The Fall (Part 1)

Allow me a little thought experiment.

I often wonder about the time that passed between the moment Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the time that Adam showed up. I wonder what Eve was thinking as she tasted the bitter-sweetness of the forbidden. I wonder if her stomach ached the way stomachs ache when they are filled with remorse and fear. And what about Adam? What was he doing? What was he pondering as he was out alone in the garden? Was he looking for Eve?

I also wonder about the exchange that might have taken place between the once-happy couple. I wonder about what Adam felt like when he realized what Eve had done, and how Eve ended up convincing Adam to give the fruit a try. Did Eve know what she had done. Had this new knowledge sunk in properly?

Part of me wants to think that Adam got this terrible sinking feeling the moment he found his wife. He might have felt a little like she'd cheated on him by listening to that damn serpent instead of to him. Did he ask her, "How could you?" Did she smirk as he wept for what she had done? And did she reply, "Oh, come on, babe, it's not that bad. Do you want some?"

But then, maybe Adam knew that he would have done the same; he would have eaten that fruit. So maybe that's why he ended up taking a bite.

Maybe he didn't want Eve to be alone. I don't know exactly what happened. The text is full of holes and I guess there will always be more questions than answers in this world. The spaces between meanings are huge, awful, majestic, terrifying, liberating. So, if it's okay with you, I'll keep wondering, because as I ponder the fall of Adam and Eve, I am forced to contemplate my own fall. As I fly between the words of these unfortunate people, I find that they are like me and I, like them. And if God can choose, after this terrible doing, to cover their sins with blood and clothing, then maybe he will cover mine too so that I do not have to go to out into the world feeling ashamed.