Humanity's Lovely Downfall

The man walked through the forest, the scent of fresh blooming flowers, the same scent that was instilled yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that until the beginning, filled his nostrils. He came to an easy stop and sat down in the lush grass that covered the grown. It surrounded his body and held his weight like down. The sun was warm upon his bronzed skin and he smiled to himself as he enjoyed the passing of time. He looked up calmly, past the bright blue sky surrounding his field of vision and thought of everything beyond that. Everything new to his senses, his thoughts and desires. New was good. New was interesting. He closed his eyes once again, his mind empty to everything around him. But he was stirred by a sudden music.

This music filled his soul with hope and a passion he had never thought possible. He kept his eyes closed, afraid that if he opened them the music would leave. Slowly however, he began to peer once again into the sunny afternoon. The music did not stop. It continued on filling his soul with something…new. Standing up he followed the sound of the sweet voice. It led him into a small grove where a waterfall cascaded down a small cliff into a pool of water. The sound of rushing water always calmed the man, but with the added music it put him in a trance. He stumbled forward and saw bathing in the pool the figure of a beautiful woman. Her shape was petite and her long dark hair fell down her back until reaching just below her shoulder blades.

The man sat and watched the naked woman bathe but soon his eyes were closed and he was listening to the sweet melody of her tuneless song. He was lost in it, breathing it in and out. It seemed to flow perfectly with everything around the two. The chirping of the birds, the wind as it sailed through the tree tops, the rush of the water. Everything was in perfect unity.

The man once again took a deep breath, but as he exhaled the music suddenly stopped. He opened his eyes and found the woman staring at him. A look of surprise was on her face and then she smiled and walked out of the water, her body dripping across the pebbles she tread upon.

She kneeled down in front of the man, the smile never leaving her face. The man smiled back and looked into her eyes.

“I like your music,” the man said happily. The woman however only stared at him, the smile warm and inviting. “Will you sing more?” He asked.

The woman quirked her head to the side, still smiling, eyes still inviting. The man suddenly came to a realization and he frowned. She would not be able to understand him. She would not be able to understand anything.

But her music!

The man took her hand into his and held it tightly, smiling to her once again. They never parted from each other. They sat, watching each other. Being with each other. When the mood took her the lady would sing, and the man would sit and watch her, or close his eyes and focus on the music and the underlying tones of the world.

But his passion over took him.

He loved her too much and he knew it. But it no longer mattered to him. He could be banished and still he would regret nothing for having known this moment.

They sat down on a hill, her hands in his. It was blissful and looked out over the land, over the tops of trees and the spanning lakes. A large tree held them in a cool shady embrace as they sat under it.

The man stood up for a moment and from the tree he plucked a single red apple off of the lowest branch. Sitting back down he looked into the woman’s deep blue eyes and said “I want you to do something for me, Eve.”

And in the shadow, the white wings of the man shimmered darkly