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Did Yoba really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?
There was something about the air of Winter 1 that prompted a massive influx of villagers every year. It was one thing to see the faces of Robin and Marnie, who only sought eternal salvation on the first week of Spring or the last week of Fall otherwise. Still, it was another to make eye contact with soi-disant non-believers like Pierre, who only bothers to come once a year despite owning a chapel of their own.
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but Yoba did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’
Sitting among the crowd, beside her fourteen-year-old sister with the ends of her blonde hair dyed blue and mother whose clothes scream for the height of luxury, is ten-year-old doe-eyed Haley. She listens intently to the preacher, albeit slightly hauled by boredom, and attempts to create a novel assessment of the verse being narrated.
Admittedly, she’s slightly frustrated by her own failure–she’s heard this anecdote a hundred times, and her perspective never changes.
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For Yoba knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Yoba, knowing good and evil.”
Haley feels a hand on top of her head, patting her gently. She looks up, greeted by her mother’s proud face, smirking like she’s somehow won.
As an avid follower of Yoba, Haley’s mother has ensured that her devotion stretches past her being and has been brought upon her daughters. Most of the time, she wanted to turn herself into the epitome of discipline, the most loyal follower of Yoba.
However, due to her undeniable enthusiasm towards earthly possessions, she has found this quite a difficult task. And so, as twisted as it is, she made it her mission to stray her daughters away from her path. To open her daughters’ eyes up to the promise of Heaven, to shape her daughters to become the paragon of perfection she couldn’t be.
Emily was beginning to go off that road at fourteen, much to her mother’s dismay. At twelve, Emily started seeking other higher beings, buying tarot cards and crystals behind her mother’s back. On her thirteenth birthday, she secretly went out with her best friend, Sandy, to try temporary hair dye. Consequently, she received an hour-long lecture about how “Yoba created everybody perfectly” and that “Your temple mustn’t be tampered with–that is not what Yoba intended.”
She always believed that she could keep pushing Emily in the right direction. She always told herself that she was her daughter, which meant it was still within her capabilities to mold Emily into the person she wanted her to be.
That was until she–against her better judgment–ripped open a letter from Sandy on Emily’s fourteenth birthday. It was the first time non-religious but cool-headed and kindhearted Emily ever yelled at her, and the first time she was left speechless after witnessing her beloved eldest daughter be involved in something that Yoba wouldn’t approve of. It’s been two months, and the silence between them has been louder than ever.
She’s decided to let go of Emily’s faith (or lack thereof), but she still has Haley. Precious, obedient ten-year-old Haley.
She raises her hand from Haley’s head, setting it back down on her lap, and Haley looks even more determined to grant herself a new perspective.
But, in her eyes, it all seemed so simple: Eve was wrong. “It was a simple request,” Haley once said, “And she could have gotten a fruit from any other tree. I don’t understand why she couldn’t let this one go.”
Haley sighs, telling herself she’ll come up with something on the walk home. In her eyes, it was not difficult to remain obedient, especially to Yoba’s requests. Besides, what’s the joy of giving in to temptation compared to the reward of eternal salvation?
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
From the corner of her eye, Haley sees animated movement from the seat across theirs. She furrows her brow, irritated by the contrast of the sight to everybody else sitting still and listening to the preacher. She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath to simply ignore it.
After a few minutes, however, she found it bothersome once again. This time, she could not resist looking and turned her head sharply to finally figure out what the “commotion” was about.
Haley tilts her head, unable to recognize the source of disruption. Sitting across them was a little girl who looked as if she was Haley’s age, struggling to tie the ribbons of her Mary Janes properly. The girl was brunette; her hair was half done, tied neatly with a thin, white ribbon. She wore a white dress with long sleeves, and if you looked close enough, you could also spot the floral pattern all over it with the same color.
As Yoba promised, death happened.
This was not physical death, but spiritual death that caused a separation between Yoba and man because of sin.
The result of eating the forbidden fruit was sin entering the world and all the pain and suffering that happens as a result.
Temptation, by all accounts, is evil. Do not give into sin—no temptation should come before your devotion to Yoba.
The girl finally sits upright, sighing with relief as she smiles. She buries her hands neatly on her lap–the same way Haley’s mother does–and looks around to see if anybody was watching.
She catches Haley staring. Haley feels the tug of something new pulling at her heart.
Having her subject looking back at her now, she takes note of the features she missed before. The other girl had brown–no, amber– eyes, and instead of being doe-eyed like Haley, the ends of her eyes were turned upwards. She looked about two shades darker than Haley, and Haley wondered how she noticed the mole that sat right below her left eye.
