This is a story that goes back to the beginnings of mankind, a time when nothing existed. Nothing, except three young goldfinches who waited anxiously for the moment to spread their wings and discover themselves.
This is the tale of how fate brought them together and incredibly changed each one of their lives.
A light breeze sent the red leaves of the Tree of Science—one of two special trees created by God in the Garden of Eden, the cradle of humankind located at the center of the world—fluttering down like colorful confetti. A 12-year-old boy named Adam was taking a nap beneath this 115-meter-tall tree while resting his head against it, surrounded by a vast and breathtaking landscape. Beside him was Eve, a girl of the same age who was happily harvesting amaranth flowers that grew there.
Eve felt an evil presence as she heard a rustle in the bushes next to Adam—sleeping like a baby—and set the bouquet on the ground before warning him of impending danger.
"Watch out!" the lass shouted, but the predator was faster than her.
A reptile covered with dark green granular scales and black rings extending all the way around the body crawled slowly toward Adam and pounced on its prey. The snake tried to take his life with a venomous bite, but the lad woke up just in time.
"Caught you, talking serpent!" Adam seized the snake bare-handed before it could bite him and said.
"Ssss, good luck seems to follow you" the Talking Serpent exclaimed.
Adam gritted his teeth as he fought to keep the snake at bay. The reptile jumped nimbly off him and got away as it descended to the ground. The two stared at each other.
"Come at me!" the child stuck his right foot in the ground and said.
Eve was simply watching, worried, as yet another bout between Adam and the Talking Serpent unfolded. There wasn't a day when they did not tussle with each other.
The snake fixed its beady eyes on him one last time, then it turned to walk away. Their fights were always very intense, and they took breaks when needed.
"Are you running away? I'm not even a little bit tired!" Adam asked with his hands on his hips and gave him a cheeky smile.
The Talking Serpent stopped crawling as it allowed itself to be provoked, clearly annoyed with the young man. The snake took a moment and calmed down, then said without looking at him:
"… Don't let your guard down."
The Talking Serpent left with the promise of returning to finish what it started. Adam just stood there, convinced that they weren't going to sort out their simmering feuds anytime soon. Eve heaved a sigh of relief, straightened her neck and stared into the distance as she could no longer see the crawling creature.
"We have been at it for five days. I wonder what she wants from you" the girl told Adam without looking away from where she last saw the Talking Serpent "Could it be that…?" Eve muttered, as if the light had finally dawned on her.
"Aaaaah, why is she such a pain in the ass?" the lad sighed as he ruffled his hair, confused, then turned around with his hands clasped behind his head "All that fighting made me hungry. I'm gonna go pick some apples for us" Adam said after hearing the rumbling sound of his stomach.
"Wait, I'll go with you!" Eve smiled and said, following him.
🐍🐍🐍
Since then, the Talking Serpent kept showing up to make attempts on Adam's life.
Five days had passed. Neither predator nor prey were about to give in. Nevertheless, there could only be one winner of this fierce strife.
The Tree of Science, an imposing natural heritage of the world, was witnessing history in the making.
"Eh, don't tell me you're already tired?" the scar-faced young man smiled as blood gushed from his mouth and said.
"How absurd. You're the one who's almost keeling over dead" the snake said and slithered toward its opponent at high speed.
"You are a very funny serpent" Adam said ironically and assumed a fighting stance.
The Talking Serpent coiled itself around the boy's legs as he lost his balance for a moment, then climbed up Adam's torso moving sideways. The child bent his body into an arch, grabbed the snake by the tail and hurled it away. The Talking Serpent landed gracefully on the ground.
"Let's settle things once and for all. Meet me here tomorrow afternoon" the snake threw down the gauntlet to him and prepared to leave as it wasn't interested in hearing his response.
The two kids were startled by its challenge, especially Adam, who wasn't expecting a match of life or death so soon. It's not like they weren't already fighting for their lives, but this upcoming duel was definitely going to be their last. Now that he thought about it, maybe the time was ripe for a final confrontation.
"Fine by me. Let's end this" the red-haired young man nodded and said, brimming with determination.
The snake withdrew from the area, but the atmosphere was still tense.
The children went to the coast as they were looking for a change of scenery. Adam and Eve sat on the edge of a cliff near the sea where they could watch the waves of the ocean coming and going, staying like that for a while.
