Dirty Eden (16 page)

She added after a pause, “You know them as the Zodiac.”

I counted in my head. “The Zodiac?” I said, “but there are only twelve.”

“No, there are thirteen,” the queen said.

The old woman re-entered the chamber from the veil of the trees, carrying a tray with two ceramic mugs.

“Ah yes, here we are,” said the queen. She reached out a limb and curled a vine-like finger firmly around the handle of one mug, extending it to my open hand.

I took it carefully and sipped.

“Taurus was Lucifer’s favorite until Scorpio came along.”

I looked up from the mug where I stopped and just held it an inch from my lips. I was overly surprised and naturally confused.

“But back to the matter at hand,” said the queen, realizing. “I need not overwhelm you with things that have nothing to do with your task.”

“Yeah, that might be best.”

“Lilith and their daughters seduced Lucifer, and then she tricked Lucifer into granting her one request. Lucifer, intoxicated by lust in its purest form, agreed.”

“And what was her request?” I was figuratively on the edge of my seat, fascinated by the story, not to mention who was telling it.

The queen paused and casually sipped from the second mug, which I knew was not hot tea. There was no steam rising from it like in mine.

“Lilith requested that he go to Earth and come back to Creation within six days and bring a pure soul with him, lest he be banished from Creation for all time. Lucifer, knowing that God’s influence was still powerful over the humankind that He created, was confident that he could yield results and so he left Creation without a thought otherwise. But what Lucifer did not realize was that finding a pure soul was impossible. There was not one human on Earth left who was not born of sin. By then, all people who were made new, given a new soul from God’s Well of New Life had long since died. The only people left on Earth were those like you, people that had been recycled and created by Lucifer’s will, not the Will of God.

“Of course, Lucifer tried to force his way back into Creation after the sixth day, but he had banished himself with his own word, and Creation has not been the same since.”

I looked deeply in thought for a moment, chewing on my bottom lip, eyes drawn together. I then looked up. “If Lucifer ruled Creation, how could he not get back in even if he gave his word? I would think Lucifer could easily go back on his word and do what he wanted.”

“Not if God’s power helped
keep
him to his word,” the queen said with a secretive grin. “What comes around goes around, as you might say.”

“That’s right,” I said, “It was God’s turn to kick over Lucifer’s sand castle.”

“Perhaps.”

I withdrew and pressed my back firmly against the chair. I went to put the mug of tea on a sturdy root protruding from the floor next to me, until I realized it was a part of the queen. I decided to hold it instead. Another hummingbird zoomed by so closely that I felt the air from the rapid movement of its wings against my cheek. And then the foul-mouthed Blue Jay landed on a branch to my left, called me a ‘jerk-off’ and then flew away.

Any other time, I would not have paid much attention, but when a fly landed on a stray leaf next to my knee, I did a double take.

“Another one of Lilith’s bright ideas,” said the queen.

I hesitantly looked away from the fly. “What was?”

“Putting the souls of humans into dead animals, manipulating this and that with no regard for what might be produced. Everything and everyone is destined to be made and remade, over and over again until the end of Time when there is no longer an Earth to be reborn into, or a Creation to be recycled from.”

The queen became quiet suddenly and looked toward me with a pretend wary eye.

“I see you brought a friend,” she said. “You do not have to hide, little imp, you are welcome here, seeing as how you’re here already.”

I raised a brow.

In a grotesque transformation that left me grimacing and gritting my teeth, Sophia shifted back into the little girl. She stood naked, and had no shame.

“So you’re a damn tree,” said Sophia with her hands propped on her naked girlish hips. “After all this time, I finally get into this chamber and instead of a beautiful woman wearing a crown and lopping off the heads of blasphemers, I find a huge talking tree with tits.”

She crossed her arms.

“I apologize,” I said. “I didn’t know she was in here. I swear it. I mean I did bring her to the fortress, but
—
”

The queen motioned a limb calmly to ease my worries. “I believe you, Norman. No need for apologies. Imps are what they are and they will do and say what is in their nature to do and say.”

“Why did you come in here?” I scolded Sophia.

“Hey, I can be a fly now,” Sophia snapped back. “Not exactly what I wanted, but I’d be stupid not to use it to my advantage.”

“Just sit there and be quiet then.” I gave the queen my attention again, an embarrassed and apologetic expression on my face. “Please finish the story.”

The queen smiled and began to speak, but Sophia cut in again. “You’re a big lie,” she said, stepping up, “What’s your real name, anyway? Are you even the real queen?”

“Sophia! That’s enough!” I stood from the chair and set the mug on the root nonetheless. I went towards her, taking her shoulder vigorously into my hand. “You little brat.”

