Darkness is a sequel to part one, titled "She". Read "She" here first.
Darkness
The man and
the woman had been walking for nearly three hours. The woman lagged behind. Her
feet were sore and her calves were burning with every step she took. Still, she
kept going because he wouldn’t stop. The man looked strong enough to keep
walking for two days. His muscles tightened with every step across the rugged
terrain. The ground in this part of the land was different. It was not as
beautiful as where they came from. It seemed to rebel against the beautiful
environment. It was full of briars, thorns and thistles. A few metres ahead was
the forest, west of the Euphrates river. None of them had ventured this far
before. When the man finally stopped for the first time, the woman dropped to
the ground relieved. She needed a rest. He angled his head slightly to catch a
glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. He despised her. He wanted nothing
to do with her. The sight of her was putrefying.
He noticed
she was looking back at him. Past the long ebony black hair along her temples
were equally sinister eyes. She loathed him. She was burning with rage towards
him. Could he not see that she was tired? Could he not realise that her body
could no longer take a step farther? Was he always this inconsiderate yet she
did not know? As soon as they settled, she would have a plan. Leave the man.
Get as far away from him as possible.
“Get up,” the man said. The ice in
his tone was plain. The look on his face said that he knew it was. “It’s almost
dusk, we need to find a shalom.”
She stared
at him, incredulous. Was he serious?
“I’m not going anywhere,” she
replied matching his nasty inflection. “You should have thought about that
before losing our home.”
He let her
poisonous words sink like a dagger. He said nothing. His thoughts murdered her.
She was not worth replying.
“I can’t believe you told him I was
responsible,” she continued. She shook her head in disbelief and then she spat
on the ground. She wished that the ground was his face so that he could feel
her frustration. She wanted him to know the pain she felt. The man said
nothing. He just stood there and said nothing.
“And I can’t believe that we lost
everything we had. Could you not pack more?”
The man
looked at the sack in his hand. Apart from a few choice fruits, it held nothing
else but lots and lots of air. She saw him search for a response but knew she
had him pinned.
“Plus, we
can’t find a shalom, you lost the only one we had,” the woman added, not shifting
her attacking stance.
Then
suddenly, like an overdue volcano, the man erupted. He tossed the sack on the
ground and marched towards her with blood shot eyes and clenching fists.
“You blame me, woman! You dare blame
me!”
The woman
did not expect his flare up but she figured she needed to remain in control to
hurt him more.
“Yes!” she replied placidly, “I
blame you Adam. You were meant to protect me but you failed. That’s all you
are, a failure of humanity.”
“Protect you! Protect you from what,
Eesha? From the witchcraft of that blasted serpent that you colluded with? You
believed Severus!” He pointed a warning finger at her, “Don’t you dare make
this my fault yet you tricked me into his sorcery with your harlotry. Who knows
what spell you placed over me?”
Eesha
laughed. She grabbed her belly and let out a deep sinister provocative laugh.
It was so loud and full of spite, that Adam could almost feel it contort his
face. She rose to her feet despite her aching feet and laughed some more.
“Stoppit!” he commanded, but it only
encouraged her. He knew why she laughed. There was something wrong with him. He
had started denying claims of basic facts and was lying even about what he knew
to be true. He knew he was under no spell when she offered him the accursed
fruit he was warned not to eat. He knew she was deceived. He knew his lack of
moral tenacity made the situation worse. He knew they lost Eden because he
listened to her. He knew it but he would not accept it. He was conflicted
within himself. The thing he wanted to do, he did not and that which he did not
want to he found himself doing. And so it was, that the man did not want to strike his wife but he did. His hand flew across her soft cheek and made a sharp clap
that echoed in the trees above them. The woman staggered in horror as her frail
frame lost balance and fell in a thicket of briars. As she crashed to the
ground squealing in pain, he covered his hand over his mouth. His eyes widened
at the realisation of his actions.
“Oh my goodness, what have I done!
I’m sorry!”
Adam
realizing his folly, placed his hands on his head
in regret. His actions surprised
him. He reached out to pull Eesha from the thorny bush but she wouldn’t let
him. Her arms and legs were stripped with red. She was bleeding. Eesha pulled
her hands against the briars that punctured her delicate skin. She was still
assessing the fact that he had struck her. Surely, not him. It must have been a
falling tree branch or something. But when she saw him hovering over her
extending a hand of help and apologising profusely for his misdeed, the fact
confirmed. She resisted Adam’s attempt to assist her. A boiling rage within her
wanted to strike back. She folded her bleeding fists but a few briars stuck on
her palm forced her to open them in pain. He reached for her palms and pulled
out a few briars. When she regained composure, she opened her mouth to say the
vilest things her mind had ever imagined. But he mouth did not cooperate with
her thoughts. Instead of abuse, came out a whimper. She fell to her knees and began
to sob loudly. Adam was ridden with guilt. He fell to his knees to comfort her.
Eesha, noticing her husband’s attempt to make peace, jerked him away with all
the energy her body could muster. She then picked herself up and ran past him
into the dark forest ahead.
“Look, wait! I’m sorry!”
He wanted
to run after her but his legs wouldn’t allow him. No, not his legs. His mind,
and his heart. His pride wouldn’t allow him. He watched Eesha in her sheepskin
tunic run into unknown parts of the land, without looking back, drying tears
from her eyes.
Fine, let her go! She deserves to be
disciplined anyway!
Close to
three hours passed and Eesha did not return. The sun began to set and Adam
decided to pitch camp for the evening. The night wind was brutal. It was
unusually cold and the shadows in the twilight were unusually dark. He lit a
fire to keep himself warm and to scatter the scary shadows. The man sighed
heavily as he pulled a few fruits from the sack to feast on. He barely ate one.
His mind troubled him. He was concerned for Eesha. He bowed to the pressure of
self-pity and began to blame himself amidst sobs and curses. He desired death. What had he done? And before he contemplated it a
second further, he felt a warm hand behind his shoulder. He felt brief ecstatic
joy at the thought of Eesha having returned. He whirled in anticipation and
came face to face with someone else- a man in a radiant white tunic.
“Lord!”
“Adam.”
“Lord, I am so sorry,” Adam said
falling prostrate.
“What is done is done. It shall be
atoned for, beloved. Go, find your wife. She’s in grave danger.”
“What?” he asked. Adam tried
processing what the Lord said. Atonement. Could his error be reversed? Could
they return home. But then something else stole his mind’s attention. The last
part of his sentence about Eesha being in danger. He dried his tears and jumped
to his sturdy feet.
“What kind of danger?”
“Leopards.”
“The Leopards are friendly; they’ve
always been.”
“The curse has changed them,
Beloved. They will maul Eesha and she will die, Adam.”
Then he was
gone. Adam looked around. He was alone. But he knew that the love of his life
was in trouble. He could feel it like a deep pit in the stomach. They were one.
Her pain was his pain. Adam, picked a stick of fire from the flames, and
ventured into the dark forest to rescue his bride from the darkness.