by Sofia Vargas
“And what exactly do you mean by someone quite like me?” I said.
I knew redheads were hard to come by, but I didn’t think people found the color of hair that strange.
Ms. Riley looked at me. “You know, different,” she decided was the right word.
I stared at her. I was still confused and had no idea what she was talking about. She looked at Mom. I did the same in time to see Mom shake her head at Ms. Riley.
“Ah,” she said, somewhat amused. “Well, we will discuss that a little later then.”
Though I didn’t look at them, I could feel everyone watching me. I tried to eat the bowl of fruit in front of me, but I wasn’t very hungry. If it were a normal day I would be eating my lunch with Viper, laughing at the poor soccer player who’d tricked Hannah under some mistletoe and gotten slapped in his attempt to kiss her. But no, here I sat pretending that I didn’t notice everyone staring at me. Though, I supposed it wasn’t something that didn’t already happen every day.
I tossed around subjects in my mind to get everyone to talk again.
“So,” I said, “what is this place?”
“Are you kidding me?” Arie said. “Not only does she not look like us, she doesn’t even know where she is.”
“Arie, hush,” Ms. Riley said in a much stricter voice than she had previously used. “Emma cannot help that she has been shut out of our world for so long. I have very high hopes for her right now and you should not be talking to her in such a way.”
“Excuse me,” I said. I did not like the feeling of being as lost as I felt within their conversation. “I’m sorry but I have no idea what is happening here or what you are talking about.”
“That isn’t our problem,” Arie said. “You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Arie, stop it,” Ms. Riley said. “Emma has as much right to be here as any of us do.”
“Why?” Arie said, her voice all but reaching a scream. “You think she’s going to be able to save us? Time is running out and you think a complete outsider will be able to do something?”
“Arie,” Ms. Riley said, “You do not understand the situation—”
“I don’t care if I don’t,” she said. “It’s hopeless. There’s no hope for any of us. We won’t be saved, especially by someone that isn’t even one of us.”
“But she is, Arie,” said Mrs. Amest. “She is one of us.”
“No, she’s not. Look at her. How can she be one of us? What does she do?”
“I’m sorry,” Mom said.
Everyone looked at her.
“Arie has a reason to say what she has,” she said. “As of right now Emma isn’t one of us because she doesn’t know anything. I’m sorry that I didn’t do my job when I started seeing the signs. We should be able to put our hopes in her. We should want her to try to help us,” she said and looked at me, “and she doesn’t even know why.”
I looked at them, dumbstruck. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know what to think.
“So, what exactly is going on here?” I said. “What is all of this about?”
“Emma,” Mom said, “I’m so sorry that I’ve always kept you in the dark. I didn’t want you to freak out or think I was crazy. I tried so hard to keep you away from it. I guess I did too good of a job.”
“It’s time you knew,” said Ms. Riley. “It’s time you knew everything. Emma, we are different people than those in the world you know.” She got up and walked to the balcony railing. “There is another world you belong to with different people about which you’ve never been told.”
Everyone looked at me.
“Um, okay…” I said.
“You see?” Arie said. “She doesn’t even believe you.”
I started laughing. “Two worlds? Different people? Come on, you can’t be serious.”
“But we are, sweetie,” Mom said. “Please hear what we have to say.”
I sighed and nodded for her to continue.
“Ever heard of Atlantis, Emma?” said Ms. Riley.
“Yes,” I said. “Are you trying to tell me that you guys are Atlanteans?”
Things sounded more and more ridiculous as the seconds passed.
“Somewhat,” she said. “And you’ve heard of the Garden of Eden, right?”
“Of course…”
“Atlantis, the Garden of Eden: you’ve read or heard about the place we are from many different times in various ways throughout your life. Though they don’t exist in the reality you know, they do exist as one place.”
“One place?” I said. “You just said each existed.”
“Honey, they are all the same place,” Mom said.
“So, you guys are telling me those places are real?”
“Yes, dear,” Ms. Riley said. “They are Aetheria.”
I shook my head. “I have never heard of that place before.”
“The Christian Bible’s creation story is true,” said Ms. Riley, “but not precise. You take theology class, right?”
“Right,” I said.
“In your theology class you were always taught that God created the Garden of Eden and put all of nature, the animals, man, and woman in it, yes?”
“Yes,” I said. “So that’s really how everything started?”
“It is but not exactly,” she said. “You see, we don’t know if God really created the universe and everything in it, or if He really exists for that matter. No one will ever really know for sure until it is revealed to us when He sees fit. All anyone can do is have faith and believe that He does. Have faith that there is a reason to do good in the world in which we live. That faith should be what is behind everything we do.”
“We must all have faith to trust what we choose to believe,” said Mom.
“When you get to be my age, all you have is the belief that there is something after this mortal life,” Ms. Riley said.
She looked over the side of the balcony. I looked at Mom. She smiled at me.
Ms. Riley turned back to us. “Come with me.”