She jerked her body sideways, pulling her shoulder from my grasp. “Hey, I lived up to my end of the bargain. Far as I’m concerned, I don’t belong to you anymore, so leave me alone.”

“Oh, but you’re wrong about that,” I scoffed. “You belong to me until I say otherwise, and at this rate you might belong to me forever, so sit down and shut your hole
—
better yet, put on some clothes!”

Sophia’s face scrunched up tightly with anger, but this time she kept quiet. From the steps of the dais, the old woman waddled up with a green blanket and she placed it over Sophia’s shoulders. Sophia closed herself up inside the fabric, but only because she was told to, not necessarily because she cared.

The queen leaned back in her great tree throne, listening and watching, but I noticed she appeared to be enjoying the scene. Perhaps she even thought it was funny.

“It is how I am kept safe, little imp,” the queen began, “how I’ve been protected since the Fall of Man. You see, the people of Creation, like those on the Outside, believe most of what they hear. There has only ever been one queen, and truly, I have no name other than the Tree of Life
—
technically, I am not even a queen.

“But the people of Creation need something to believe in, someone they can give their loyalty to, who is not Lilith. The people here know nothing of the truth, where Man came from, who Lucifer really is and what lies on the Outside.”

“But why the ruse?” I said, suddenly curious about the truth a lot like Sophia but without the disrespect. “Why make people believe there’s more than one queen and that they’ve all died or been assassinated?”

The queen raised her mug to her lips.

“The truth is too much for them,” she answered after taking a sip. “And until this very day, I have been nothing more than a frail and vulnerable plant trapped in that pot. If the truth of my identity ever escaped this chamber, the fate of my existence would have been sealed by the followers of Lilith.

“I have managed, with the help of my few most trusted keepers,” the queen glanced at the old woman, “to live this long, and that is an amazing feat.”

I sat back down and put my head in my hands for a moment. I sighed deep and heavily.

“Geez, everything was a lie,” said Sophia, “the rumors about this queen and that queen, their so-called personalities, the songs about them,
everything
.” She looked away disappointed. “I feel so dirty and used.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, but was too tired to argue with her anymore.

“Sorry to disappoint, little one, but like you I do what I must because I am what I am.”

“Alright,” I jumped in to stir the awkwardness, “Now onto why I’m here exactly. Though I have a feeling I don’t want to know.”

“You are in Creation to right the first wrong made in history,” the queen said simply. “You are in Creation to free the Three Trees and to set in motion The End of the Beginning.”

I threw my head back and laughed. “Now isn’t that the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I don’t think ‘stupidest’ is even a word,” said Sophia.

The queen added, “It is true, Norman, that you were sent here to undo what Adam and Eve did, and to make things right. If you succeed, Lilith will lose her power, Creation will be restored and again it will become the Garden of Eden.”

“Right. And-that-makes-sense-
how
?”

“How does it
not
?” said the queen.

“He’s just stupid, the most stupidest stupid person I ever met
—
see, that word just doesn’t flow right. It can’t be a real word.”

“It doesn’t make sense because Lucifer is the one that sent me here to do it and not God.”

The queen rose from her throne, her enormous root body adjusting underneath her to steady her weight. The chamber shook and rumbled and hundreds of white petals and green leaves fell from the ceiling where the tops of the many trees were hidden by the darkness. She stretched out her limb-like arms, stirring the hundreds of birds that had taken rest amid her branches, and then she calmed. I had nearly forgotten just how womanly she was, how shapely her hips were and the way her neck and shoulders appeared soft and gentle despite being covered by a thin layer of white bark that looked only somewhat like skin.

Sophia had given up, holding only a slight grudge against us for so rudely ignoring her.

“Naturally,” the queen continued, “Lucifer was angry and vengeful for what Lilith had done and so he struck a deal with God. Lucifer swore an oath that he would one day find a man to right the first wrong ever made, the wrong that Lucifer himself heavily influenced. In-turn, not only would Lilith be cursed to remain in Hell forever, but all of her followers would be granted a second chance, a one-time opportunity to pledge their allegiance and love to God and make it into God’s Heaven
—
to infuriate Lilith all the more.

“The only souls never to be granted that opportunity are Lucifer, Lilith and their offspring, who will be condemned to Hell eternal, Lucifer to rule over the souls of the damned, but neither of them ever allowed into God’s Grace.”

“Sounds like a sucky deal to me,” I said. I leaned back in my chair and propped my right ankle over my left knee, my arms crossed at my chest.

“Now I know that isn’t a word: ‘sucky’. Sounds made up.”

“Shut up already,” shouted the old woman from below the dais.

Sophia grumbled and stomped her foot against the floor. “Never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually starting to miss Tsaeb! At least
he
fights back.”

Strangely enough, I missed Tsaeb too.

“AND I TRUST THIS Tsaeb is not yet another fly upon my wall?”