The girl suddenly stood up wearing a frown, followed by the boy who had a puzzled look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Adam asked her.
"I know why she's doing all this" Eve said, crestfallen and clearly disheartened.
"What are you talking about? She's just a goddamn—" the lad wasn't taking her seriously as he said with an ironic smile before being interrupted.
"Just think about it for a second! What the serpent really wants isn't to start fights with you, she probably does that because she doesn't feel comfortable with us. Yes, all this time she was trying to get close to us—to you!" the lass said the last sentence driven by a strong emotion.
Adam was deeply shaken by the overwhelming revelation that the snake only wished for a friend, someone who saw the pain in those little eyes.
He felt a vibrating tremor in his chest. Were Eve's words that powerful, or the truth just irremediably painful? Adam listened silently and attentively to her.
"I can understand her feelings… I was lucky enough to meet you, Adam, otherwise I'd have felt that way too, unhappy. I mean, at the end of the day, we're completely alone in this world!" the lass said as the trace of a tear appeared in the corner of her right eye, letting out her pent-up emotions.
Adam was shocked by his own stupidity. The kid punched himself in the mug out of the blue, as a sort of self-punishment. Eve wanted to help him, but Adam motioned for her to stay put. The friend's feelings touched his heart, and he wouldn't make any more mistakes.
"Thank you for opening my eyes, Eve. Leave the rest to me" Adam said and walked past her as he held the promise of living to fight another day.
🐍🐍🐍
The next day
It was a mild afternoon where the sun shone bright and things were about to get dicey.
Adam and Eve were the first to arrive at the resplendent Tree of Science, their usual meeting place. The male was wearing the same facial expression that conveyed his determination and motivation, dead set on emerging victorious. As for the lassie, she looked more tense than yesterday, visibly nervous and regretting the fact that she couldn't dissuade him from accepting the Talking Serpent's challenge.
To the children's astonishment, it wasn't the snake that appeared shortly after but a dark green-haired youth their age, with eyes the same color as his hair and long, uneven locks, also slightly taller than Adam.
"What? Who are you?" the red-haired kid asked the newcomer as he was left dazed.
Eve got a feeling that she had seen him before, those vibes emanating from the kid were giving him away. The shade of dark green in the little one's eyes was especially familiar to her. Their eyes met and any doubts about his identity were dispelled.
"It's you, isn't it?" the lassie asked, still a little stunned.
"This is my true form. Got any problem with that?" the Talking Serpent looked askance at them and said coldly.
"A BOY?!" Adam said in a comically exaggerated way, he was utterly dumbfounded to the point of almost choking.
"That's what surprised you the most?" Eve stood gaping at her friend and sighed, flabbergasted at his silliness.
"C'mon…" the snake stared at the crimson-haired youth and said in an icy tone.
"Yeah" Adam nodded and said.
The Talking Serpent took the initiative and walked to the Tree of Science. There, the bottle-green-haired youth pressed his feet firmly into the ground and sprang into the air, rocketing to the top of the tree at unbelievable speed, and in mere seconds.
"Amazing… what a jump!" Eve thought as she saw him ascend to the sky in the blink of an eye.
Adam followed suit and ran quickly toward the Tree of Science, then he flitted about in the branches until he reached the treetop—a one of a kind fighting arena. The heavenly stage was set for a dramatic confrontation, the wind howled as the fighters faced each other.
"Why me?" the boy wearing a cross-shaped necklace asked with a deadly serious expression.
The snake bit his lip as that single and simple question left him on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The Talking Serpent's deep and growing aversion to Adam was unparalleled.
"You mindlessly accept your circumstances. And I just can't stand that!" the snake said and moved forward.
The Talking Serpent threw a punch that his rival promptly blocked with his right elbow. The snake didn't stop there and charged at him again, delivering a kick and faking a punch before headbutting Adam.
Adam withstood the Talking Serpent's attacks as best he could, recognizing that his opponent was much stronger in his human form and that he needed to get used to his movements, which invariably involved a degree of risk.
"You don't know who you really are…" the snake landed a powerful punch to his opponent's mug and kept talking "You don't know where you are…" the Talking Serpent gave him a second jab on the nose and said.
Adam immediately tried to defend himself from his blows, but the serpent was too fast and there were no openings whatsoever, so all he could do was guard against the attacks.
"You don't know why you exist…" the snake delivered a gut punch and then kneed him in the same place.
