The Key to Eve
a fantasy
2
The Apple
PEREGRINE COULD SPEAK to most animals, but he found most humans incomprehensible. He did think it would have been nice to cuddle to Tala as he slept at night. He simply did not understand why she suddenly turned and went home instead of joining him with the Fox family. Still, it might have been nice.
Most animals. Peregrine found snakes and many other reptiles to be so single minded that there was no conversation to be had. Birds were fun, though they spoke in tidbits, not in whole stories. Usually, their news was of berries and insects to be had. Occasionally, they would talk of a terrible fright they’d had or how a predator had stolen an egg from their nest. In the spring, they talked of love and Peregrine found their discussion of mating to be almost as incomprehensible as that of the girl he’d left behind.
You might think that all mammals would be his natural companions, and it was usually true. Squirrels and rabbits were quite distractable. He would scarcely start a conversation and they would be off chasing after a scent on the breeze. When they returned, whatever conversation they’d been having would start again from the beginning. They did, however, like to be cuddled when they were small. He’d woken up one morning with half a dozen little rabbits asleep under his arm. They were soon off to tend to the day’s business of nibbling fresh green grass—especially clover.
Dogs of course, were always happy to hang around, and sometimes could bring useful information from one place to another. Peri just had to be sure the dog understood what information would be useful and to be careful of dogs that were overly territorial. A dog could talk about the scent of a rabbit for as long as Peri could scratch his ears. But dogs were also intensely loyal to their masters and would not tolerate a word against them, even if they’d been mistreated.
Cats were another thing entirely. They understood each other, but Peri found cats were simply not interested in talking to one not of their kind. If they felt friendly, they simply approached and waited patiently for him to pet them, finding the special place behind their ears that made them purr, or they might turn and scratch him without saying a word when they were finished with him. Cats were just cats.
Not big cats, of course. He would never approach a leopard or a lynx. He could hold a conversation with them, but not at close range. They were not interested in being petted, and if they swatted at him, he could be permanently dispatched.
But there were animals like foxes, otters, beavers, marmots, and deer who were simply a pleasure to be around and who always had a tale to share. Bears loved to share a cave and would stay up late telling stories of things that happened years before. Wolves were like an older wiser cousin to the dogs. Wolves knew the lore of the land and what to do in almost any circumstance, but they guarded their territory fiercely.
On the farm, horses were the wise ones. They worked and they grazed, but they were constantly looking and listening and observing. More than any other animal, it seemed, a horse understood the humans around him. They were not shy about telling other horses or Peregrine if their owner was up to no good. At the same time, they let them get away with it. They were not vested in whether their rider was sleeping with the innkeeper’s daughter. They were willing to do their work quietly and eat their oats and hay.
And so, as Peregrine wended his way southward, he picked up bits and pieces of information that helped him earn a meal and a bed.
“Ma Gabor has a new baby. Br’er Gabor has gone to town to work and left her alone. She is so lonely,” Br’er Hound said. “I do my best, but she is busy with the baby.”
“I’ll stop by and see her. Perhaps I can help fix her house up before winter.”
Peregrine stopped to see Ma Gabor and she was so glad for the company she fed him and asked him to stay a day. Peri worked at mudding up the cracks around the windows so the house would stay warmer. He checked to see that the cow was milked and found the cow complaining about a full udder.
“Oh, the suffering we endure as mothers,” Ma Cow said. “Leave a bit for my calf. He’ll be in before long.”
Peregrine milked and took the milk to the cool house. He separated the cream into the churn and spent a while making butter, which he took into the house where Ma Gabor had just baked bread to go with the evening stew. She was thankful for the butter and used a bit of the cow’s milk to satisfy her hungry child.
“Peregrine, don’t go to the barn to sleep tonight. My bed is warm,” she said later in the evening.
“I’m glad you are warm at night,” Peri said.
“Please come and share my warmth. It is almost All Hallows Eve. I don’t want you out where you might be eaten by a goblin or witch!”
“Oh! Thank you!” Peri said. He had never heard of a man-eating goblin or witch, but it was a frightening thought.
Peri crawled into the bed with Ma Gabor and she wrapped an arm around him. She did feel good as he snuggled into her bosom. Peri had strange dreams all night, though he slept soundly after the day’s work. Ma Gabor figured prominently in them and took his breath away. In the morning, Ma Gabor seemed especially cheerful and perhaps a little smug.
“Come and eat some hot breakfast,” Ma Gabor said. “You might even try a bit of the baby’s milk. I seem to be extra full.” She bared her tit and pressed it against Peri’s mouth, causing a reflexive suckle. The warm milk spurted into his mouth and he caressed the offered breast as he drank.
“You scarcely need the cow’s milk,” he sighed as she returned her breast to her dress.
“Hmm. Perhaps if you were around all the time, I would be able to feed both you and the babe. We’d still have the cow if I ran short. Will you stay, Peregrine?”