“Oh, no ma’am,” I answered, looking around though just to be sure. “Lucifer sent him here with me, but we left him outside the fortress.”

The queen suddenly appeared leery. She looked across at me from the corner of her eye. “And were you presented with a choice?”

“Oh yeah,” I answered, “between Tsaeb, a woman and two guys conjoined at the hip.”

She shook her head gently but with sadness.

Sophia sat twirling her little fingers around a shredded piece of fabric from the blanket, unconcerned and riddled with boredom.

“And you did not choose the woman?”

It had already been made perfectly clear which of the three I had chosen, but the queen’s inquiry was as if making sure she heard me correctly. Maybe there was still a chance, or perhaps I was only joking, or, quite simply mistaken.

“No, I chose Tsaeb....”

The queen sighed and softly shut her eyes. The silence even made Sophia look up from her finger-twirling long enough to listen, shrug and go right back to it.

“You should have chosen Eve,” the queen said.

My chin spun around. I eyed the queen harshly.

“Eve
—
you’re telling me that woman in the alley was Eve?
The
Eve?”

The queen nodded.

“Ha! Ha! Looks like you screwed up from the start.”

“Stop it Tsaeb!” I shouted. “I mean Sophia! Don’t even start with me.”

Great, I get rid of Tsaeb for a while and just end up with a female version of him.

“You will need a woman whose mind is open to the Outside and who understands your task to help you fulfill it, one
willing
to do what has to be done
—
Eve has been waiting for this chance to redeem herself since The Fall.”

“I can’t believe this....” I thought about it and then realized why Lucifer, in a roundabout way, tried to influence me into choosing the woman. “There I was thinking I was making the right decision by not taking a woman, thinking she was there as a distraction, and
—
doesn’t surprise me; I’ve always been wrong when it comes to women.

“I’m such an idiot!” I added.

“Not-a-word, Sophia!” I glared over at her knowing beforehand I had stuck my foot in my mouth and she would take full advantage of it. “Not-a-
word
.”

She grinned smugly.

“God
damnit
!” I stood abruptly and paced back and forth over roots and vines and dirt, and then stopped in the center of the dais.

“What is done is done,” said the queen.

“But why didn’t he tell me? I’m so sick of these games!”

“They are part of the rules, Norman,” the queen began, “and there are certain things that you, as the one chosen to fulfill The Task, must do on your own. You must be willing to do some and have your wits about you to figure out others. Not everything can be handed to you.” Her expression shifted from serious to soft as she smiled down at me. “Indeed, if it could be made easy, a task with no rules, Lucifer would hand it all to you and be done with it. But to strike such a deal with God naturally will come with stipulations.”

I clenched my fists together angrily and ground my teeth until it hurt. I was more angry with myself for knowing the queen was right, than I was angry at anything or anyone else. Still, I hated it. I hated it now even more because Sophia was right; I made an enormous mistake before I ever got started.

I hit my forehead in the palm of my hand twice, hard.

“You made everything more difficult by not choosing to take Eve, yes, but you have not failed.”

“Uh huh,” said Sophia just after spitting out a chewed-off fingernail, “you’ll prolly just need to find another woman, or something.” She stuck another finger between her teeth and started chewing that one too.

The queen said, “It will be simple to find willing women, but difficult to find one that is not a follower of Lilith.”

“How do I know the difference?” I went to sit back down, but never made it that far. I just stood there on the dais, one sandaled foot propped on a long, twisted root.

“That is why things will be more difficult,” the queen replied. “I suppose you will have to trust your instincts on that one.”

“Oh, then he’s doomed,” laughed Sophia, spitting out the last fingernail. “Man, this is too funny
—
hey, can I get a cup o’ that tea?”

“That’s enough!” shouted the old woman and me at the same time.

“Please,” the queen said to the old woman, “take our little guest somewhere she will be more appreciated. I have yet a few more things to discuss with the son of Adam before he leaves us.”

The old woman bowed respectfully and met Sophia halfway, who was more than ready to get out of the chamber. The two of them, one waddling, one strutting, disappeared under the trees. There was a rumbling moan as the chamber door opened and closed shortly thereafter.

The queen turned to me then. “Men are always given a choice in the beginning. They choose from Past, Present and Future. Eve was the Past, Tsaeb is the Present and the twins were the Future. Though you did not choose the one that would be needed more at the
end
of this task, still, all three choices were of equal advantage in their own ways.”

“Yeah, I could see how the twins would be useful now,” I said, as if still talking more to myself than my company. “They would’ve driven me crazy, but knowing what to watch out for around the next corner could’ve kept my ass out of a lot of trouble. Having Eve, the one that could’ve saved me a lot of trouble I know I’ll get into along the way with women
—
I already have, actually
—
would’ve been great.” I paused, sat deeply in thought, brows tightened. “But how does Tsaeb help me at all?”

