Week 3 Story: Left in the Dark

Five thousand and five hundred years. This was the sentence of exile given to Adam and Eve from God. Adam and Eve had gone against God's command and had eaten the Forbidden Fruit. Eve had been enticed by the serpent while Adam had listened to her, and now they were both fit for punishment. This punishment came in the tall order of five thousand and five hundred years kicked out of Paradise. They now had to learn how to live on their own in a place that did not account for their every need. Outside of Paradise, they took up residence in the Cave of Treasures, and here is where Adam and Eve went blind.

"What is this darkness? Eve, where are you?" exclaimed Adam.

"I am over here," echoed Eve's voice throughout the cave, "but I cannot see you."

"Losing my sight is too great a burden to take, why must I be punished this way?" roared Adam. His voiced ricocheted violently off the hard rocks. "I have already been forced to leave Paradise, and now you take away my ability to see this wretched part of the world? Will you just strip me apart piece by piece?" he implored of God, whom he knew could hear him.

God took pity and responded to Adam, "Just as the angels who obey me are allowed to live in the brightness of Heaven and not deal with the dark of day, you are also held to the same standard. Once the angel has turned their back on me and betrayed me, they are cast out of the brilliance of Heaven to the world that has darkness. For your betrayal, you have been cast out of Paradise to experience the day and the night."

Adam exasperatedly said, "Please, oh Lord, take us back into your Paradise! Take pity on us as we confess our sins! We know what we did was wrong!"

"Five thousand and five hundred years have not passed yet, as you know that is the length of your punishment. I had to command that you not eat the Forbidden Fruit or else, I would have committed sin for not warning you first before doling out punishment. Once this time has passed, I will take you back into Paradise," admitted God.

"Take heart in the fact that this darkness was not intended to be part of your punishment. This is merely what is called night. This darkness will end. Night only lasts for 12 hours, and you will see the brightness of day again. The night time was intended to be a good time for rest and reprieve from the toils of day for yourself and your children. Take night as a gift and understand I did this to help you and not to hurt you," comforted God. God then let them be in the Cave of Treasures.

Adam and Even, disgruntled by this conversation, cried to themselves in the wake of God's words. Though God had tried to comfort them, they were discontented by the steadfast choice to keep them out of Paradise. Adam and Eve stayed like this until morning came, the only reprieve to their long night.

Author's Note

This story was inspired by the The Darkness from The Forgotten Books of Eden edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr. I was first intrigued by this story because of the title, The Darkness. I thought this was an ominous way to bring light to this part of Adam and Eve's story. This is a retelling of The Darkness where Adam and Eve have been kicked out of Paradise and have experienced night for the first time.

Bibliography

The Darkness from The Forgotten Books of Eden edited by Rutherford H. Platt, Jr.

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