The serpent stopped repressing his emotions and took out his anger on him. There was a short break in the duel and both fighters capitalized on it to catch their breath. The Talking Serpent was gasping for air, and Adam was bleeding from a wound on his face. The latter was willing to physically receive all the sadness and even cope with the snake's envy. As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and from the serpent's perspective his rival's happiness equated to naivete. The loner envied his innocence.
"You know nothing and yet… how can you live it so carelessly, this life without purpose or reason?!" the Talking Serpent asked a probing question.
The snake was surprised to see his opponent successfully dodge his next jab, an unprecedented feat. Either the Talking Serpent's movements were slower than before, or Adam had gotten considerably nimbler. Be that as it may, it was extremely difficult for both of them to fight while leaping between tree branches. One false step and they would have to survive a deadly fall, definitely not something the boys were looking forward to.
"This isn't good. The other branch is too far away from me…!" Adam thought as he noticed he was on the edge of the cliff.
The child was careless and ended up leading the Talking Serpent in a wrong direction as well. Adam tried to steady himself by swinging his arms in a reverse direction to the legs and adjusting the body's center of gravity. Ultimately, he grabbed hold of a tree branch, but it broke. The snake had no better luck than Adam did and now they were about to fall. As the air was compressed, its temperature and pressure both increased due to the energy imparted during compression. The tightening of the blood vessels in the lungs made it difficult to pump blood through them and wreaked havoc on their ability to breathe.
Adam and the Talking Serpent exchanged blows 80 meters above the ground with neither side gaining the upper hand. They kept trading punches; the serpent gritted his teeth in pain as his nose started bleeding.
The snake was gradually losing control, now 50 meters above the ground. In an attempt to turn the tide on his adversary, the Talking Serpent caught him off guard as he constricted his rival's body by wrapping his arms around his neck and hooking his thighs with his heel. Adam grabbed the serpent's arms and gave his all to break free from the constriction.
"I may not know who I am… where I am… or why I exist. That said, I believe that a purpose to live isn't something freely given to you" the young man said as he struggled, grunting with the effort.
Adam headbutted the snake and pulled him toward himself. The fiery-haired lad then aggressively placed his hands on the Talking Serpent's shoulders, stared him in the eye and said:
"You have to find it yourself."
The serpent's heart trembled at his words. The ability, often effective, to influence others was a characteristic of great leaders and heroes. The speech was so unexpected that it stopped the snake cold. He shook his head and frowned at him.
"That's just foolish talk!" the Talking Serpent cried out in denial.
"Look around you!" the youth exclaimed and pointed to the World.
The serpent fixed his gaze on the middle distance, the gorgeous scenery unfolding before his eyes resembling the bucolic, soft-hued landscapes that would inspire famous paintings. The Garden of Eden stretched across the woods in all its splendor.
The sun was setting over the ocean as red and orange wavelengths reflected back to their eyes. The refraction of light in the clear waters was a sight to behold, like a mother caressing her child.
"This bright sun… this huge sea… all this world…" Adam said as he enjoyed the view from there, then he eyeballed the snake "I was blessed with this life. That's why I swore to make the most of every day like it was the last and find my own purpose in the meantime… so I won't regret later!" he finished his speech.
They were only 20 meters above the ground. Eve, who was watching expectantly under the tree, lifted her eyes to heaven and instinctively prayed for their safety.
The snake felt like a dagger of emotions had pierced his heart, and now the icy parts of the waters of his soul were melting under the influence of those strong feelings. At that moment, the Talking Serpent admitted defeat and surrendered to the invincible human warmth.
"End this" the serpent gave him a sad smile and said.
"Yeah, I'll end… this loneliness inside you!" the winner grasped him by the scarf and said.
The snake felt the void in his chest being filled with all those positive vibes. At the same time, the cross that Adam wore around his neck vibrated in response to its owner's feelings, and his eyes turned white. Afterward, a never-before-seen mystical aura enveloped him from head to toe. It was then that the Talking Serpent realized that what the youth possessed and that he lacked was the power to believe — faith.
Perhaps it was fate, or just a coincidence that played a significant role, but what is certain is that the lower branches of the tree slowed the fall and reduced its damage, thus saving their lives.
Adam and the serpent fell into the beautiful lawn of the Garden of Eden, lying in the grass. The former moaned in pain and the latter stared blankly at the sky, as if an anesthetic had put him under.
