Natsuki and the Director woke up every morning at sunrise, right beside Adam and Eve.
Adam always began the day by taking his wife’s hand and offering a prayer to God. It was a prayer of thanks.
Laughter filled their days from morning until night. When they saw an animal do something funny, they would clutch their bellies and roll on the ground laughing. Adam laughed especially loudly. His joyful voice could be heard from far away.
Just by watching the way they spoke and moved, Natsuki could tell how deeply they loved each other.
Natsuki grew very fond of Adam.
I wish I had a father like him, she thought.
Adam’s shoulder became Natsuki’s favorite place. She loved sitting there.
The Director, of course, felt it would be rude to climb onto Adam’s shoulder, but when he gently stroked her head from time to time, she could not hide her happy smile.
The Director became close friends with Eve. She decided that she would help Eve become more fashionable. Eve tried the Director’s ideas, and if she liked them, she happily used them right away.
Almost everything the Director carried in her little pouch was makeup. There was even a hand mirror. Eve was fascinated by the mirror, which showed her reflection so clearly. She tried lipstick once, but quickly said, “It feels strange,” and never used it again. The Director also stopped using makeup, because seeing herself in the mirror made her feel a little sad.
What Eve liked best was arranging her long hair—braiding it, tying it up, and changing styles. She made many hair ornaments and necklaces. She even liked earrings. Together, Eve and the Director gathered vines, leaves, flowers, small stones, and shells. Chatting happily, they became absorbed in making accessories.
The Director felt frustrated that she could not use her hands, but she skillfully used her long body and tongue to show Eve how to do things. Eve was very good with her hands and learned quickly. She made small necklaces and gave them to both the Director and Natsuki as gifts. Now she was especially excited about making hats from wide leaves.
Adam and Eve’s days were busier than Natsuki had expected. They often talked seriously about how to care for the garden. Eve took charge of the small plants that bloomed with flowers. The names she gave them became their real names. She named hundreds of plants and remembered them all. Still, new plants were discovered almost every day and needed names.
She and Adam talked together as they planted seeds and young plants. They worked like experienced gardeners.
“Ever since Eve came, Eden has become even more beautiful,” Adam said, praising her work.
Eden was so large that it took many hours to walk from one end to the other. In the center was a great lake, fed by fresh spring water. From the lake flowed four rivers, each with a name: Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.
Along the Pishon River spread wide grasslands where many animals lived—animals Natsuki knew from Africa. There were lions, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. What surprised her most was seeing lions eating grass. Lions and zebras were good friends. Mother lions and mother zebras stood side by side while their children played together, chasing one another happily.
For this week, Adam and Eve spent their nights near the banks of the Gihon River. This area had not yet been fully arranged, and Adam often walked around, thinking carefully about new ideas.
Near the center of Eden, on a gentle rise beside the lake, there was a very special and beautiful garden. Adam and Eve’s “home” was there.
It was not a house with walls or a roof. The space, about the size of a tennis court, was covered with soft green grass. All around it grew plants filled with colorful flowers. A gentle breeze always blew, and the air was full of sweet scents.
Eve often brought the Director and Natsuki to this “home” in the Central Garden. Wherever they went in Eden, their paths always seemed to begin here.
“This Central Garden is especially beautiful, isn’t it?” Eve said.
“God made it for Adam. Stones, trees, and flowers are placed so perfectly, following the shape of the land. Every time I pass through here, I get new ideas for the garden. God said to Adam, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and take care of it.’ And also—there is one special tree.”
She pointed toward it.
“Isn’t it beautiful? The trunk and branches are perfectly balanced. The leaves are a lovely shape and color, and the fruit looks delicious. But this fruit must never be eaten. Adam told me it is God’s command. We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, but not the fruit of this tree—the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
Natsuki glanced at the Director and whispered,
“It doesn’t look like an apple.”
“No,” the Director whispered back with a sigh.
“It looks more like a pear. It does look tasty.”
Eve shook her head gently and went on.
“We must not even touch it. We must always obey God, because He gave us life. Everything in this garden is a gift from Him. We have everything we need… But the other day, a green snake suddenly spoke to me. It said that if I ate this fruit, I would gain great wisdom. It said God doesn’t want Adam or me to become wiser than we are now. I don’t understand why, but we must obey God—no matter what. Still… I am a little curious about what it tastes like. But I must not touch it. Maybe smelling it would be all right? Just a little wiser, perhaps? Heehee.”
She leaned forward and pretended to sniff the air.
“I can’t smell it from here,” she giggled.
Natsuki, who had been listening quietly, could not hold back.
“You must never eat it! Something terrible will happen! The green snake is a liar!”
“What is a liar?” Eve asked, tilting her head under her flower crown. She had never been tricked before.
Just then, a loud, unfamiliar sound filled the sky. Looking up, they saw hundreds of birds flying overhead.
“Oh! The flamingos are back,” Eve cried.
“Let’s go see them!”
She ran off, and the Director and Natsuki followed, smoothly sliding along. By now, Natsuki could move faster than ever.
The lake was colored pink. Hundreds of flamingos gathered in the shallow water. Nearby, flocks of swans swam gracefully. Brown-feathered cygnets wobbled after their parents. In deeper water, a group of hippos splashed about powerfully. Crocodiles lay quietly by the shore, basking in the sun.
The flamingos walked calmly among them, without fear.
Here, there was no rule that the strong must eat the weak.
Natsuki sighed again and again, thinking,
This is how the world was meant to be.
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