Br’er Hound barked a warning and Peri affirmed that he needed to get on before the frost set in. Ma Gabor kissed him deeply before he set off with a boiled egg for his lunch.
Peregrine licked his lips for quite a long time as he walked, wondering at the strange feelings flowing through his blood. He almost turned and went back to Ma Gabor, but he saw Br’er Gabor headed toward the farm from a distance and turned off the road into the woods. For some reason, he had no desire to meet the man.
It was in this bemused state after returning to the path, that Peregrine came upon a baby bird lying under a tree. It was obvious the fledgling had fallen from its nest. Above, the mother bird was trying to coach the baby into flying, but its wings were not yet developed enough to lift from the ground. After reassuring the little bird and its mother, he lifted the baby up over his head and placed it in the nest.
“Thank you, Br’er Talker. My baby is safe,” the bird sang. “Come see me again and I will sing for you.”
“Thank you, Ma Robin.” He turned to see a walled garden nearby and the towering house it surrounded. He thought the wall looked unstable and that he might get work shoring it up.
“Lovely fruit in the garden,” Ma Robin said, as if reading Peri’s mind. “Berries, apples, peaches, cherries.”
“Perhaps I’ll get some work there tomorrow,” Peregrine said. He went on into the town and found work at the local tavern. Lorelei, the barmaid, seemed especially glad to see him. As he worked washing the tankards and plates, she often passed by and petted his hair or caressed his cheek.
“Would you come to my bed tonight, Peregrine?” Lorelei asked.
“Oh, I have a nice bed of straw in the stable,” Peri responded. “I’ll go now and take care of the horses. Thank you for the stew in my belly. I’ll help with the dishes in the morning.”
He found a place in the stable where he could have a nice chat with the horses before he went to sleep, wondering why Lorelei would ever want him to come to her bed. Perhaps she needed fresh straw or to have it turned. Well, he’d think about that in the morning.
After finishing his chores in the morning and trying to figure out why Lorelei was so short with him, Peregrine went back to the old house, thinking he would try to get work so he could take some of the fruit of the garden for his journey. He could find no break in the wall at which to enter. There seemed to be no gate. He wondered what kind of strange people could live in such a place… especially with such a fine garden. He looked over the wall. Seeing the fruits and vegetables in the lush garden made his stomach rumble. He tested the wall, but his foot kept slipping off it when he tried to climb.
Storm clouds were gathering and Peri feared he would not get far before he had to find shelter. But his stomach still growled at him.
At last, he turned to the bird in the tree.
“Ma Robin,” Peri said politely. The bird had just arrived with a worm for her children. “I wonder if you might bring me an apple off yon tree. I am very hungry.”
“You saved my baby!” Ma Robin said. “Of course I will bring you an apple.”
With that the Robin flew over the wall and attacked the apple tree. She looked over every branch to find the best apple for Br’er Talker who saved her child. Finally, she plucked one and brought it to the youth.
“Thank you so much, Ma Robin. I will come back this way again someday, but today I will have the energy to walk farther.”
With that, he bit into the apple, sweet juice running down his chin. There was a flash of lightning and thunder rumbled nearby. He turned and ran squarely into Lilith.
She was an imposing figure, dressed head to toe in black with a pointed hat signifying her station. She seemed to tower over him.
“So, Animal Whisperer,” she hissed at him. “You would use your silver tongue to convince even a bird to steal for you?”
“I was merely hungry and wanted an apple. I tried to find a gate, but there was none.”
“Ha! Gates appear for those who are invited, not to thieves. Even in the beginning of the world, Adam waited until Eve offered him the apple before he took it. You would take the apple without her blessing.”
“Truly, I am sorry and will happily work to pay for the fruit.”
“This fruit shall not sit easily in your stomach, Whisperer,” the witch snarled. She waved a hand in front of him and lightning flashed again. “For your thievery, you shall wander for as long as it takes you to learn this lesson: You shall not rest easily until you find your Eve, who should have presented the fruit to you. Until then, your heart will be as empty as your belly. Only when you find the key to her heart will you be able to rest again. Now, go from my sight. Let this curse be upon you!”
Lightning flashed again and the witch cackled as Peri cowered before her. With that Lilith turned and walked straight through the stone wall to disappear from sight. Peregrine stood in amazement at what he’d seen and what he’d heard. He absently took another bite of the apple and looked at it as he chewed. Half a worm looked back at him. Ma Robin resumed singing, a little hesitantly as she settled on her nest with wings extended over her chicks.
“I checked the fruit carefully to be sure I got you one with a nice fat worm in it. You will have the energy to walk far today, Br’er Talker. I will sing for your journey.”
Ma Robin sang a lovely happy song and Peri finished eating the apple as he hurried away ahead of the storm. The worm was bitter and the apple no longer sweet.
All Hallows Eve was upon him in the darkening night.
