Remembrance of Eve *NANOWRIMO13*

Chapter 4

Days and nights continued. We explored, getting to know the animals and Eden. Some days we stayed in our glen, weaving new bowls. I spent some time one day weaving a cover for Adam’s knife, so it could more easily be carried with us. Our little flock of sheep and goats grew, staying close to us. We did not really encourage them, yet they stayed near.

The cats, too, stayed close. One day they disappeared, and I missed their warmth by my feet. A few days later, they returned, with a litter of 6 kittens. The little ones immediately claimed our nest as a their home. I noticed that some of the ewes and nannies had become larger in the belly. They, too, carried little ones.

As we moved through Eden, we saw more little animals, more females who were carrying their young. We had watched the animals. We had felt deep love, and had attempted to have our own children. There was nothing we could do. We had been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth, and the animals were successful. We were not. We trusted God that that would change, and continued to do as we had done before.

We often walked past the center of the garden, where the forbidden tree stood. The fruit of the tree did not interest us. It was forbidden. If we ate it, we would die. There were many other fruits to eat. Near the forbidden tree, grew another wonderful tree. It sat near a spring of sweet water. We often stopped to drink of the water, and sometimes eat of its fruit, but there were so many other fruits, we did not often eat of this one.

Some days we spent every waking moment together. Others, we separated, going our separate ways to gather the fruits and vegetables we desired to eat that day.

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Morning found us again searching for food. Adam found carnations to place behind my ear. These were not as fragrant, but were beautiful.

The time spent to create a container for water meant that we had not had time to gather food. I carried the baskets we had made earlier. We went another direction this time, exploring our home.The cats followed, for a while, then turned and went another direction. I was sad, briefly, but knew they had their own food to gather.

As we gathered pears and strawberries, our baskets fell apart. They had dried, and no longer had the strength to carry any weight. Adam had slipped his knife into a basket, so cutting the leaves we needed was not as difficult. After yesterday’s experimentation, the weaving went easier. It took some thought, discussion and practice to determine just what shape and size they should be. We folded the grasses over in half, adding strength, and made bowls. We each made a bowl, mine could easily be carried in one hand, as I had added a handle. Adam’s was larger, requiring him to wrap his arms around it to carry. I thought it to be too big, but it was his.

We placed berries, cherries, grapes, kiwi and, of course, strawberries in my bowl. They were light, and other heavier fruits would crush them. In Adam’s bowl we placed the pears we had picked earlier, some apples and two yellow breadfruit. Of course, he had also found some beautiful flowers to add to my bowl.

“The flowers remind me of you,” he said as he added some hibiscus and plumeria, “lovely.”

“We need one of those, too” Adam said, pointing to a fruit that grew on a vine. The vine fruits had proved to be sweet before, so I was happy to help pick this long, oval fruit. It was bigger than most, it could not be eaten in one day, of that I was sure. It looked would be a welcome addition to our diet.

“This is heavy. It must have a lot of food for us to eat,” I said.

“It is especially good. I have eaten smaller ones, but this one looks especially good. I can’t wait to open it when we return to the grove.”