Chapter 11: Lusadé

                                                              Chapter 11: Lusadé

Needing to kill time, but not wanting to bother Eldey again, I decided to call him a second time anyway. Eldey didn’t seem annoyed but rather seemed to have been awaiting my call.

“George, it’s so nice to hear from you again. I know that you still have a lot of things going on in your mind. You are probably down by the ocean right now, wondering how in the world a 200-pound tortoise is going to swim back to the CDRS. I bet you are even wishing you were a great auk at this moment,” he said with a tension breaking laugh.

“Eldey you seem to always know exactly what to do and never seem to worry about anything. I must be honest; I am beginning to doubt that I can do everything you are expecting of me. I don’t want to let you down, but I might have to defy physics to do what you want me to do. You realize that tortoises sink, don’t you?” my voice cracked.

“George, all of us will have to face some kind of fears or weaknesses to accomplish our part of this mission. We all have our doubts about our abilities to complete our parts of this mission, but we cannot focus on those doubts. We must instead move forward in hope. If we focus on our fears and doubts, we will risk stealing hope from the others. George, you are the glue that will keep this group together. I do not know everything George, just a little more than you because I was in the Garden much longer,” Eldey stated.

“I find it hard to believe that you fear anything Eldey. You are more of the glue of this mission than I am. I have to keep asking you for help don’t I?” I stated despondently.

“Oh George, you do not see that as much as you fear to drown as all tortoises do, you are unique in that you truly fear to be alone. It is hard for you to ask for help because you have been on your own for so long. You fear to be close to others, for fear of losing them like you lost so many family members long ago. You fear to let me and the others down like you have been let down so many times in the past,” Eldey said in a fatherly way that cut me to the core.

“I have plenty of fears, but I also have faith. Faith is trusting in the things you cannot see or do not understand and moving forward despite that. I believe in you and the others, just like I truly believe in the people. My biggest fear is that we will never again be able to live in peace and harmony with the people. I also fear Lusadé and what he is capable of,” Eldey said.

“I’m glad you believe in me Eldey because I’m not sure I believe in myself. Even as I look at this ocean in front of me, I’m not sure I have the faith to try to cross it,” I said gazing south out over the sparkling blue water. “What exactly is Lusadé capable of if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked not knowing if I wanted to know the answer, but at least a different conversation would take my mind off the deadly waters lying before me.

“The scary thing about him is that I have no idea what he is capable of doing. Since we left the Garden, serpents have always had a bad reputation,” Eldey explained. 

“Well doesn’t he deserve his bad reputation since he led the people into eating the fruit from the forbidden tree?” I asked sternly.

“As you might know from other apparently straightforward questions, the answer is complicated,” Eldey stated. “The best way to explain this is not to go back to the beginning in the Original Garden as you might expect, but to go back to our final days on the Ark before going forth and multiplying for the second time.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t the serpent cause problems in the Original Garden which led to the curse and then to the corruption on earth that led to the Great Flood?” I asked hoping that made sense.

“Let me explain, George. I do not know everything like you and many other creatures think. I am a finite animal like everyone else. Just because I am called the great auk, that doesn’t make me great. I was once close friends with Lusadé before he took that name almost as a punishment unto himself; a mixture of insults he had heard from others since leaving the Original Garden. You see, once we left the Original Garden, we all had only vague memories of life and how pure and simple it was in the beginning, but no one knew exactly what happened other than what you and the people know from the stories. For instance, I don’t remember strolling along the clear brook talking with Adam about the beautiful weather,” Eldey explained.

“Oh, I figured that was some ability you had that I lacked because of going extinct ahead of schedule,” I said more to myself than to Eldey.

“Now let me try to fill you in on what happened from my limited perspective. On the Ark, life was simple and good, almost like the Garden. The animals and Noah’s family lived in harmony. Noah’s family treated every living thing well. Other than lacking the ability to speak directly with the people, life was virtually perfect. When we found out what post Flood life would be like with the people, many animals began to panic, realizing that our short-lived “Ark life” was a façade that would soon fade.  

Lusadé and I both had a heart to help the people. I think Lusadé had an even bigger passion than I did to set things right, since he was constantly blamed for all of the corruption in the world in the first place. True the curse stemmed from the action of the people, but every creature including the people blamed the serpent,” Eldey explained carefully so that I could understand.

