Eden

The gray metal doors slid open, revealing their artificial Eden. Silently, they entered, their feet sinking into cool, lush, green grass, toes lost between soft, tickling blades. Neither were naked, though they each felt they should be, relishing the warmth of their created sun, the cool summer air, pumped in from the environmental control units, conditioned to smell of sweet fruit and clean water. Nearly twenty years of laboratory specimens and piecing back together fragments of genetic coding. Twenty years of decoding corroded computer entries, of failed replications, poison gasses, rotting matter, all for this moment, this masterpiece.

Dragonflies and water bugs hovered above the murky green water as lilies floated slowly against the breeze, small green rafts providing darkness and shelter to the miniscule minnows and tadpoles that dwelt below the surface. The only sound was the soft rustle of leaves moved by the wind, light pink and purple petals from the flower speckled bushes spinning and dancing, carried out of sight until they reached the edge of paradise, finding the barrier of the metal wall and falling to the floor where they lay in uneven piles.

Neither spoke. She simply followed him to the edge of the lake, the hem of her cream gossamer dress flowing between her legs, skirting the tips of the grass. He waded into the water, holding the bamboo raft steady, water soaking through the bottoms of his linen pants rolled part way up his calves. Hesitantly, she climbed aboard, holding onto both sides in an attempt to keep herself steady as he pulled himself up to join her. His spotted hands grasped the oars, dipping and pulling them through the water with a strength he had not felt since he was a much younger man. Her hair shimmered silver in the sunlight. She allowed one hand to dangle in the cool water, tracing flowing, swirling patterns in their wake. Minnows nibbled at her fingertips, tasting her salty skin before darting off again, their silver tails vibrating against the current.

The bottom of their raft scraped the mud floor as they reached their small island. Again, she held the sides of the raft to brace herself as he climbed off onto the shore before reaching his hand out to her. She took it, feeling his wrinkled, papery skin against her own, and climbed to her feet, balancing her thin feet against the warm wood of the raft. Stepping ashore, she stumbled, falling forward, as he wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her. Grinning, he stepped backwards, dipping her low before pulling her upright again. Her laughter made his chest tight, his heart pound. He was a young man again, twirling his date across the dance floor, soft yellow lights highlighting the dark brown of her hair, the tight curves of her body. Nights before the war, before the dust storms, nights when the world was so alive the air crackled with white hot energy. He smiled at the memories, their eyes locked, pale blue to pale blue. There was a blush on her wrinkled cheeks and he winked, causing again that laugh that seemed to come from a girl a fourth of her age.

He released her, slowly, his hand sliding down her arm to grasp hers as they stood under the tree in the center of the island. Plump, ripe pears dangled amongst its leaves, heavy on their branches. Standing on her toes, she reached up, snapping one off of its stem. She held it to her nose, breathing in the cool, crisp scent before taking a bite of the white flesh, the juice dripping from her chin. She wiped her face with her hand, holding the fruit out to her companion. He bit from the other side, slurping like a child, his eyes closed, breath held.

They sat against the base of the tree, passing the fruit between them as they watched the water bugs skate across the surface of the lake, the still, green water barely displaced by their dance. Her eyes grew heavy and together they slid down the trunk of the pear tree, rolling on their sides to feel the soft grass against their faces. She heard his breathing slow, his arm around her relax. Her own breathing was becoming labored, her chest feeling lighter and lighter. He grew still beside her. She laid her head against his chest. Not a sound. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to float away on the sound of the trees as the pear rolled from her limp fingers, sliding into the green water of the lake, disappearing beneath the surface.