Eve immediately ran to them. The snake groaned as he sat down on the grass in dismayed silence, feeling ill at ease.
"Is everything okay?" the girl was sweating profusely as she asked the devastated green-eyed young man caringly.
The Talking Serpent simply gazed at her. The lassie crouched down in front of him and tried to talk to the snake again.
"Hey, what's your name?" Eva asked.
"I don't have one" the lad said as he contemplated the herbs.
"Then… how about 'Nachash'?" the lassie smiled and said.
"Eh?" the serpent said, confused.
"'The bright one'" Eve had a big grin on her face as she baptized him.
Nachash blushed, dazzled by the kindness that she naturally radiated. Meanwhile, Adam stood up, brushed off his pants and walked up to the snake. He gazed at the Talking Serpent before extending the hand of friendship. Nachash smiled in a subtle way and took his extended hand as Adam lifted him up.
"'Nachash'…" the serpent said and shed a tear out of happiness, which he wiped off his cheek as fast as he could.
The trio stared at the vast sky, eager to embark on new adventures together.
🐍🐍🐍
Ten days later
The feud between the boy and the snake that made them push their limits seemed like an event from a distant past. The Garden of Eden became a much happier place after the two buried the hatchet and the Talking Serpent was accepted into the group. Fighting was still a usual pastime for both Adam and Nachash though.
The red-haired child blocked a boot to the head by grabbing the other kid's leg, then Adam retaliated with a jab that Nachash dodged. The former executed a roundhouse kick instep that connected with the latter's right fist. From sweat to smiles, they were having a great time.
The boys took a break and climbed to the lower branches of the Tree of Science, sitting there. A cool breeze blew over them. That was when Adam had an idea.
"Hey, why don't we give it another shot?" the sweaty red-haired lad asked his friend who was above him.
"What are you on about?" Nachash asked, confused.
"Oh, right, you weren't with us yet" Adam said with his eyes closed.
The wind blew hard as if announcing the arrival of Eve, who had gone to gather flowers in another area of the garden, and was now back carrying a dozen gardenias.
"There are so many pretty flowers!" the lass said.
Eve bent down and placed the gardenias next to the amaranths that she collected before.
"Eve, let's go there right now!" Adam said, his voice loud with excitement.
"You mean that place?" Eve asked a rhetorical question.
The Talking Serpent jumped out of the tree and fell to the ground with style. Nachash looked curiously at Adam. Little did he know what awaited him on the other side.
"What are you guys talking about?" the snake asked.
"You'll see soon" Adam said as he kept it under his hat.
🐍🐍🐍
The sky was a cloudless blue, and the sun was out, shining brightly on their curious faces. The kids were hiding behind bushes in a place unknown to the Talking Serpent, inside the Garden of Eden and about 300 meters from the Tree of Science. Adam made the shush gesture before peeking through the bush, and Eve did the same.
"What are we hiding from?" Nachash directed his gaze toward his male friend and asked.
"Just look" Adam gestured with his hand for him to come closer and said.
The dry, fallen leaves of the bushes rustled as an ominous wind carried them away.
The snake did as he was told and peered through the shrub as he saw the Tree of Life—the other special tree created by God—for the first time. It was the same height as the Tree of Science, but its leaves were golden and not red. The group of twelve gray hooded people were even more fascinating, standing beneath the tree in an orderly fashion.
"A second tree?" Nachash said, gobsmacked, and fixed his gaze on the hooded humanoids. "And… people…?!" he was even more amazed when he saw them, but pitched his voice lower, nonetheless.
Indeed, the Talking Serpent had never ventured past the Tree of Science and therefore was unaware of the Tree of Life, plus he always believed that no one else except them existed in this mysterious world.
"People, huh? Anyway, that's not what we came for" Adam said and pointed with his right index finger at something "Look, up in the tree" he said.
Nachash followed the crimson-haired bairn's finger as it was pointing to a red apple hanging from one of the tree branches.
"What's so special about it?" the serpent looked at Adam and asked.
"Beats me" the little boy humbly replied.
"Come again?" Nachash said as he was disconcerted by his reply.
"He believes they're watching over the apple" the smiling Eve ran her hand through her silky hair and said.
"Just a gut feeling then…" the snake sighed, not even slightly surprised by his candor "So? What's the idea?" Nachash looked up at the fruit and asked.
