The Green Ones

Episode 4, Part 8

“What if the goal of life isn’t to live forever?” Neca’s words crash into me, shattering my brief calm. “What if death didn’t amount to losing?”

I breathe deeply. “I suppose the rules would be different.” I feel his pulse accelerate.

“Exactly.” He rests a hand on the back of my head, causing me to draw a halting breath. “This garden reminds me of a place I’ve only read about but hope to see someday.”

“Really?” His mention of the future gives me hope he doesn’t plan to die today.

“I would show you the book, but Centavo took it with him.” A weight enters his voice when he speaks of Centavo. “He showed it to me last year. Since then I’ve read every page three times.”

“What’s it about?” Personally, I’m not much for books, but Neca’s excitement is contagious.

“It contains hundreds of stories over thousands of years. The very first one is about a garden and a couple—lovers.” His hand stops at the base of my braid.

I shudder and nudge into him further.

“They were made for each other, a perfect fit in every way. They cared for the garden, and in return, the garden provided for their every need.”

“So what went wrong?”

Neca chuckles while stroking my hair. “I’m getting to that. They had a decision to make. The garden protected the two sacred elements of creation. As overseers of the garden it was the couple’s role to preserve the elements and keep them from converging until the allotted time.”

“Why? What would happen if they did?”

“Together the elements had been used by God to create the universe. But they also had the power to destroy.”

“I don’t get it. If the elements were so powerful, why would the god leave them in human control?”

“That’s the best question of all,” Neca can barely contain himself. “I’m not sure of the answer. This is what I think. I think God wanted the humans to learn. I think he wanted them to become something better than they were, but to do so they had to be given the decision.”

“Okay, I guess.” I don’t understand the story any more than I understand my feelings for Neca. I want to know more about both. “So what happened?”

“To care for the garden and protect the twin elements, the couple had already partaken of one element—the divine herb.”

“What? You’re making this up.”

“No, I swear,” Neca holds up his hands, interrupting his teasing of my hair. “It makes perfect sense. Whatever the divine herb is, God must have buried one of the elements within it.”

I shrug, hoping that the movement will encourage him to return his hand to my head. “Sure, why not?”

“Think of the couple as being half divine. They already possessed long life.”

“So they were immortals?”

“Not exactly. Not yet. But after many years, the day of their decision came.”

“Finally, some action.”

“Yes. Well, the world outside the garden had become violent and ugly. The couple decided they could do more good if they combined the elements, so they partook.”

“What was the second element?”

“I don’t know.” Neca returns his hand to the base of my braid. “I don’t understand that part. Whatever it was, it overwhelmed them. They didn’t have the ability to control the elements together. God responded in anger, removing the couple from the garden and concealing its location. But the damage had been done.

“The couple bore children. The evil they had unleashed among humanity intensified and spread the violence. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t stop it.”

“That’s a downer.” My eyes drift shut.

“The best they could do was create a record of their mistake and preserve the truth in hopes that someday their descendants would succeed where they had failed. Late in life, the couple had one daughter who seemed unaffected by the second element. Before their eventual death, they entrusted the truth to her. Then she entrusted it to one of her children, and so on.”

“And that record of truth ended up being—”

“The book on Centavo’s shelf. Exactly.” Neca verges on giddy.

“I know all this should mean something to me, but I’m going to need a little more help.”

“Life!” Neca’s voice echos in the recess of the cave. “What if it isn’t just about living as long as possible? What if there’s a larger purpose to our existence? What if we could control the second element? Or bottle it up again?”

I want to experience Neca’s passion. I want to encourage him. But I don’t know how. It’s not part of me. Instead I close my eyes and whisper, “So wouldn’t we still want to live as long as possible?”

“What if death is a lie?”

“But it’s not.” I feel my agitation growing. “People die. Everyone dies. You said so yourself.”

“What if death is just the beginning?”

“That’s ridiculous. Listen to yourself. Death is the end.” The small hope I felt at the beginning of Neca’s story shatters. Not only has he given up on living, but he has deluded himself into thinking there is purpose behind death.

I push away from him and stand. I’ve only moments before tears overwhelm me. “Maybe it’s pure selfishness, but I want to spend the rest of my life, however long it is, with the belief you’re still alive. One stinking day is all I’m asking for, and you can’t even give me that.” Tears bursting forth, I flee toward the dark comfort of the caves and away from the dark-skinned chadzitzin who continues to complicate everything.