtered through the canopy. She veered right and left, dodging trees and bushes. Her breath burst through her lips with quick rhythm. The wind was no longer sweet, but musty with age. She could taste it on her tongue as she sprinted through the woods.
Suddenly, Eve saw a clearing up ahead. Emerald light broke through the trees. Eve paused. She did not know where she was. She spun around, trying to find a landmark she recognized. She did not remember this part of Eden.
Eve turned to the light. She could feel the warmth of it on her skin like fingers. It danced across her face like breath. Every nerve in her body was ablaze under the light. She went to it.
When Eve broke free from the shade of the trees, she found herself in a large, meadow. Grass wet with dew and flowers of red carpeted the earth. Yet, in the middle of the clearing towered a massive tree that eclipsed the meadow in its mighty, graceful presence.
The tree’s branches forked through the sky. The wind made the leaves of the tree sway chaotically. Small fruits could be seen in the tree, yet, there were none on the ground. Eve immediately understood where she was.
Beneath the shadow of the tree was a man. With wide eyes, Eve watched the man pull a ripe fruit from the one of the tree’s lower branches and slowly, passionately bite a mouthful from it. Juice dripped down his chin. In fury, Eve bounded forward across the meadow to the man. She reached out, tore the fruit from his fingers and tossed it to the ground.
“Man, do you realize what tree you eat of?” Eve yelled. “It is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil!”
The man turned to face her and Eve gasped. His eyes burned through her with radiance more glorious than a billion suns. They were sharp and hot, like that of a serpent. He was thin and tall. His body was beautiful and swayed in a graceful rhythm, even as he stood motionless. His long gold hair fell down his back in waves like liquid sunlight.
The man was magnificent. Eve was strangely attracted to him. Her mind immediately flashed to her beloved Adam. She took a step back, trying to pinpoint what made him seem so alien.
When he spoke, his voice did not match his beautiful, flawless lips, for his voice was as a dragon’s. “Why do you fret?”
“Elohim has told us not to eat the fruit of this tree! It would be like kissing the very lips of death!” Eve confessed.
“He said you would die?” The man asked curiously. His eye brow arched.
“Yes! And if only that was what bothered me. The Lord Elohim condemns the eating of this fruit. It is a sin!” Eve scolded.
The man laughed. “Sin,” he said the word ponderously. “What is sin anyway?” He paused and looked upon Eve. She did not answer. “There is no such thing as sin, dear. Your God fibs.” He said.
Something in her gut told Eve to flee the presence of the stranger, but she was too curious. The only other man she knew was Adam. “What is your name?”
The man grinned and chuckled. “Lucifer.”
Eve nodded. “Well, Lucifer, I would argue that Elohim does not lie. Every word that is expelled from the Lord’s lips is pure truth.”
Lucifer began to circle Eve. Cautiously, she kept her eyes on him. He snatched a lock of her hair in his fingers and twirled it in his hands. Lucifer’s movements were graceful and smooth. Each bend of his joints fluidly weaved together in a strange, snake-like rhythm.
“Elohim has led you to believe that you will die by consuming this fruit.” He said. “But look at me. I have eaten the fruit and I am not dead.” Lucifer clutched Eve’s hand in his and placed it upon his chest. His skin and nipple were warm under her palm. “Living flesh, living blood.” Lucifer breathed. Eve had a sudden hunger for Lucifer. It disturbed her and she removed her hand.
“You surely will not die.” He whispered. “For Elohim knows that when you eat of this fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Him, knowing Good and Evil. Do you even know what Evil is? You speak its name, do you not?”
Eve lifted her face to him. She tried to keep her eyes from meeting Lucifer’s, but his gaze had its own gravity. It was magnetic. “Evil?” She played it on her tongue. “I’ve heard of Good before, and I know what it means. Elohim is good, isn’t He? Sunsets are good. Water is good. My beloved, Adam, is good. I know Good, but what is Evil?” Her eyes narrowed.
“Taste the fruit,” he said, “and you will know all there is to know about Evil.” He reached up and plucked another fruit from the branches. He held it out before her. It was a beautiful little fruit, thought Eve. It was plump and small. But what really caught her eyes about it was the color. It was the color of sunlight and roses. It reminded her of a sunset. The rich colors made her imagine just how good it could taste.
Lucifer looked at her deeply. His smile was blinding, glorious and his blazing eyes burned like divine light. “Take it.”
Around her, Eve could sense something was amiss. Dark clouds rolled in, hiding the sun, leaving the garden in shadow. She thought she heard the voice of Elohim, beautiful and grieving somewhere in the distance. A cold, chilling wind stabbed her skin. Eve’s stomach churned. Her thoughts were scrambled. Her instinct was not just telling her to leave the fruit, but to run, to flee from this stranger as fast as possible.
“This isn’t right.” Eve said weakly.
“Eve…” he breathed and she melted. The sound of her name from his lips was wondrously sweet. It was a song more powerful than any angel’s. “You can be like Elohim, Eve.” He smiled darkly. “Just one bite.”
Eve thought of it. She could be like the almighty Elohim. All it would cost her was a bite of a forbidden fruit. Was it worth it?