Haley should be embarrassed that she was caught staring. The other girl should be embarrassed that somebody witnessed her struggling with tying the ribbons on her shoes. But even with the preacher clearing his throat, neither one could look away. Instead, the other girl smiles at Haley, and Haley cannot comprehend any other sight around her.
That is until her mother elbows her lightly. Haley looks up, seeing her mother’s angry gaze, pointing her head towards the altar. Haley brings her head forward, seeing the preacher staring at her. She blushes and sits up straight, muttering a small “sorry” as the preacher continues.
Still, Haley could not understand the force pulling her head toward the other girl’s direction. She stays obedient, though, and ignores the sudden incoherent noise plaguing her mind.
After the mass ends, Haley’s family walks out together, and her mother begins to discuss the gospel. Haley tried her best to look attentive, keeping her spine straight as she took part in the conversation. It was such a routine of theirs every Wednesday and Sunday; Haley basically ran on autopilot during these conversations already.
However, this time, their conversation was interrupted by a woman tapping Haley’s mother’s shoulder. She turns around, looking delighted when she’s met with the other woman’s face.
“I heard from Lewis that there would be another family joining our town,” Haley’s mother exclaims enthusiastically. “How lovely that our first encounter would be in Church!”
The other woman laughs, and Haley looks ten times bored as they continue their conversation. Haley spaces out, only hearing the words ‘religion,’ and ‘Yoba,’ and ‘dinner this Friday,’ and–
“Oh! By the way, this is my daughter, Amelie.”
Daughter?
Haley’s suddenly snapped back into place. Never mind that it was seconds before her mother squealed; she’ll blame it on that anyway. In front of her, she sees the same girl she was eyeing during the mass. Still with the same smile on, Haley tries half-heartedly to return it, feeling her breath catch itself in her throat as she tries to give her more.
Once again, the tugging returns. She wonders whether or not Yoba intended for her to feel it, but she chooses to ignore it without a clear answer.
Haley stands there as the other girl smiles wide. A few more seconds of silence pass, and the other girl– Amelie –giggles.
“Well, you know my name now. What’s yours?”
Still, Haley does not respond. She could not get herself to respond and mentally kicked herself for it. She tries to think of a reason as to why she was unresponsive. She considers making up an excuse but fears that her mother would know that she’s lying and give her another hour-long lecture about how Yoba doesn’t allow liars into the kingdom of Heaven. She spots the mole on the front of Amelie’s neck, realizing that she didn’t notice that or the silver necklace with a cross around her neck beforehand, and– wait. She realizes that it’s probably weird how she’s staring and averts her gaze back to Amelie’s eyes. She tries to think of another explanation, another reason why–
“Her name’s Haley,” Emily says with a smile, placing her hands on Haley’s shoulder as she stands behind her. “And I’m Emily, her older sister.”
Haley sighs, making a mental note to begrudgingly thank Emily later.
“Yeah, I’m Haley.”
Amelie nods. “So I’ve been told.”
Haley copies, nodding before looking away. Her mother clears her throat.
“Well, I think we’re walking the same way. Shall we walk together?”
Amelie’s parents agree, and they all lead the way. Haley still refuses to move, and Amelie stays there in silent company, waiting for her to follow them.
“Well?” Amelie says, still holding the same smile. “Shall we go?”
“Right. Sorry.” Haley responds, still unmoving, still refusing to make eye contact.
Amelie giggles once more, and Haley feels that tug in her chest grows a bit more forceful.
“Allow me,” Amelie says, linking her arm with Haley’s as she turns them around and starts walking. Haley smiles, looking her in the eyes as they walk. Amelie returns her gaze before looking back ahead.
They stay that way all the way home, and for once, Haley begins to understand why Eve could not resist temptation, why she was willing to succumb to disobedience with the promise of something greater, something too beautiful to resist.
It was not what Yoba intended.
But as she feels a new wave of hollowness take over her chest–
as Amelie pulls away and waves Haley goodbye–
She could not find the words for it yet. So, she pushes it down.
For tonight, Haley’s happy that she’s made a new friend.
For tonight, she thanks Yoba.
After a quick sign of the cross, Haley speaks. “Thank you for sending her to me,” Haley whispers to the sky, hands clasped together. “Thank you, Yoba, for intending for me to have a new friend. Thank you.”
Haley makes another sign of the cross before walking into her house. She goes to sleep that night feeling grateful, thinking all about her new friend.