By Aggie, TIWP Student

The Red Sea tosses its bright aquamarine. It waxes and wanes in the heavy dying sunlight, placing small droplets upon my sandy knees. On days like these, I like to think about my past, how it slowly decays each time I try to piece it together; the lush grounds by the name of Eden grow grey throughout the years, dull and incapacitating. I awake from dreams of the great tree’s branches swallowing me in a tangling mess, the sweet scent of its fruit becoming thick; I gasp for air. And again, a small spray of the sea kisses my face, and I look out to see the dying sun on the golden horizon.

Something curious, though, awaits my vision. Out of my solitary paradise, three glowing beings approach. I cannot recall the angels’ names, but I recognize their figures from my past.

“Lilith.” They whisper my name, and I cannot stop my eyes from cringing at the harsh white light, blinding, and now what was just memory has become real again.

I see the flowering garden of deep green, that soothing color I had almost forgotten. It feels so close; I reach my hand out to the angels, the rainforest sounds of my past rush into my ears; perhaps I could be, once again, God’s praised creation.

“Lilith!” Another voice calls my name, low and desperate; I shiver. I yank my arm back from the strange, enticing horizon and wrap it around my sickening stomach. The angels’ taunting voice distorts into Adam’s, and with each call of my name I force myself away from the blinding light. I run; the sand is hot under my feet, away from that beautiful sea, to the sand dunes, to my home which sits carefully upon them, the oasis I have built for myself.