Zull had been chasing the wild boar for many cycles - the sun long passed the zenith. His spear always piosed ready to strike at the earliest opportunity. The paradise he lived in shaded the hot sunshine, the rich green foliage lush around him giving him shade, his bare foot on the cool soils of the ground.

 

The boar was scurrying into the bushes as it gave up it's hiding place. Zull rose the spear, his long dark mane of hair flowing about his shoulders long bronzed by the sun. He squatted and became statue still as the boar came into clear view, and the silent swiftness of one , the spear was stuck within the swines beastly heart.

There was no squealing, the animal lay dead where it fell. Zull hurried over and took his flint knife out from a pouch within in his deerskin loins and began to gut the creature ready for the fire.

 

His mate Tsa was at a splendid fresh waterfall, it gushed down noiserly into a pool of giant fragrant waterlilies, and the pool eventually opened out into a fresh running stream. She stared down at her reflection in the clear water and touched her facial features, there was no background noise but for the waterfall.

 

Her long blonde hair rolled in front of her hiding her s. She turned her head and fixed her blue eyes onto the tree of forbidden fruit. For long as she could remember the guardian voice in her dreams told her never to pick the silver and gold fruit.

 

It was forbidden.

 

Forcing the thought to the back of her mind, Tsa smiled to herself and jumped into the pool and then went and showered herself beneath the icy waterfall.

 

Zull came out of the foliage and stared at her in awe as she forced her hair back with the water and closed her eyes, the carcus of the gutted boar over his strong powerful shoulder.

 

His Tsa was beautiful.

 

Feeling the urge growing in his loins, he threw the carcus to one side for later, and leapt into the cool waters to join her.

Love making in the din of the waterfall.

 

- and after, the boar was soon cooking on a spit on the bank of the stream, the meaty aroma wofting as smoke into the night air as darkness took hold.

 

The darkness was pitch black. This is a time before Mother Earth had a Moon.

The cooking fires illuminated their faces as they sat and ate their meal, and after they both slept in the warm cave that was situated behind the waterfall, protected by man eating predators that dared to walk primal Earth.

 

That night Tsa dreamt of eating the shiny fruit that tasted devine, and in the dream Zull was yelling and screaming at her as he fell through a crack into the hell fires beneath the Earth.

 

She screamed out and awoke, eyes wide.

 

Zull turned and pulled her near and cradled her head, until her breathing was calm and she drifted off to sleep once again.

The dawn broke and the skies reddened from the west. The chorus of breaking bird song evaded from the treetops in the forests around them. Zull was already up, and after bathing in the cool pool, he was off into the forest and hunted for breakfast.

 

Tsa bathed herself when Zull was gone - she was still troubled by her dream. She turned her head and stared out towards the strange tree that bore the silver and gold fruit.

 

The guardian voice in her dreams warned her not to pick and eat the fruit. It was a voice that was old as time itself.

The hot morning heat dried her off at the bank of the pool. She turned her head towards the tree again and she thought she heard whispers. She stood and approached the tree, the hustle and bustle of small forest animals scurrying off into the brush around her.

 

The tree was in front of her. That forbidden fruit it beared ripe to pick. The sunbeams shone through the canopy of tall ancient juniper trees and the whispers were so alluring. But she had that other voice in her head, a mystery foreboding voice trying to heed her.

 

She slowly rose her arm from her side and reached out to touch the fruit, she her lips catching the sweet scent of the fruit up her nostrils.

 

She wanted to taste it...

 

Zull had downed a wild bird that had stood 3 foot high when alive. He had plucked the feathers clean off ready for roasting...and then the Earth shook.

 

The ancient ferns around him twisted on their roots and felled around him. Zull left the dead bird and hurried back to the cave, the ground started to pull away to reveal great cracks that vented out hot steams, it was like the land was angry.

Zull fell as the thundery din hummed and vibrated around him, he clapped his hands over his ears.

At the stream, Tsa was giggling to herself. She sat on the bank with her feet in the water somewhat totally oblivous of what was going on around her.

 

The disgarded peel from the consumed forbidden fruit laying next to her...