She closes the door behind her. Her thoughts and emotions swell like merging blobs of viscous mercury, threatening to swallow her whole. She notices this self-afflicted assault as she plants her hand atop her pounding heart. Where is thy breath?, she asks.
It takes a minute to locate the blue sky that exists beyond the tempest of her mind. Having collapsed onto the bed, Eve drinks in a redeeming surge of air, like a suffocating fish that has fallen back into the ocean. A deep exhale disarms her murky ego.
Staying with her breath, Eve witnesses her heartbeat slow down to a soothing simmer. Her shoulders droop down, as if gravity has helped. The tension is melted away by an ease that takes its place. Twenty minutes later, her mind returns to its default, tranquil state.
Eve hears a bird flutter its wings as she flips her body around to face the ceiling. The mattress supports her weight as she stretches her limbs towards all four corners of the bed. Okay, time to figure out where the heck am I.
‘Dear Adam, was there something in the orange you gave me last night?
‘I breathe the same, but everything else has changed. The world map on this wall has its land… divided? That’s novel.
‘I have been trying to locate the waterfall that we spent those eight gnarly hours trekking. To think that everyone in the tutorial calls it “The Waterfall of Imperfect Mistakes”. Mr. Abhay and Mrs. Shaurya were so proud of our faults that day; I love them so. Trekking back alone in darkness was by far my favourite error.
‘When I raised my gaze, I beheld a million lustrous stars amidst the utter darkness of the woods. It was as though each elevated sparkle reflected a life of a great person who came before us. I trust my own path, just like he or she did. Hmm… When the time comes, do you think I could have my star beside yours?
‘For fifteen unforgettable minutes, it didn’t matter that I fell into the river twice or that my wet, white shoes were blotched with blood. The violet stellar glister tugged such a divine blanket over me. Well, I suppose that this concrete jungle could use a natural waterfall.
‘Would it do me any good to learn the names on this obsolete map? I don’t intend to stay, since none of the people here look like themselves anyway. It is quite peculiar that they have names as varied as the rooms in a honeycomb, yet strive to behave and look the same.
‘I hope that they do not expect the same of me. It would take at least fifty hours to learn their ways. (Is fifty too much? I think you’d say forty-eight.) Perhaps I can use Google, you know, for its original purpose. Let me see… Oh, they still read the news here?
‘Well… Apparently these people aspire towards “a better future,” whatever that means. They seem fixed on this idea called “progress”. All these disasters that happen because of it, make me doubt if they are indeed human… Could it be that they don’t practise unconditional love? How else will they learn? What could that possibly mean?
‘Perhaps that’s why there is too much green in their eyes and veins. This society lacks blue, both red and blue. Their yellow is feigned and their minds, ash grey. It seems like whatever insidious advertisements and ideologies have worked themselves into the human consciousness.
‘I can smell their fear… Which I suppose to be natural, when it is difficult to tell your thoughts apart. You could say that this place is a zoo — as you know, the Garden does not have one, due to ethical reasons — and I get to play in the cage. I imagine this to be an exciting place to spend my spare time.
‘I wish I had asked you earlier if this ancient computer simulation accepts hours from the Life Bank. If only you would take a break from making these defunct worlds for fun, Adam, perhaps then I would have gotten a chance. But I trust that my healthy credit will see me through just fine.
‘On a sincere note, I really like how you created these men to be as imperfect as we are. Yet I imagine that it is silly for them to worship the past and the future, with no regard for the present. I suppose that you could build a program where they can focus on what’s essential, you know, instead of reciting a story named after us? Especially since they too have a dwindling Life Bank account.
‘Although I have to admit, “Adam and Eve” does have a nice ring to it.’