"Simple. We're gonna steal it" Adam pointed his right index finger up and said confidently.
The three children sat behind the bushes and began to hatch a plan to steal the apple. Eve and Nachash listened intently to Adam, who was brimming with ideas.
"Here's my plan: while Nachash draws their attention, I nab the apple" the little boy pointed with his right index finger at the Talking Serpent, and then at the girl "As for you, Eve, it's safer to hide in the bushes" he said.
"If you want to keep a low profile, Nachash in his snake form is more suitable for that role" Eve gave her opinion "Sorry, Adam, but you will have to be the bait this time" she said while clasping her hands together and giving him an apologetic look.
"Agreed" Nachash said triumphantly.
"But… I'm the hero…" Adam overreacted as he was devastated to lose out on the lead role.
"I assume that this isn't the first time you guys come here to steal the apple" the serpent asked him.
Adam, who had recovered quickly from that minor setback, suddenly became crestfallen. The closed expression he was wearing gave away his thoughts—Adam just couldn't help but brood over the past, sinking further into apathy.
"To tell you the truth, we never really tried" the red-haired bairn placed his right hand on his chest and said, a foreboding zephyr kicked up off the Tree of Life concomitantly "I had the feeling that it was too dangerous" he said.
"Adam is scared?" Nachash thought with a puzzled expression.
"Everything will be fine, after all, we have you now, Nachash!" Adam had a change of attitude and said with a big smile on his mug.
The snake grinned at his companion, as if Adam had infected him with his positivity, and he was no longer feeling discomfort. Eve let out a smile as her face radiated with delight.
Adam emerged from the bushes shortly after their strategy meeting and confronted the hooded people, keeping a distance of 20 meters from them. Nachash, in his reptilian form, was hiding in a spot near Adam as he awaited his friend's signal, and Eve stayed behind, remaining attentive and vigilant like a good strategist.
"Yo! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Adam greeted the group, but they didn't respond.
Adam picked up a stone from the ground, aimed it at the sixth individual counting from the left and threw it hard. It was at that moment that a colorless energy enveloped the bodies of the twelve hooded humanoids. The rock went through the person's body as if it were a ghost and tore a hole in the tree trunk. The other hooded people didn't even blink.
"It passed through his body? And the aura that surrounded them…" the Talking Serpent thought, staring in disbelief.
Unlike Nachash, Adam and Eve had already witnessed that phenomenon.
The latter had a bad feeling as a shiver ran up her spine, warning the lass of the impending danger—the hooded figures knew what the snake was up to. Eve started quaking with fear, she had to clench her fists in order to stop her hands from trembling. The lassie decided to follow her instincts and ran out of the bushes, surprising Adam and Nachash.
"Did her senses detect danger…?!" the serpent thought as he remembered that one time when Eve felt Nachash's hostility toward Adam.
The second hooded humanoid in the row jerked out of their apathy and, like an automaton, darted toward the defenseless Eve at light speed as he reached her in the blink of an eye. The two were now face to face.
"Eve!" Adam shouted and ran over to help her without thinking twice.
Adam nodded at Nachash, and the latter nodded back, trusting each other. The Talking Serpent continued to crawl toward the Tree of Life, away from the prying eyes of the hooded figures, whose attention was focused on his friends.
The third hooded humanoid in the row abandoned their post to intercept the crimson-haired child, vanishing and appearing in front of him. The mysterious figure stood in Adam's way like a brick wall built to block his path forward.
The kid glared at them as he tried to make eye contact, but the hood covered their mug nonetheless, and their facial expression was a baffling mystery for Adam. Perhaps that was the reason why he couldn't sense malicious intentions from this person, ever the enigma. Putting that aside, the youngster knew this wasn't the time to get lost in his thoughts.
It was then that the cross around Adam's neck swayed just as it had in the fight against Nachash, resonating with the mystical energy that gradually enclosed his body and changed his eyes from scarlet to white. With this supernatural transformation, the impossible became possible.
"Get out of the way" Adam said seriously and punched the hooded humanoid, who was supposed to be intangible, in the stomach.
The hooded figure fell lifeless to the ground before the bairn, brimming with confidence and feeling more powerful than ever. The other hooded figures, however, remained strangely calm, giving the feeling that everything was going as planned and within their expectations.