Vigilantly, Eve took the fruit from his grasp. It was soft and ripe in her hands. She held it in her palms. She could feel Lucifer’s eyes scorching her. It seemed to take an eternity for her to raise it to her lips. Then guardedly, Eve sank her teeth into its flesh.
The meat of the fruit was like honey, but the juice was putrid. Yet, strangely, it seemed to float over her tongue like a cloud. She swallowed hard and the fruit settled bitterly in her stomach. She wiped the juice from her chin.
And then the wrath of knowledge hit her like a tidal wave.
Eve dropped the fruit and watched it roll across the grass. Goosebumps cancerously spread across her skin. She felt her pulse begin to race. Her fingers tingled with numbness, her face was hot.
“Evil…” She breathed the word.
A revelation came upon her with such power and force, she thought she might burst. Eve was ravaged by the now definite and defined realities of good and evil. Innocence was swept from her mind like darkness under a burning sun.
Eve fearfully dared to look at Lucifer. Suddenly, an emotion erupted through her. She nearly screamed its name. Dread. She knew good and evil now. And there was not a stain of goodness in Lucifer. She immediately flinched away from him.
“Evil!” She yelled and pointed. “Evil! Evil! Evil!” She cried.
Suddenly, the tingle of the fruit on her tongue changed into a deep, searing burn. A blazing fire seemed to rage through her throat and began to spread down into her chest. She whirled around to flee from Lucifer’s presence, but he snatched her arm in his iron grip.
Eve spotted Adam sprinting across the meadow. She saw confusion in his bright eyes when he found Eve with Lucifer. She could see his innocence and cherished it.
“Adam!” Eve shrieked. “Help!” She wrestled with Lucifer, trying to free herself. Adam’s eyes caught sight of the bitten fruit on the ground, the fruit that was her sin. He reached for it and took it in his hands.
“Wait! Adam! Stop!” Eve screamed. Adam looked at the fruit and then at Eve, making the connection between the two. She watched in horror as he lifted the fruit to his lips, ignoring her warnings. She clawed at Lucifer. “Adam! Don’t!”
She watched him bite into the fruit. She saw the innocence leave his eyes. She watched his bones and muscles quiver as the revelation hit him. Then, Adam fell to his knees in agony. His head fell into his arms as the wrath of sin slowly broke him down.
Eve could literally feel the sin course through her veins like fire. It burned like the venom of a thousand serpents. All she felt was bewildering, hideous burning. Eve gritted her teeth, afraid that if she unlocked them, she would lose her composure, would lose her mind in screaming.
Eve finally found the might to break free from Lucifer’s arms. She hurried to her beloved Adam, but it was as if she were carrying a crushing weight upon her shoulders. Eve forced all of the remnants of strength in her to keep fighting.
When she reached Adam, she fell to her knees and brought him to her bosom. She pulled her aching arms around him and lifted his face in her hands. Adam’s precious lips shuddered in torment. The muscles in his face flexed with discomfort. His once bright eyes were clouded with venom. Tears spilled down his cheeks. His beautiful, tortured face broke her heart. “Eve, what did you do?” He cried.
Eve could here Lucifer laughing behind her. Still clutching Adam’s hand, she stood and turned to face Lucifer, the demon who had betrayed her.
“Damn you!” she screamed. She let the tears come, hoping that they might cool the raging venom of sin in her flesh. She could feel her strength fading and the crushing burden of sin forced her to her knees. Help me Elohim, she prayed. She looked into Lucifer’s eyes. They burned viciously like the venom boiling in her veins.
In horror, Eve watched as Lucifer’s skin turned black by some foul disease. His eyes no longer resembled a man’s, but mirrored those of a reptile. His limbs turned to smoke and he appeared to be melting. He fell to the ground and began to contort into a long, slithering form. He was morphing into a snake.
The snake looked up at Eve with ferocious eyes. It was more than twenty feet long and was covered in glossy black scales. It began to coil around itself, ready to lunge.
Eve, within a blink of an eye, snatched her spear from the ground and whirled it in front of her to intercept the attack of the snake. The spearhead smashed into the torso of the serpent and its fangs missed her flesh by inches.
The snake was tossed aside, rolled on its belly, and recoiled.
“Lucifer! Stop!” Eve screamed. The snake lunged again. Eve saw a blur of fangs and she threw herself to the side, dodging the snake. She fell on her hands and knees and nearly cried out. Her joints ached from her sin.
She lifted her head just in time to see the snake preparing itself to strike again, this time, at the fallen Adam.
Eve’s heart fluttered in her chest. She screamed. “No!” Her hands flew at her spear and, within seconds, she whipped around and stabbed the snake in the torso just as it lunged at Adam.
The serpent could not extend to its full length, for it was anchored to the ground by the spear. It fell on its belly and squirmed under the spearhead, spitting venom.
Eve could not muster another ounce of strength and crumbled to the ground. She began to weep. The pain in her flesh was unbearable now.
The snake turned to face Eve. Lucifer, with the spear through his gut, slithered over the fallen Eve and laughed darkly.
The serpent uttered one word that struck sheer horror in her heart as the ravaging fever burned mercilessly. Its voice was as a dragon’s, its eyes blazed like cinders from hell. “Sinner.”
