The Garden was alive with a beauty no mortal tongue could ever capture. Rivers sparkled like flowing glass, and the air was thick with the perfume of blossoms that never faded. Birds sang in harmonies that rose and fell like a heavenly choir, while every creature moved without fear, unscarred by hunger or pain.
And yet, within this perfect world, one heart beat with longing.
Adam sat beneath the shade of a wide fig tree, his arms resting loosely on his knees. His gaze wandered across the meadow where deer grazed, where doves perched without fear on the shoulders of lions, and where every creature seemed to have its place, its mate, its companion.
He should have been content. Eden gave him everything—fruit in abundance, water pure enough to mirror the heavens, strength in his limbs, and a mind bright with understanding. But even as he cared for the Garden, naming the creatures and tending the plants, something inside him whispered of emptiness.
The deer grazed in pairs. The birds soared with wings touching. Even the river seemed to sing in duet with the wind. Adam watched them, and though his lips curved in quiet admiration, his heart tightened with a weight he could not name.
He was alone.
When he slept, he dreamed of voices not his own. When he woke, he felt the ache of silence beside him. His laughter echoed without answer. His words fell into the air with no one to catch them. Adam did not yet understand what was missing, but his soul cried out for it.
That night, as the stars unfolded across the sky, a gentle sleep came over him. And in that sleep, the Lord reached into the depths of his being. Adam's breath slowed. His chest rose and fell in peace. Then from his very side, a rib was drawn, wrapped in the mystery of divine hands.
From that rib, with a touch both tender and powerful, the Lord shaped something new. A curve where Adam was straight. A softness where he was strong. A melody where he was silent. Breath entered her lungs, and her eyes fluttered open like dawn spilling across the earth.
Eve.
Her name had not yet been spoken, but it was already written into the heart of creation. She stood, her hair falling like streams of dark silk, her eyes wide as she looked upon the Garden for the first time. Every flower seemed to bloom brighter as she passed. The very air bent toward her, as though creation itself rejoiced in her arrival.
When Adam woke, he blinked against the light of morning. For a moment, he thought the dream still held him, for standing before him was a vision unlike any beast or bird he had ever named. She was like him, yet not. Her frame delicate yet filled with strength, her face radiant, her gaze curious and unafraid.
His breath caught.
She looked at him with the same wonder, as though their souls recognized each other before their minds could understand.
Adam rose slowly, every step hesitant, afraid the vision might vanish if he moved too quickly. The Garden around them hushed—the wind stilled, the birds quieted, even the river softened its song, as if creation itself held its breath.
"You…" Adam's voice cracked, for no word he had spoken before seemed enough. "You are… bone of my bone. Flesh of my flesh."
Eve tilted her head, her lips curving into the faintest smile. She did not yet know words, but she knew the pull of her heart. She took a step toward him, then another, until the space between them closed.
Adam reached for her hand. Their fingers brushed, and in that touch, the silence inside him shattered. For the first time, he felt whole.
The Garden exhaled. A warm breeze swept through the trees, carrying petals into the air like blessings. Somewhere in the distance, a lion roared, not in hunger but in celebration.
They stood hand in hand, gazing into each other's eyes, not knowing where one soul ended and the other began.
For a long time, they said nothing. Their hearts spoke louder than words.
But in the far shadows of the Garden, beneath the curling roots of an ancient tree, something stirred. Hidden eyes watched with hunger, and a whisper slithered across the silence.
Not yet. Not yet.
Eden's first love had bloomed, and already, temptation waited.