The eighth and ninth hooded figures in the row disappeared and reappeared on top of Adam as they pinned him down—the first braced his head and put their right knee into his back, while the latter restrained the child by holding his feet.
"Damn it! Let me go!" Adão resisted, but in vain.
The red-headed bairn's screams ceased as he died down from tone to tone into silence, all because he saw the hooded humanoid he floored earlier get up easily, right in front of his eyes.
"Impossible. I hit him with all my strength" Adam thought.
The kid watched in disbelief as the monster rose from the ground. He felt on the verge of losing hope, the driving force behind overcoming his challenges, now seemingly in short supply.
"You… don't feel pain?" Adam asked, terrified, as a small bead of sweat formed on his forehead and trickled down.
His white eyes began to change back to red, and the light that radiated around him, as well as the glow of the cross-shaped necklace, faded away along with his spirit. Adam's heart fluttered and hope finally crumbled. The sound of a tear echoed across the grass as the garden wept copiously over the hero's loss.
Nachash crept stealthily without making a sound in the shadows of the eight hooded humanoids, who stood there silently. He knew that being caught red-handed would mean wasting the opportunity Eve had given him in exchange for her safety.
"Okay, I made it" the Talking Serpent thought as he observed the tree, which was right in front of him.
Nachash dared to look behind and saw a disturbing scene: Eve looked appalled before a gray hooded figure and Adam was pinned to the ground by two other hooded humanoids.
He cast an eye over the apple hanging from a tree branch of the Tree of Life, and then glanced at his friends, especially Adam, who was crying inconsolably.
The flame-haired bairn raised his head to look at Eve. She just stood there petrified, staring at Adam as if expecting him to gain new strength and save her. However, the powerless hero had sunk deep into anguish and showed no signs of a recovery. In the end, he was just a frail human in a green and blue wasteland.
"R-Run… quickly…" Adam told Eve and used what little strength he had left to try summoning forth that strange power, but his spirit no longer listened to him.
The lass with long turquoise blue hair was, however, paralyzed by the same fear that gripped Adam, later replaced by pure despair. They were monsters, things they shouldn't have messed with. And it was all his fault. Now, the hero was about to lose the most important people in his life, right before his eyes.
The hooded figure in front of Eve held out their hand like a cat stretching out its paw and claws toward a toy ball.
"EVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Adam screamed, desperately.
That was when Nachash, in his human form, donned a hero's cape and squeezed himself between the hooded person and Eve at almost supersonic speed. A tenebrous green aura enveloped the Talking Serpent, and the youngster had a sparkle in his eyes.
"Don't touch her" he said in a menacing tone.
A large spiritual snake unexpectedly emerged from Nachash's back and crushed the hooded humanoid in midair. The bairn caught sight of the face under the enemy's hood and what he saw made him shudder. He looked perplexed for a moment.
"What the hell are you?" Nachash asked as he was glued to the spot, terror-stricken.
The two hooded people who were subduing Adam and the hooded figure he thought he had single-handedly defeated returned to their positions in the row. The enemy attacked by the Talking Serpent gave the snake made of energy a clout, which in turn dissolved into spiritual particles, and rejoined with their companions without delay.
Adam stood up with tears in his eyes and approached Eve as he was worried sick.
"Are you alright?!" the bairn asked her.
"Yes" the girl, a little embarrassed, nodded and said.
Adam turned to Nachash as the latter walked toward them looking fierce, the snake no longer attached to his back, but the terribly mystical dark green aura still enclosing his body.
"Nachash, your body…!" the scarlet-haired little boy said.
"We chat later! Now's not a good time" the Talking Serpent said without taking his eyes off his foes.
The three gazed fixedly at the hooded humanoids as a cloud of uncertainty hung over them.
The sixth hooded figure in the row pointed his right index finger at Nachash before gusts of wind blew some pesky dust right into the children's eyes, causing them to lose sight of the hooded people. When the gale subsided and they reopened their eyes, the uncanny crowd had long since departed.
"They disappeared…" Eve said.
The energetic field surrounding Nachash's body faded away. He looked fixedly at his right hand as if searching for answers in his palm and then pressed the rewind button.
"First it was Adam… and now me… The stone went right through the guy in the middle, but with those weird powers, we managed to hit them. I don't know if they each have their own ability or not, but for now it's safe to assume that there's a way to fight them in case they come back" the Talking Serpent thought as he remembered the moment when Adam awakened his power during their fight, the snake he summoned and all that followed.
