Michael sat in the apple tree, watching the two children play. Their laughter rose up on the wind and carried joy to the angel’s heart. He was so happy that Uriel had chosen him. What an amazing gift she had given him! He was always taken aback by how much they changed. When ever he returned from time away from them, it was shocking to see them with their new bodies. He wondered how much time would pass before they were adults. He felt that time was changing too. He’d been in this world since the beginning and up until now, time seemed to stretch out before him and behind him into infinity. It never seemed to matter if time passed or not. But now, these children marked the passing of time with their faces. Every moment that passed with them was magical. Every moment spent separate from them was lost. This was the first time he’d become aware of how time only marched forward, he could never go back to when Uriel first laid Eve into his arms…
Adam ran over to the large tree heavy with bright red fruit. Adam plucked a huge apple from the lower branches. Michael swooped down from the tree and landed next to Adam.
“That fruit is from the Tree of Knowledge,” Michael said.
Adam looked up at him with puzzled eyes. “It looks so yummy, Michael.”
“God does not want you to eat of the Fruit of Knowledge because it would cause you much suffering,” Michael explained.
“Alright, I’ll eat that fruit then!” Adam discarded the Fruit of Knowledge and pointed to another tree heavy with apples. Adam ran to the other tree and took a small yellow fruit from it. He ate it with immense pleasure.
Michael picked up the Fruit of Knowledge and looked at it. He couldn’t see that it looked any different then any other apple. He wondered what that apple would taste like. And he wondered why the Tree of Knowledge always bore such large fruit. Was there really so much to put into a single piece of fruit? Michael sighed and threw the fruit away. Then he wondered why God had created the Tree of Knowledge if no one was allowed to eat the fruit. Maybe when the children were older they and the fruit would be ready…
