{"id":2666,"date":"2024-04-27T13:53:27","date_gmt":"2024-04-27T20:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2666"},"modified":"2024-04-27T13:53:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-27T20:53:27","slug":"paradise-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/04\/27\/paradise-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"Paradise Lost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story titled ‘Paradise Lost’.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jade leaned back against the tree that sat surrounded by a few meters of grass with a sign that said, \u201cDedicated to the memory of Howard Mack.\u201d Beyond the grass lay leveled land-vehicle parking and travel lanes, a shuttle landing port, and the sprawl of commerce they serviced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lone tree she leaned against used to be one of hundreds. An accidental orchard of sorts, propagated by the squirrels that escaped the bounds of their \u201cescape-proof\u201d enclosure at the research center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years upon years were spent on research to perfect a sustainable, balanced ecosystem, only to have the squirrels make it all moot. Escaping with a handful of newly received English walnuts, the squirrels had done more to shape this area of Eden in a decade than humans did in the preceding sixty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Jade. Taking lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jade turned to see who was speaking to her. Zed, her coworker at the deli. Like Jade, Zed\u2019s skin was a pale brown with a reddish undertone, and they both had straight, dark-brown hair. However, Jade\u2019s eyes were a deep brown while Zed\u2019s were a piercing green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah. Have a seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed looked at the ground next to Jade. \u201cI, uh, don\u2019t wanna sit on a grave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jade laughed. \u201cNo problem, then. I didn\u2019t invite you to sit on my lap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed sat next to her. \u201cYou\u2019re okay with sitting on a grave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI should be,\u201d she said, \u201csince I dug it with my own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed narrowed their eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re telling me you buried your own ancestor?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. I buried my dog here when I was nine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the gravesite that the builders built around\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas where I buried my dog Howard.\u201d Jade chuckled. \u201cIt\u2019s not my mother\u2019s fault that the builders didn\u2019t bother to ask what was in the grave she marked on their map.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always thought that Howard Mack was one of your relatives. Maybe a grandparent or something.\u201d Zed chuckled. \u201cThat\u2019s weird.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I thought it was a person buried here, it creeped me out. Now that I know it was your dog, it just\u2026makes me sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was almost twenty years ago.\u201d Jade sighed. \u201cYou know what makes me sad, Zed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jade swept her arm in a broad gesture at the monument to commerce around them. \u201cAll of this. I used to spend my autumns here picking walnuts. For as long as I can remember.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the land belonged\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo the village,\u201d Jade finished. \u201cWe all picked here, mostly for our own use, but a few people started selling their share to other villages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed raised a finger. \u201cWait, I remember as a kid getting \u2018Lake Village Walnuts\u2019 in a net bag.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cThat\u2019s the ones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou think they\u2019ll change the name?\u201d Zed asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLake Village. I mean, it\u2019s already got the population to be classed as a city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jade shook her head. \u201cNah. It\u2019s too good of a draw. People think they\u2019re moving to someplace quaint and special, when it\u2019s really just another exurb with no urban connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just moved here a couple years ago, but it\u2019s already gotten bigger since then. I can\u2019t imagine how much change you\u2019ve seen being born here.\u201d Zed shook their head. \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome corporation slithered into the garden, offered the council a shiny apple, and it\u2019s all gone to hell from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh my god, Jade read a poem<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShut up. You\u2019re the one with the English Lit degree.\u201d She nudged them. \u201cI thought I\u2019d put it in a framework you\u2019d understand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLot of good my degree does here,\u201d Zed said. \u201cI wanted to be a teacher, but there\u2019s not enough openings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe you should try to incorporate your degree into your day-to-day, see if helps any.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed laughed. \u201cWouldst thou prefer mayonnaise or mustard, milord?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, class up the joint a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed pulled a blade of grass and began to roll it in their fingers. \u201cDid you really read Milton, though? Or just the Cliff\u2019s Notes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNah, I read it. A few times.\u201d Jade sighed. \u201cIt\u2019s bullshit, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, yeah. It\u2019s a retelling of a religious myth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe myth is bullshit, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed flicked the rolled blade of grass out to the middle of the tiny lawn. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing about myths\u2026they\u2019re all fake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an excuse to make women second-class citizens,\u201d Jade said. \u201cThe snake would\u2019ve had a better chance of tempting Adam first, by telling him it would make him rich and irresistible to Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOooh, taking a stab at masculinity. Bold move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaking a stab at the patriarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re past that now,\u201d Zed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally? What\u2019s your proof?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. It just doesn\u2019t seem to be big deal now. Hell, even the President of Earth is a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot good enough. I\u2019ll state my points.\u201d Jade turned to face Zed. \u201cFirst, men still outnumber women in positions of corporate and<\/em> political power. Second, for as long as women were on the village council, they turned down every offer to develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThird, it was an all-male council that decided to sell off the village land to a developer, despite a vote to the contrary just a few months before. They claimed it was because the village needed to \u2018grow up\u2019 or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFourth, every one of those men from the council, despite being voted out for their actions, are now wealthy, and several of them now hold important positions in the corporations that settled in here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed put an arm around Jade\u2019s shoulders. \u201cThat\u2019s why you\u2019re my favorite friend. You\u2019re not afraid to paint yourself into a corner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, let\u2019s assume that the snake tempted Adam first. Why would Eve follow? According to Milton, Adam followed because he couldn\u2019t bear to be separated from Eve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf anything, Adam probably made a bunch of promises about how he\u2019d change and let her take the lead sometimes. I don\u2019t know.\u201d Jade snorted and exclaimed in a goofy voice, \u201cI can change, Eve, I swear<\/em>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zed laughed. \u201cYou know what? It doesn\u2019t matter which one bit the apple first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause it was just meant to enforce the cultural stereotypes. If the culture had been matriarchal, Adam would\u2019ve been created from one of Eve\u2019s ribs, and would\u2019ve been the one tricked by the serpent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think what it comes down to is simple, human greed. It\u2019s like me\u2026no gender required.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGoof.\u201d Jade leaned her head on Zed\u2019s shoulder. \u201cI miss the orchard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

prompt: Write a story titled ‘Paradise Lost’. available at Reedsy Jade leaned back against the tree that sat surrounded by a few meters of grass with a sign that said, \u201cDedicated to the memory of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[208],"tags":[210,228,209],"class_list":["post-2666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trunk-stories","tag-fiction","tag-science-fiction","tag-short-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pxT7i-H0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2667,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2666\/revisions\/2667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}