"Eve, Nachash. I'm sorry. It's my fault. If I hadn't thought of such a stupid joke… I'm always like this, but now I really did put you in danger" Adam became crestfallen, clenched his fists and said with pain in his heart.
The two of them were somewhat bewildered by his sudden confession. The kid couldn't even look his friends in the eye as he was ashamed of himself. That was when poker-faced Nachash slapped him on the head and broke the ice.
"Ow!" Adam complained as he ran his right hand through his hair.
"You idiot. It's not like our legs moved on their own. We were reckless too" the cool emerald-green-glitter-headed lad said.
"Nachash…" the red-headed kid teared up as he muttered.
"Besides, we wouldn't follow a loggerhead like you" the Talking Serpent shrugged and gave him a wry smile.
"Hey!" Adam said in a comically exaggerated and angry way.
Nachash smiled genuinely at him and extended his left hand for a fist bump, which took the little crimson-headed lad by surprise.
"Don't blame yourself for everything. Live without regrets. You were the one who taught me that" the snake said honestly.
Eve, who was keeping quiet and listening attentively until Nachash had finished, nodded in agreement and took a step forward. Adam eyed her expectantly.
"We'll be fine, Adam. Just keep on being yourself" the smiling Eve said.
Adam lowered his head, wiped the tears from his cheeks and bumped his right fist with Nachash's left. That gesture alone was enough to leave the bad memories behind and bring the hero back from the brink of depression.
"Yeah!" Adam grinned and said.
The trio was in perfect harmony now that their leader had lifted his spirits, but there were still a few loose ends to tie up and one more surprise in store for them.
"Anyway…" Nachash changed to a happier mood and moved on to another topic as he took the so desired apple out from inside his clothes.
"It's the apple!" Adam immediately recognized the fruit and said, startled.
"When did you get it?" Eve, who was just as bewildered as Adam, asked the Talking Serpent.
"Right before saving you" the snake said, recalling how he climbed the tree, held the apple in his mouth and returned to his human form in record time.
"Good job, Nachash! Just this once, I'll let you steal the spotlight!" Adam patted him on the back with his left hand while sneakily placing his right on the apple as he laughed out loud, ruffling Nachash's feathers.
"…It's strange" Eve said as she dived into her thoughts, remembering when one of the hooded humanoids pointed his index finger at the Talking Serpent, and making the connection.
"Hm?" Nachash looked at her and said, curious.
"Those hooded figures were clearly guarding the apple, and yet, despite knowing that Nachash had stolen it, they didn't try to take it back" the lassie assessed the situation logically and rationally, gesturing with her right hand as she spoke, then placed it on her chin "It was as if… we were being tested" she said, the suspense could be felt in the air.
The silence was broken by Adam as he snatched the apple from Nachash's hand and playfully lifted it in the air, holding the apple as if it were a baby.
"I've made up my mind! I won't eat the 'Adam's Apple'. It will be our treasure from now on!" the wildly enthusiastic boy with hair the same color as the fruit said.
"He even gave it his name…" the Talking Serpent did a facepalm and said.
Eve could not contain her giggling as she found Adam funny.
It was then that the Adam's Apple suddenly shone amid happy feelings in the air and changed from red to gold, a never-before-seen phenomenon.
"What is this?!" Nachash wondered aloud.
"It's so bright…!" Eve said as she raised her hands to shield her eyes from the glaring light.
The wondrous glow that radiated from the apple escalated into an even brighter light, and they had to fully shut their eyes. Eventually, the entire place was engulfed in light as everything turned white.
The children opened their eyes and the first thing they noticed was that the glare no longer hurt their vision. The Adam's Apple had stopped shining on them, subsequently returning to its original color. What awaited the kids was an almost idyllic scene, in which goats, sheep, pigs, cows and even people surrounded them. The best possible gift—new life, in all forms.
"They look like us" Adam said in amazement as he observed the new human beings.
"And all these animals we have never seen before… it's extraordinary" the Talking Serpent said as he was utterly fascinated by them.
"I-I don't know what happened, but it looks like we're not alone anymore" Eve could not contain her joy as she dabbed tears from her cheeks.
"Mm" Nachash said with a smile on his mug and a little tear forming in the corner of his eye.
"Yeah" the smiling fiery-headed youngster nodded and said, his eyes also watering.