She quickly started to walk toward the door leading back into the house. Everyone followed her. I half believed that a camera crew would jump out and yell that I had been pranked. The other half was so thirsty for knowledge that it didn’t seem to care how absurd everything sounded.
* * *
“Do you see all those tapestries?” Ms. Riley said when we reached the landing inside the house.
From the top of the stairs she could see the entire entrance hall; it was extremely beautiful even though it did show its age from many aspects.
“Yes,” I said.
“They tell the history of Aetheria,” she said. “Starting from the side of the door you came in and circling into and around the first room, then coming back out onto the entrance hall’s wall, into the next room, and so on. Each tapestry is in order and displays the oldest to the present royal families of Aetheria.
“You see, like we said before, Aetheria is the Garden of Eden that you have heard about all your life. It’s the first land that God or whatever Higher Power is ruling over us created. Unlike what you are used to hearing, Eden is not a garden at all. The Bible should be looked at as an abridgment. It tells of things that have been compressed or changed in ways so that it’s as relatable as it can be to humans. One is never to take the Bible literally in its entirety; if you do, you will find so many twists and contradictions that you would never know what to do with yourself. You’re not supposed to look at the individual colors, but the big picture in general. It only goes to show that you really don’t have to pick something apart to see it for the masterpiece that it is.
“You go to it for its comfort, lessons, and beauty. Not as a How-To guide to life. It’s a security blanket, reassurance that there is more waiting for you if you earn it. Looking at the Bible in this way one may come to realize, rightly, that there is something bigger behind it. Eden is Aetheria, and Aetheria is not a garden but a whole country. Most humans find it hard to connect to a world outside their
own that they have never seen or that there is no record of, so the author of Genesis put it into terms that a normal person could comprehend. It is much easier to see Eden as a garden in this world than a country in another. It’s easier for a normal person to comprehend the first people God created as just a man and a woman rather than a whole civilization. With hope by this point you’re done thinking that there really was an Adam and Eve; I mean even by simple logic it is clear that is not possible at all—”
“Why?” I said. Everyone looked at me. “What’s impossible about all of humanity starting as one person starts, with a mother and father?”
Arie laughed. “See? She even thinks like one of them.”
“Hush, Arie,” Ms. Riley snapped. “It’s not her fault; it’s the society in which she was raised.”
Mom lowered her head.
“And don’t you dare think this is your fault, either, Cordelia,” Ms. Riley said forcefully.
“Emma, you do realize how very big the Created family gets throughout the Bible, don’t you?” said Mr. Amest.
“I have an idea,” I said. It was at this point that I started wishing I had paid more attention in Theology class.
“And if creation started with just one mother and father, who would their children have for families of their own?”
“Oh,” I said when what she was saying started to make sense. “No one. Or each other.”
“Yes,” said Ms. Riley. “If Adam and Eve’s children were the only people in the ‘garden,’ they would have been forced to commit incest to procreate, and if there’s one thing the Bible really frowns upon, it’s incest. God, being all good, would not have forced anyone to do something He considered a sin.”
“Right,” I said.
“Are you starting to see why I’m saying all of this?”
I nodded. I was amazed by the fact that everything was starting to make sense. I began to think that I was the crazy one for not having thought of these things sooner.
“So Adam and Eve were not the only two people the Creator made at first. They are just used to tell the beginning of the story. They are substitutions for the explanation of the origin of a whole other-worldly civilization—a civilization of which you are a part.”
“Wait,” I said. “The Creation story isn’t the origin of humans?”
“Not exactly,” said Ms. Riley.
“Then who are these other people?”
“Us,” she said, raising her hands to indicate everyone on the landing. “We are Aetherian—descendants of the Created People, inhabitants of Aetheria. We’re the reality of the Creation story. Or at least what of it is, in fact, reality. Aetheria is the first, perfect world the Creator made for His people.
“We’re not sure if the story about the Tree of Knowledge and the reason why humans were kicked out of Aetheria is completely accurate. We weren’t exactly in a viable state of evolution for recordkeeping. But we do know that a very long time ago they did something that made someone very angry. Whatever it was got them a one-way ticket out of Aetheria. What we know for sure is that it took a very large group of people to make as big a civilization as the human race. But something did happen to get them to the universe you have known all along. And that is where they earned their place in the Creation story. The bare, desolate land Adam and Eve were forced to go to is the world we are in now.”
“So, your—” I said, then stopped myself. I took a deep breath. “So, our universe still exists?”
“Yes, of course,” she said. “It’s from where we come, including you.”
“Think about people in your life, honey,” Mom said. “You’ll find some of them have quite a bit in common.”
I thought about her, Viper, and his parents. Then it hit me as I also thought about Arie, even though she hadn’t exactly been in my life for a very long time. I realized why she fit in with everyone else that came to mind.
“What similarities do they all have?” she said.
“The way they look,” I said. “The hair, the eyes…”
“Yes,” Ms. Riley said. “Blond hair and blue eyes are the signature characteristics of an Aetherian. They represent the first things ever created; the sky draped over our land, and the golden sun that shone its light into the world. We can still see traces of Aetheria in this world, though the genes for blond hair and blue eye are becoming exceedingly rare. They are quickly disappearing as dark eyes and hair become the dominant genes.
