Lucy

The sun felt magnificent as Lucy warmed herself while she napped on her apple tree, she had just started waking up from her nap when she heard a crunch of leaves underneath her tree. “Well who could that be” Lucy muttered to herself as she started to unravel herself from her branch at the top of the tree. It is not everyday that people wander over to her apple tree in the garden. In fact, Lucy could not remember a single time anyone else had come to her tree. This was strange to Lucy because it was the only apple tree in the garden, and had very delicious apples on it. Just thinking about the sweet apples made her drool, and Lucy made sure to grab one and take a bite as she slithered down to the bottom branches of her tree. However, when she caught sight of the leaf cruncher, it stunned her enough that she accidently dropped her apple. Right onto the woman’s head.

“Ow!!” yelped the woman. With a shout that was more surprise than pain. The dark skinned women picked the apple from the air as it fell off her head before suddenly pausing. She had noticed the bite in the apple and, realizing what that meant, looked up.

“Well how do you do” greeted Lucy. The woman just stared. Not knowing what the problem was, Lucy continued her greeting. “I am so very sorry about that, I have just never seen anyone else near my tree, it being apart from all the others, that I just dropped my apple in surprise when I saw you.

“You can talk. I have never seen anything like that,” the women said. “I mean besides Adam and I”

“Well I hear you and Adam all the time”, quipped Lucy. “Adam, if that is his name, in particular tends to wake me up in the mornings with his hollering at the rising sun.

“No, no that does not count, I mean you are the first talking animal I have ever seen” the woman said.

“Oh”. That caught Lucy by surprise. “You mean none of the other animals talk. Like at all?! Not even George the lion?

“Yes, that is exactly what I mean,” The woman said matter-of-factly as she sat down at the base of the tree, the whole time inspecting the bite mark in Lucy’s apple. “Wait, if you have been around as long as we have been, surely you would have tried to talk to the other animals. I mean all you have had to do is just try talking with them once on any day of these last few years and you would have realized that none of the others could talk. That is unless you are a recent move in.”

“No, no” muttered Lucy somewhat sadly to herself. “I have been around just as long as you guys have been, I just am more comfortable by myself.”

“I am so sorry, I never meant to get you to cry. I am just beside myself because I have never seen a talking animal before. The woman hastily said. “My name is Eve, what’s yours?

“I’m Lucy, but it is no problem. Even if it was one, it would be my fault. I mean, I have a fog memory of when I was first made that would explain it all.”

“Really!” gasped Eve. “How could you remember that? That must have been years ago, I barely remember what happened last year.”

“Your faulty memory is probably because of how often you two hit your heads on trees as you go running through the garden, while I take long my luxurious naps”, said Lucy as she grabbed another apple with her tail. “Anyway, I just remember wandering over to this tree when the fog and smoke cleared and I have mostly just relaxed since then”.

“I think I know why you can talk,” whispered Eve. “I think it is because of the fruit”

“As delicious as my apples are, I don’t think any food has the ability of granting speech.”

“No, you don’t understand” blurted out Eve as she stood up. “These apples are the only food that Father told us not to eat. He said that we would die if we ate from this tree.”

“Well your absent father seems to be quite the oddball, I have been eating these apples forever and have woken up from my naps everyday. Here, try a nice and fresh one”, said Lucy as she handed the apple she picked earlier down to Eve with her tail.

“Oh, thank you, I certainly want to try this”, said Eve. “After all, if it can make an animal talk, just imagine what talent it would give someone who can already talk. Even if I get in trouble, it has been so boring hanging out in this garden for all these years that I long for something different. Some variety in our lives.”

“Trust me young lady, you will find that to be a delicious apple", said Lucy.

And with that, Eve took a bite