The Fallout

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There was no way the man and his wife could escape what had befallen them. They realized that they had been scammed by a total stranger the wife had let into their home while the man was away on a business trip. This stranger, a middle aged man probably a wanderer from God knows where, had introduced himself to the woman as “Mengror Sapint” a business associate of the woman's husband. He had engaged the woman in a very lengthy discussion, and she had really enjoyed his company.
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Mengror Sapint was a rather charming man: eloquent, witty, jovial and seemed to have great knowledge and interest in the life of the woman and her husband. He spoke with an extraterrestrial accent, and with such convincing eloquence that could make anyone believe that black is white. And indeed, the woman fell for all of it.
“You know, I was here with your husband when El Grando handed him the key to this estate.” Mengror Sapint told the woman.
“O really?” She asked, surprised “You mean you knew my husband before I did?
“We shared a history long before you even thought.”
“Are you saying I was an afterthought?” The woman asked. She was a bit taken aback by that comment. “No one ever mentioned you to me. Not even my husband?
“And no one ever mentioned you either. I was on a mission for El Grando. I heard you had quite a grand wedding.”
“O no, it wasn't a grand one. It was just me, my husband and Lord El.” She said
“Hahan. Guess that’s why I wasn’t invited. I love lavish, you know —glitz and glamor. I can imagine how boring it must've been.”
“I guess you didn't miss so much.” the woman said sarcastically.
“I’m sure I didn't.” Sapint scoffed. “I was taking care of business for El Grando”
“O I see, you must be very useful to Lord El”
Sapint gave a wry smile. He felt a bit insulted.
“Your husband was put in charge of this estate. I'm sure he hasn't really left this environment, has he?”
“This estate is our sole responsibility for now, until Lord El wants him yonder” The woman answered.”
“How pathetic. I guess you're not even aware there is even any yonder.”
“Why? We have no business elsewhere”
“Humor me,” said Sapint. He didn't want to upset the woman. She must be in the perfect mood if his agenda is to pull through.

“Wow…”
“What?” The woman asked turning her head towards the direction of Sapint's gaze.
“That tree hasn’t changed a bit”. Sapint said.
“The tree of the knowledge of good and evil?”. The woman asked almost rhetorically.
“Is that what you call it?”
“That's what Lord El says it is”
“How so?” Sapint said, “Did El Grando really say not to eat of the tree?”
“Well, he says not to eat it nor touch it, lest we die” The woman answered.
Sapint Gave a loud burst of laughter, which caused the woman to jerk.
“What?” The woman queried.
“You shall not surely die”, Sapint said, “See, El Grando knows that on the day you eat the fruit of that tree you shall be wise as himself, knowing good and evil.”
“How is that even possible?” The woman asked. She was shocked by Sapint’s revelation.
“Think about it.” Sapint said, walking towards the tree, then stretched his hands apart and continued. “What purpose does this tree serve? It sheds it leaves yearly. Its fruits ripen and fall off, and no one is permitted to eat it?
He perused the woman's face to see if his words had sunk in. “Is this tree supposed to stand here for all of eternity, untouched—what then is its need?

On hearing this, the woman fixed her gaze on the fruits of the tree. For the first time, she saw the tree differently. Then slowly, she walked toward it with Sapint's voice whispering from behind her.
“You shall not surely die. You shall be, just like El Grando, wise and full of knowledge.”
She kept walking towards the tree as if some kind of force pulled her. As she admired the tree with the fruits draping all over the branches, she thought to herself, “How magnificent..”
And in that instance, completely drawn in by her own lust, she reached out to a branch just above her head and plucked one fruit. In just one bite, darkness fell upon her eyes. She felt dizzy for some moment. Then hungry. Then fear. Then guilt. Then shame. The ground beneath her feet seemed to spin. She held her head with her left hand and fell on her knees. After a while, she realized she was naked.
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“No. No. No. This cannot be happening…what have I done? She cried, covering her body with her arms. She looked around and called, “Mengror… Mengror Sapint.” There was no reply. She was about to go towards the direction where she had left Mengror Sapint, just then, she saw a python slither into a nearby thicket. She trembled and ran into a bush of tall Napier grass. She hid there, totally overcome by fear and shame, and the remaining fruit still in her hand.

Towards evening, she heard footsteps and humming. She peeped through the reeds of Napier and saw her husband. At first, she was ashmed to go meet him because she was naked. Then, she realized that he too, was naked but he didn't seem to bother. After observing him a little while, she went out to meet him, with the fruit still in her hands.
“You… You're back..” She stammerd.
“Yes, what's that in your hand?”
“O this…erm…this is a fruit. I was hungry so I had to…you know…eat”. She felt so uneasy trying to explain.
“Hungry?” The man asked, unsure of what he heard.
“Yes… Have some”.
“That looks like the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil”
“O come on. Is that tree not forbidden?” She said, trying to suppress her guilt. “Here…have some”
“I am sure this is no other fruit…”
“Come on…just eat.”
She pushed the fruit towards his mouth and he ate.

The next moment they were on the run. El Grando, the Lord of the estate had come to pay them a visit, but unfortunately they couldn't withstand his presence. He looked around and couldn't find a single soul, not even the pets. The entire estate looked deserted.
“How strange is this..Where has everyone gone?”
He went around the apartment but couldn't find anyone. He called out.
“Albe…Albe… Albe where are you?”
But there was dead silence.
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To be continued...

Thanks for reading.

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