“The colors of the earth and the night sky are quickly taking over the race in this world. Those are the signature characteristics of this people. Blond hair and blue eyes will become rarer as time passes for these people. It may cease to exist completely one day.”
I looked at her. “You don’t have blue eyes.” I paused. “No, wait, there’s a mistake; I don’t have blue eyes or blond hair, either.”
“That’s because you’re not one of us,” Arie said.
She said it like I had proven a point she had been trying to make all day. Ms. Riley turned around and walked into the room closest to us.
“I’ve been trying to tell all of you,” Arie said. “She doesn’t belong here.”
Ms. Riley walked back onto the landing with a large, framed canvas in her hands. Everyone watched her walk back toward us.
“She is one of us,” she said.
There was a slight hesitation when she reached us. When she had made up her mind she turned the picture around to show everyone what it was.
Arie put her hands over her mouth and gasped. Tears gathered in her eyes.
“No,” she said.
I thought her head would fall off from how much she was shaking it.
In the painting Ms. Riley held was a young girl. After further examination I realized that the girl, sitting elegantly on a chair, was no other than Ms. Riley. She looked much younger, smiling at us while dressed in a beautiful gray dress on which her hands were gently placed. Her light brown eyes glittered from a slightly tilted head and long, ringlets of deep purple hair draped over her shoulders. I looked from the purple-haired girl in the painting to the white-haired woman holding it. There wasn’t much difference between the way the two held themselves.
“I don’t believe it,” Arie said, still shaking her head. “That can’t be you.”
“But it is,” Ms. Riley said.
She walked to a side table and gently placed the painting on it.
“Why have I never seen that before now?” Arie just about yelled.
“Arabella,” Ms. Riley said, “I know you are upset and confused, but please stop yelling. I’m sorry that I’ve never shown you pictures of me in my younger years. I was always very ashamed of that purple hair and hiding it simply became habit.”
She looked at me. Her eyes slid down the red hair draped over my own shoulders.
“I had to learn that I wrongly did so.”
I blushed when everyone else looked at my red hair, too. Arie glared at me before she turned and ran down the stairs.
“Now,” Ms. Riley said, “you can’t doubt that you are one of us. It’s time to see exactly what you do.”
“What I do?” I said. “What do you mean?”
“How are we going to find out for sure, Celeste?” Mom said.
I looked at her. “Find out what?”
“I think you already have an idea,” Ms. Riley said.
She reached into the pocket of my jacket and pulled out the green tissue paper I had placed in it earlier. I had forgotten it was in there.
Everyone stared at it wide-eyed and silent.
“Emmeline,” Mom was finally able to say. “How long have you had that?”
“Not very long,” I said with a shrug. “I found it this morning.”
Ms. Riley smiled. “Emma, what is the most important thing you have learned today?”
I felt an overwhelming urge to stop looking at them and turned to the railing of the landing. I looked down at the tapestries.
“I don’t think I can pick from ever
ything you have told me,” I said. “I’m really still absorbing it all.”
“You are putting a lot of faith in us as we tell you these things,” she said.
I nodded my head. I knew I was putting so much trust into everyone in the room, the majority of whom I didn’t know very well.
“And I thank you for that,” she said, walking behind me. She placed her hands on my shoulders. “Faith is key.”
Her hands slid from my shoulders to my back and she pushed me. I felt a rushing feeling in my stomach and I tipped over the railing of the landing. I closed my eyes and screamed as the ground of the entrance hall sped toward me.
VII
An endowment
My spine curls when my shoulders are next to hit the hard surface. There is a brief moment of egotistical satisfaction when I feel the ground give in and crumble under me. If I feel pain it is eluding me for the moment. But there is no escaping the disappointment I feel with my wings and their failure in my attempt to save a life. At that moment I realize that it is a life that didn’t need saving in the first place. Common sense has a funny habit of hitting at the most inopportune of times.
* * *
There was a sudden whirling around me and what felt like a shock wave pulsed through my body. I opened my eyes and saw a cyclone spin toward me. I felt something push its way into the skin of the lumps on my back. My body was yanked back up a few feet from the floor I was inches away from smashing into. Out of the corners of my eyes I glimpsed green paper swooping up each side of me and disappearing over my head while I was being yanked up. Just as I started to register what the green things could be, the straining stopped and I fell the remaining three feet to the ground.
My fingertips gripped the floor that I had never been so appreciative of before. Once my head had stopped spinning I got up from my knees but kept my eyes fixed on the ground. There was a layer of some sort of powder all over the floor.
“What just happened?” I said when everyone had caught up to me.
Mom ran to me. I was surprised that she was neither angry nor anxious. She was happy.
“Oh, Emma,” she said. “They were beautiful.”
I stared at her. She smiled at me and brushed the same stuff that was on the floor from off my shoulders.