Eden (Perspectives)

The first entry in what I am calling "Perspectives", where biblical stories are told from singular points of view.

I can’t…catch…my breath!

My lungs feel as if they are exploding!

How do I know this? How do I understand what lungs are; what breath is?

Fear swept through Man’s body, his eyes shot open, then closed again. The light pierced through his eyes, he felt hot…he felt…He had never, felt before. He was unsure how he knew what felt even meant. As he stumbled to his feet he could feel a firm hand on his shoulder. All of the chaos that he struggled to understand melted away as he realized that he just…was. LORD, he instantly knew he was with his creator. 

LORD walked ahead of him, and he followed. In the cool of the day, Man discovered his gift to name things. It felt strange at first to make a sound out of his mouth, how his throat would vibrate and his tongue would move to produce differentiated sounds. He watched as birds flew over him, moving in sync with each other. He saw the water move as whales crested, their tales rising into the expanse above the water, then come crashing down again. He experienced the warm sand under his feet, and the discomfort it brought as his toes and arches began to burn. He rushed to the water and found relief there. He stood as the waves ran into his legs, another new sensation. He struggled to find a word to describe it all… a word that could describe what he saw when he looked upon LORD. Beautiful. The word was beautiful. 

As Man and LORD discussed the things around him and life in Eden, he felt his heart was left open for a reason. LORD told him to rest, and that he was not designed to be alone.

...

Man awoke with a start, ecstatic for new experiences, new creatures, new adventures with LORD. He heard laughter, he knew one voice was LORD, but the other…

Then he saw her… Beautiful. The word crashed through his Spirit again. His heart began to beat faster, he searched for something to say… 

"This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man," he said. Her smile made the birds, the ocean, and the stars all fade away.

...

Time passed, and Man and Woman's communion with LORD grew stronger. Everything they could ever want, or need, was at their fingertips. They danced among the animals, and they sang with the birds. There was joy there, a peace. One day as Man was walking through the brush, he saw Woman running towards him, sobbing. He embraced her, and she held out a beautiful fruit. She said, “This is the missing piece, it completes what we were designed for.” He looked at her, then at the fruit again. He closed his eyes, placed his mouth to the fruit, and bit… as Woman had… 

Fear swept through Man’s body, his eyes shot open, then closed again.

Movement, he heard LORD coming. He felt…different…he felt… wrong… He was ashamed, ashamed of what he had done, ashamed of how he looked. Together they grabbed at the leaves, tearing them from the very trees that they rested under. They covered themselves, insecurity rising. Had the LORD known that they were not clothed? Surely He knew, LORD created them! He ran, as did Woman, both knowing that they could never hide from their CREATOR. 

“Where are you?” LORD's voice thundered. 

A new feeling pierced Man’s heart…separation.