Short Story

some short story i find interesting by Neil Gaiman,

In the End

In the end, the Lord gave Mankind the world. All the world was Man’s, save for one garden.
This is my garden, said the Lord, and here you shall not enter.

There was a man and a woman who came to the garden, and their names were Earth and Breath.

They had with them a small fruit which the man carried, and when they arrived at the gate to the garden, the Man gave the fruit to the Woman, and the Woman gave the fruit to the Serpent with the flaming sword who guarded the Eastern Gate.

And the Serpent took the fruit and placed it upon a tree in the center of the garden.

Then Earth and Breath knew their clothedness, and removed their garments, one by one, until they were naked; and when the Lord walked trough the garden he saw the man and the woman, who no longer knew good from evil, but were satisfied, and He saw it was good.

Then the Lord opened the gates and gave Mankind the garden, and the Serpent raised up, and it walked away proudly on four strong legs; and where it went none but the Lord can say.

And after that there was nothing but silence in the garden, save for the occasional sound of the man taking away its name from another animal.

Oh, if only it were that easy, but I think the fruit, once taken, cannot be given back… sigh… :slight_smile:

Then again, the knowledge is part of us now, then again, what is the knowledge of good and evil?

I don’t feel comfortable about this story. I don’t like the feeling it leaves me with, on the aftermath of giving the fruit back.

In my mind, the garden would get even NOISIER, with laughter, song, and family. Not silent. And it also feels lonely to me, the way I absorb the description.

Yeah. I don’t want to rewild in THAT way. Somebody else can if they like. :slight_smile:

hehe i understand your concerns, so now i will eleborate a little… i refrained from doing so before because that might’ve tainted your interpretation of the story or something.

When i first read the story i was not consciously considering rewilding in a significant way, i even found the taste of the story a bit uhmm dirty because of all the bible references and i hated that book… oh my… so all this talk of apples and snakes and lords and whatnot put me off. But then i lread this: Then Earth and Breath knew their clothedness and i just loved it. that total reversal of the taughts i had been spoonfed with and the total sense it made. I loved that.

Then again, i did not interpret the silence like actual silence, i felt like it meant the silence of mind when one is “in the zone” present in a totality of the present. My interpretation would also include joy and laughter and festivities and steaming romantic sex beneath a smiling sky and the absance of the noise that we’re surrounded with these days. I can see how the interpretation of actual silence is a very bleak tought and it makes the story bleak indeed.

So my interpretation of the story has different sides to it as well, i wanted to share a little something that has at some point in my life question some basic presumptions i had.

Actually when i was writing this story down here i was actually thinking " I don’t like this and that , i would do it so and so, and was wondering if i should take the story, bend it, and make it to speak of my truth instead. I think you both just pushed me over the edge to go and do that!!!

cool… :slight_smile:

so i set myself to it. and created a rough draft of a story that will always change with me and you. and what we make of it.

In the End

As in the beginning so in the end, Spirit moved trough the world. And in all the world dwelled our descendants, whom did not see Spirit. But when listening carefully, Spirit could be heard whispering its gently playful winds and screaming its invitation as a flower in bloom, We are together, Spirit said, dwell with me.

There were two descendants who came to Spirit, and their names were Earth and Breath.

They had with them a small fruit which they had forgotten they were carrying and when they came to find their place with Spirit they met with Snake and as Snake watched the fruit, they made it an offering and the three of them indulged. And Snake spoke to them of all the fruits forgotten.

Then Earth and Breath knew their clothedness and removed their garments one by one, until they were naked, and when they danced passionately in eachothers arms they did neither worry about clothedness nor notions of good and wrong. And they loved eachother until they had never been divided.

After that there was silence, save for Spirit, in the shape of a flower, in the shape of an aging tree, in the shape of the clouds, in the shape of you and me.

The beginning.

In that spirit, can add my vision to your vision? This is just my version, how I feel it, and it too is a work in process, a draft.

In the End

As in the beginning so in the end, Spirit moved trough the world. Our descendants had taken the world, and knew their lord had given it to them. All the world was man’s save for one garden. Spirit frolicked in the garden and our descendants had forgotten it. But when listening carefully, Spirit could be heard whispering its gently playful winds and screaming its invitation as a flower in bloom, We are together, Spirit said, dwell with me.

There were two descendants who came to the garden, and their names were Earth and Sky.

They had with them a small fruit which they prized, the fruit of their lord, and when they arrived at the gates to the garden, they made an offering of it to Serpent(or Coyote), guardian of the gates, who, laughing, made to swallow it and show them on their way. But instead, he tossed it to Wind who carried it high and let it drop, cracking it, showing its emptiness. When earth and sky saw this, and knew not their lord, the gate dissolved before them, revealing the open garden.

Then Earth and Breath knew their clothedness and removed their garments one by one, until they were naked, and when they danced passionately in eachothers arms and in the arms of the garden, they did neither worry about clothedness nor notions of good and wrong. And they loved eachother and all the other creatures of the garden until they had never been divided.

After that there was nothing but simple silence without in the garden, and Spirit danced and sang within the shape of a flower, the shape of an aging tree, the shape of the clouds, the shape of you and me.

The beginning.

Yeah! I hoped that would happen !!! ;D

Yeah, its really cool, it’s kind of like an intro, more literate form of story jamming