“How does the present ever help anyone, Norman?”

I looked across at the queen, uncertain.

“In the present, one always has a choice,” she began, her words soft and sweet. “The present is usually what you make of it, and it often presents many different opportunities. Yes, the Past could have saved you time and trouble, but it is already written in stone, and the Future, while beneficial for obvious reasons, can hinder your ability to think for yourself. It can make you forget that regardless of any predicted outcome, you still have choices that need not be dictated by the obvious.”

It all rattled my brain a bit, but as I gave it more thought, I understood and wholly agreed.

“Hmmm,” I said looking up again, “now you’re talking like
not
picking Eve was a good thing.”

The queen smiled. “As I said, all three choices were of equal value in their own way
—
for your peace of mind, I am merely focusing on the one you chose.”

I thanked her quietly for that, because after all, it did help.

I still had yet to stop blaming myself for passing up my only opportunity to take Eve with me through Creation. I brought up my hand and rubbed my forehead and around my eyes with my fingertips. I sat again finally, slouching against the back of the chair, hands folded loosely in my lap.

“Women will be drawn to you,” the queen said, “and most of them will not know why, but old, young, beautiful and lame, good and wretched; they will be drawn to you in different ways.”

“Like the creature in the Forest of the Cursed,” I thought aloud suddenly. “That’s why she acted so strangely when I was inside the tree trading items. That’s what she meant by trading for anything. She wanted me to trade something for
her
.”

I was amazed by this belief that I knew to be true.

The queen nodded slowly, agreeing and then retracted several vines that made up her hair and extended them upward into the trees above. Leaves fell gracefully like feathers to the dais floor; a few acorns and strange nuts of sorts bounced off the queen’s root legs and tumbled down the dais steps. A skittish squirrel with a bushy red tail dashed over and snatched one of the nuts and scampered into the trees.

A vine came down from the queen’s hair and slithered and swayed toward me. Wrapped in its end was an oval-shaped mirror with a painted wooden handle.

“Are you ready to see The Way?”

The mirror swayed like a charmed snake in front of me. The glass was turned away so that all I could see was the back, which had been finely chiseled to create a picture of a tree in full-bloom. It sat alone in a field with only the sun behind it.

I looked up then. “No, if you want to know the truth, but sure go ahead and show me. I’m getting pretty used to having to do things that I don’t want to do.” I didn’t mean to sound so rude, it was just that I liked the previous conversation much better, and now I was back to facing the reasons why I was here.

“Perhaps your luck will change.”

“I doubt it,” I shook my head, “I doubt it....”

“This mirror will show you how to get out of Fiedel City,” she began, still holding the glass away from me, “and in the right direction first to the Tree of Truth and then toward the Center of Eden where the Tree of Knowledge awaits you.”

I listened carefully; I could not afford any more mistakes, though I was sure I would make them anyway.

“You may take it with you, in case you get lost, but let no other look into the glass for it will consume them, turning them into the thing they desire the most.”

“And that’s bad?” I could hardly believe something so absurd.

“Oh, yes,” she answered with severity, “desire is a
dangerous
thing.”

I reached out my hand and took the mirror by the handle, almost afraid to turn it around and look into the glass at myself. I wondered exactly how it worked; why a mirror worked more like a map and why she didn’t just give me a map instead. I wondered why I would be able to look into it and no one else.

“Vanity,” said the queen. “The way to the Center of Eden must be hidden. If anyone that wanted could find it, Lilith would be there waiting. She would surely stop you before you completed your task.

“It was my idea,” she added with a proud, but innocent smile, “to hide The Way inside Vanity’s Mirror
—
you should have seen how angry she was; Vanity, that is. It was
marvelous
!”

The queen’s excitement gave me a much-needed chuckle.

I never asked, but assumed I was able to look into the mirror because I was from the Outside. Maybe I would’ve eventually asked to know for certain, but my time with the Tree of Life was running out, and the unexpected change in the atmosphere from passive to anxious, was a sign that I would be leaving soon. All other questions were about to be cut short.

The chamber rumbled and moaned. The floor began to ripple as if a giant serpent moved beneath it. And then the queen’s roots, monstrously thick and enormous, burst through the floor. Animals scattered and fled, birds rushed out of the trees in a loud flapping wave. The dais cracked and broke in half, sending me tumbling from the chair and down the steps, which were now nothing more than a broken, uneven heap of gold and marble. I scrambled to my feet, tripped over her growing roots twice and fell on my face, busting my nose before making it to temporary safety. Quickly I fumbled Vanity’s Mirror into the front of my
pants.

The Tree of Life had not finished growing.