Week 2: Storytelling

In the middle of nowhere Mangum, Oklahoma a young couple took residence on a small farm. This farm was owned by an older man named Gus. Gus was a very wise and good person but he had a short temper. He allowed the two, Adam and Eve, to live on his property as long as they helped around the farm. He would house them, feed them, and give them a fair wage under one condition. If either of them were to eat the sand plums from the thickets he grew he would not hesitate to kick them out. Old man Gus would take those sand plums and make the sweetest jelly any one had ever tasted. Some say the soil in which it grew was blessed because those plums were better than any others and once people tasted it they could never eat another jelly the same again.

Adam and Eve were young and blissfully unaware of what the real world was like. Their ignorance had always blinded them and they were only beginning to see the role they played in this new place. Adam helped Gus with the animals and in the field. Eve was tasked with maintaining the house and cooking for the men. Although she did not do this alone. Gus had a daughter, Sophia, who remained at home with her father. There was something different about her but Eve couldn’t put her finger on what it was. All she knew for sure was how uneasy she felt around her.

One day while sweeping the porch, Sophia approached Eve with a handful of sand plums. “Here Eve. Don’t you want some?” she asked as she popped another into her mouth.

“We’re not supposed to eat those! Gus made it very clear.”

“That old man doesn’t know what he is taking about! Why would he grow all those thickets in the first place if he didn’t want to share? There are far too many plums there for just one person. Go on and try one,” Sophia said with a devilish smile. “They’re so sweet they’ll knock your socks right off your feet!”

“I guess you’re right. It couldn’t hurt for me to just try a few,” and with that Eve broke the one rule she was given as she fell victim to temptation. She tossed back a few plums into her mouth and her eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. The sweetness exploded in her mouth and overtook every one of her senses. It was as if she was seeing the world for the first time in all of its magnificence.

That evening after a hard day’s work in the fields Adam came back to their small house. He broke through the threshold and noticed Eve was unusually cheerful while setting the table for dinner. “What’s put you into such a good mood today?” he questioned.

“You must promise not to tell anyone! Especially not Gus!” she insisted of him. When given his promise Eve told him about her day and the delicious treat she allowed herself. “I picked some for you!”

“How could you do that Eve? Gus has been nothing but good to us and provided us with everything! That was his only rule and you broke it!” Adam could hardly contain his anger for he knew that his wife had wronged Gus.

Eve quickly persuaded her husband just as Sophia had done to her. “How will he even know if a few plums are missing from all of those thickets?”

Adam did see the logic in her reasoning. Did the old man keep a tally of every plum in those thickets? Surely not, that would take far too much time and effort. So he dove into temptation as well and ate the plums provided by his wife. His reaction was the same as Eve’s. It was as if he had never tasted such sweetness before in his life. Quickly he forgot his anger and instead fell into the same joyous mood that Eve was in. They had a wonderful night together sharing sand plums but the next day would be a different story entirely.

In the fields the following day Adam kept the brim of his hat low over his face. He was ashamed of what he had done in disobeying Gus. Adam avoided the old man and his glance as much as possible. Gus eventually got ahold of him and questioned his odd behavior. Adam quickly bent to the truth because he was no liar.

“I’m so sorry Gus, Eve tricked me into eating them. And she herself was tricked by Sophia!” Adam pleaded.

“I have heard enough! I gave you one rule and you disobeyed. I want you and your wife off my property and never to return!” he cursed. “I assure you that your life will be far more difficult once you’ve left this place.”

And with that, Adam and Eve packed up their few belongings and were forced off the farm that had been so good to them. All because they had to get a taste of Gus’s forbidden fruit.

Authors Note: I tried to be creative and retell the story of Adam and Eve in a more modern sense. Mangum, Oklahoma is a real place, it is where my Great Grandmother and her 13 brothers and sisters are from. As for the sand plums those are quite real as well! As a kid I would go out there with my grandparents to pick the plums from the thickets so that my Grandma could make jelly. And it is without a doubt the best jelly there is! The sand plums were the Forbidden Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge because they provided enlightenment after they were eaten. Adam and Eve questioned what else they had been missing out on after tasting something so wonderful. They were tricked by one of God/Gus’s children into eating that which they should not have and they were forced to suffer the consequences.

(Sand Plum Thicket)