🐍🐍🐍
The three sat on the edge of the cliff that Adam and Eve visited occasionally. This viewpoint offered a splendid view over the sea that melted Nachash's heart. The waves were especially calm today, accompanied by a beautiful sunset and the soft sound of seagulls calling in the distance. With that, another chapter of their lives was brought to a close.
"Nachash" Adam called out to his friend, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
"Yes?" Nachash said, equally taken by the view as sky and water felt symbiotic to him.
"When you showed up to help us, for a moment you looked really pale. What did you see?" the fiery-headed youngster wanted to know what the Talking Serpent saw under the hood of the humanoid, whom he directly confronted.
The question stopped Nachash in his tracks. He relived those sinister memories as the experience sent shivers up his spine. The snake saw something he wasn't supposed to, something he could hardly forget. An inexplicable void, an indescribable sight, a real nightmare.
"Nachash?" Adam turned to him and said as he was intrigued by his silence.
"Huh?" the Talking Serpent, distracted by thoughts running through his mind, stole a glance at his companion and said "Ah… it was nothing. Just my imagination" he lowered his head and lied.
"I see… One more thing" Adam said as he wanted to ask about the nature of the terrifying power Nachash used and the snake he summoned to strangle the enemy "…Never mind" the child looked downcast as he was done asking questions, and the conversation ended there.
Silence reigned as the melody of the waves played in the background. Depending on the perspective from which we look at it, we could either be witnessing the beginning or the end of the world.
Adam and Nachash's eyes finally met, and the bells of destiny rang out.
"Hey… don't change" Adam raised his head and said seriously.
Indeed, no one imagined that the feeling of dread creeping over the bairn was a portent of great misfortune that would befall the trio in due time, and thus they were left alone once more.
This is a story that goes back to the beginnings of mankind, a time when nothing existed. Nothing, except three young goldfinches still discovering themselves.
Their tale would eventually end.
🐍🐍🐍
This is another tale that began long before its protagonist was born and that shall only end when all the pieces are correctly assembled.
A small, dark room in a rustic wooden house. There, a 16-year-old blond youngster of medium height wearing a white T-shirt and blue pajama pants was sleeping peacefully in his bed. The lad dreamed of two boys—one with red hair and the other with green hair—and a girl that used to accompany them wherever they went.
Whether at the top of a gigantic tree or while facing the threat of mysterious hooded figures, the three were always together. The dream abruptly came to an end, its ending unknown.
The teenager opened his asparagus-like eyes as he woke up from a deep sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed, silent, and put his hands on his knees. Standing beside him against a wall with his arms crossed was a tall, slender man with long black hair and piercing golden eyes. He wore a simple T-shirt under a pitch-black cloak, dark blue pants and black boots—clothing colors that very much complemented his complexion.
"Did you have another dream?" the charismatic individual smirked and asked.
The blond simply nodded. He clenched his fists and a white aura darkly outlined with green energy enclosed his body, then a cross-shaped black pendant popped up around his neck as it illuminated the room in a familiar glow. This, too, was a prelude to what was to come.
"I will… protect you" the teen raised his head and said with a stern look on his face.
🐍🐍🐍
An 8-year-old child was seen lying unconscious on the lawn of a park, beneath a blue sky and surrounded by modern buildings. The bairn had hair black as ebony and was wearing old-fashioned, tattered clothes that didn't hide the scars on his arms.
A group of three friends who just happened to be walking by rushed to help him.
"Is he breathing?" one of them asked.
"Call an ambulance!" another man asked urgently.
The little one slowly opened his eyes, which were bright green. Regardless of why he is in bad shape, we must remember that nothing happens by chance. Destiny is reserved for those who are chosen.
🐍🐍🐍
At the same time…
At the center of the garden where the beginning had its end, or where the end had its beginning, a young adult wearing a golden hooded cape stood under the enormous and impassive Tree of Science, eating a red apple with his left hand while holding three cards in his right. He took a bite out of the apple and raised the cards, which had different designs and names, to the sky. It was the Snake card, number 7; the Apple card, number 0; and the Cross card, number 1. They fluttered in the wind that came from the coast.
The curtain rose and the bells of destiny rang once more. Let the lie…
"…start" the hooded man said as he smiled broadly, his golden hair could be seen for a moment, as well as his polychromatic eyes—a combination of turquoise blue, dark green and red.
[END OF CHAPTER]