The Birth of Philosophy (292 words)

The Birth of Philosophy

(292 words)

Apple blossom time held such promise. Eyes closed, Eve brought her nose to the delicate petals, the sweet fragrance intoxicating. Not that she had anything to worry about. Her days consisted of lolling about, eating figs, and keeping company with Adam.

Sometimes she sighed and said to Adam, “I’m bored.”

“Me, too,” Adam would reply.

Spring turned into summer. The apples grew ripe on the trees. An old man with a white beard and dressed in flowing robes appeared in the orchard. This was unusual, for Adam and Eve had never seen another living person. He beckoned them over. “Don’t eat those apples,” he said.

Adam and Eve exchanged a curious glance. “Why not?” Eve asked.

“Your eyes will be opened.”

Then, poof, the old man was gone.

On a particularly long day of lolling about, temptation got the better of them. They picked shiny apples and crunched into them. Then a full-length mirror on wooden legs appeared.

The flabbergasted couple gazed upon the looking glass with wonder, seeing their naked selves. Eve admired the turn of her leg. She lifted her chin with her fingers. Adam smoothed his large hands over his six-pack. He ran his fingers through his long hair.

Their opened eyes met in the glass. “I want to know more about what I am,” Adam said.

Eve agreed. “I want to know why we were created.”

“I want to know the purpose of life.”

“So many questions!”

They turned over a new leaf, and put days of laziness behind them. The practice of philosophy engaged them deeply. They had children, and passed on the tradition.

But they were never able to solve the riddle of why the old man wanted to keep them ignorant.