Palindrome

Outside Eden, a long, long time ago

Lil looked at the setting sun, wishing she could follow it – just melt away and rise again the next day, eager for the hours ahead. She brushed the sand of her behind and picked up the blanket she`d filled with all her belongings. Lil didn’t know why she had come this way, it just opened old wounds. It wasn’t like she`d had happy days here, but it had been her home once upon a time. Was it possible to be homesick for something that never had felt like a home? Just because it was something known.

As the sun disappeared, she said a small thank you to the sun for warming her body and decided to walk a bit more before she turned in for the night. The area hadn`t changed much in the years she`d been away, Lil was sure she would find the way to the river. The grass was soft under her feet, smelling sweetly, and she looked forward to sinking down into it and sleep.

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Something woke her up, a noise that vanished when Lil opened her eyes. All the hair on her body stood, instinct telling her to get up and take flight. Lil forced her body to lie still and evened her breathe. There, someone or something was standing among the trees, watching her. Back in the old days there wasn’t any dangerous animals here, but things had changed since her time here. A small movement, and Lil caught an interference in the air around her. Should she be happy or afraid?

“I know you`re not asleep.”

Eve`s voice was rougher than last she`d heard it, older and tougher.

“Maybe I want to keep pretending?” Lil asked half-jokingly, testing the waters.

Eve snorted and Lil heard footstep closing in on her.

“You never were good at pretending.”

Lil sat up, her joints complaining.

“Not in front of you, no.”

The moon was half full, blessing them with a glimmer of silvery light. Eve`s dark hair hung loose down her back, the temples starting to grey. Lil looked her over quickly, noticing all the differences. Life with Adam outside Eden hadn`t been kind, it looked. Eve met her eyes daringly.

“I know what you`re thinking, but I made a choice.”

Now it was Lil`s turn to snort. “Not much of a choice if you ask me. You should have listened to me, I told you he was no good.”

Eve looked down, and lifted her shoulders, “It seemed like a good idea at the time. He was good looking, had the blessings of a God, and promised me a family and a home.”

Lil took a step closer to her sister, sister not by blood but by soul. The Goddess was their mother, but magic had created Lil, and a night at the bonfire under the sacred rite had created Eve.

Her heart hurt by the sight of her worn down sister, and Lil reached out a hand.

“Come with me. Please. Leave him.”

Eve smiled but shook her head. “I appreciate it, but no thanks. I can`t.”

Lil stirred the fire, hoping to rekindle it. “Come, sit with me, if you will. How did you find me?”

Eve held out her hands to the fire, but it wasn’t giving away much warmth yet. “I felt it, does that make sense? Like a tingling in my bones.”

Lil didn`t answer, she knew exactly how it felt. Eve sat down on the other side of the fire, gazing into it. How strange it was, sitting like this after all these years.

“How are you, did he give you a family like he promised?” Lil could see Eve with children in her mind, hoping it had manifested. Eve wiped away a single tear before speaking. “Yes, and no. I lost two children, my first and second born, because of their stupid God. Free will isn’t a thing there.”

Lil didn’t know how to respond, she had a daughter herself, safely at home.

“I have another son, Seth. And when I felt you near, I knew she had heard my prayers. There`s a reason you are here.”

It was almost like the air itself changed, the wind increased, and a cloud covered the moon.

Lil swallowed and nodded. “I know, but I didn’t realise why. What do you mean?”

“My son, he… He`s cursed. Adam calls him the Devil, but he isn’t. He is marvellous, he`s different, but beautiful when he changes.”

Lil didn’t understand what Eve was talking about, “When he changes?”

Eve moved to sit beside Lil, grabbing her hand.

“I have done mistakes in my life. One of the mistakes gave me Seth, so I can`t regret it. Seth is different. He turns into a creature so magnificent you won`t believe it. Like his father.”

“Like his father? Like Adam?”

Eve just stared at Lil, until she understood the “mistake” her sister had done. Lil sighed, “Like his father, but not Adam.”

“Adam says it`s a curse, an abomination.” Eve sneered.

“Does Adam know that Seth isn’t his son?”

Her sister shook her head, but then bit her lip. “Maybe, but he won`t say it loud.”

“Who is the father?”

Eve got stars in her eyes. “He is…” She laughed. “I can`t describe him. I met him in Eden, a long time ago. It`s a long story, Adam found us and got mad. Got us kicked out. I met Seth`s father again some years later, after Cain and Abel was gone. It just felt so right.”

Lil had to smile, “I bet it did. Why do you need help”?

Eve got serious. “His father is old, he doesn’t remember exactly, but close to a thousand years. He still looks like he`s thirty.”

Lil was shocked, that wasn’t natural, it was in our cycle to die and to be reborn, not to live forever.

Eve continued; “And Seth will be the same. I have lost two sons, and I never had Adam. I can`t lose Seth or Ophidian.”

Lil tightened her grip around Eve`s hand, “What do you mean “lose them”? Are they in danger?”

Eve chuckled, “No, they are undefeatable as far as I know.” Her face turned blank. “But I am not. I`m getting older, and they stay the same. I need help in becoming immortal.”

Lil laughed; the mere idea was ridiculous. “Eve, you know that we are born to die. The Goddess wants us to learn in our lifetimes and become better and better humans.”

“I asked an angel for help, he refused. He said we needed the oil from the Tree of Life, and I would get that on the last day, when flesh rise from the ground, and God is standing in the midst of us. I can’t wait for that. Eden is closed off for humans, I need to get in there to get to the tree.”

What had happened to her mellow sister?

“How do you think I can get it then?”

“Eden is closed off for humans. You aren’t human.”

“EVE?!”

A loud voice boomed through the threes, scaring a flock of birds. Eve looked terrified, “No, no. It`s Adam. He can`t see you, he can`t know I`m talking to you.”

“Too late.” Lil replied and watched as her former lover stepped into the little clearing on front of the river.

Eve dropped to her knees and folded her hands in front of her, Lil`s heart bled for her sister, how had he treated her for her to react this way?

“Adam, listen to me, I`m just asking for her help, she might have a cure for Seth.” Her voice was pleading and desperate, the lie rolling off her tongue with ease. Did love make you so cold?

Lil didn’t have an answer for that, but as the man beat her up, ignoring her words, her promises that she didn’t know the cure, she knew for a fact that hate could make you burn.

Adam was limping away, pain in his leg after kicking her so hard, and Lil whispered to herself and the universe, putting all her magic into the words.

Goddess, hear my cry

They can forever try

Blood of my blood, bone of my bone

Will push the King of time off his throne

The Beast will be stilled by magic`s touch

I promise you this much

When The Flesh rises from the soil

The descendant will receive the Holy Oil

Until then, protect my name, protect my home

Protect the ones marked Palindrome

Lil said the spell with her last breath, hoping her daughter could feel her love even this far away.

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