“Wait, so you’re saying the serpent was not responsible for the people’s eviction from the Garden?” I tried to clarify.

“Yes, he was ultimately responsible for his actions in the Garden, but what exactly happened before the event with Eve is something I am not clear about. As I said I am not omniscient, I just know what I heard,” Eldey said humbly. “I think I need to back up. Lusadé and I debated how to best help the people throughout our last days on the Ark, until…” Eldey’s voice cut out like when he spoke of his family’s death at the hands of the bird collectors on Eldey Island. 

“What happened?” I asked.

“Things changed after the dove returned, carrying the well known olive branch. The flood waters had abated, and we could go forth and multiply. All of the creatures lined up expectantly by the great door to the Ark. The enormous ramp was slowly lowered, and I motioned my mate forward toward our new life. Then I turned toward Lusadé and his mate, Silvia, who began slithering down the ramp too. There was great excitement and hope in both our hearts. Even though we did not know exactly how we would help the people, we knew there was a chance for a fresh start.”

“So you were friends with the serpent? Then why do you and the others fear him so much? Can’t you simply talk to him now and let him know that we’re planning to help him by setting things right with the people?” I asked hoping it might be that easy. “I mean, I could probably contact him.”

“If the story had ended there, that might be a possibility, but it was on that massive ramp leaving the Ark, where all of hopes and plans unraveled. As we were walking down the ramp, Noah and his family members were helping all of us out of the Ark. As you can imagine it was a little chaotic after a year in snug quarters, and everyone wanted off of that boat. Amidst the chaos, Ham, one of Noah’s sons, accidentally stepped and crushed Silvia’s head under his sandal. I saw it happen, as did Lusadé,” Eldey said, his voice distant.

“Oh my!” I gasped.

“Lusadé and I rushed to Silvia to see if there was anything that could be done, but it was too late. Lusadé was devastated, and he did not want to leave her side. My mate and I stayed with him as he grieved the loss of his mate, but we knew there was nothing we could do to ease his pain. We simply wept with him. My mate and I dug a shallow grave with our beaks and buried Silvia at the foot of that ramp. We grieved for six days with Lusadé,” Eldey said sadly.

“That is terrible. Did Noah’s son, Ham, know what he had done? What did Lusadé do after the loss of his wife?” I asked trying to be as sensitive to the topic as possible, knowing that Eldey had been devastated by this event too.

“In all of the hustle and bustle of ‘exodusing’ the Ark, Ham did not realize anything had transpired. Ham also had his problems soon after leaving the Ark with his father Noah. The people did not know, and it was honestly a simple, tragic accident. Lusadé struggled to make sense of what he should do. Something in him seemed to snap, and our conversations on how to save the people turned into how he could see Silvia again. I told him that we had an obligation to help the people in this new era, but he said there had to be another way to help the people and his mate,” Eldey explained.

“I could not leave him there so soon after his tragic loss, so I kept my mate on Mount Ararat as long as possible, but we needed to eat and find our place in this newly reset world. I told him that we needed to ‘go forth’ soon, or we would die. That was a poor choice of words to use with a creature who could no longer multiply,” Eldey confessed. 

 “That was when the idea hit him to go back to the Garden at that very moment. He had no mate, so his extinction was assured. He thought that if he went back to the Garden he might be able to set things right there. Like you, he went extinct voluntarily. He was the first to do so. The problem was that he soon realized in the Garden, he could never be with his mate. He would be alone in the Garden as the sole ambassador of his species for all time. He could not live with that, so he decided to come back here. That is when he realized that he could communicate with other animals for 40 days if he sought them out,” the great auk explained.

“That explains how you knew about the 40 days rule and why you were so sure that I’d be able to lead this mission, but it doesn’t quite clarify how the post-flood death of Lusadé’s mate links to the happenings in the Original Garden,” I reminded Eldey.

“After Lusadé returned from his brief stint in the Garden, he contacted me with a new plan he had thought up to save the people. He thought that he could go back into the Garden and find a way to “reset the Original Garden”, setting right his reputation and the events in the Original Garden which even he did not fully understand. I told him that while he was in the Garden, my mate and I had settled far from Mount Ararat, but I would help him however I could. For whatever reason, he was able to communicate with me. We would use this to our advantage and that way I could be with him in a way; assuming he made it back to the Original Garden,” Eldey went on.

Feeling like I would never keep up with all of this, I ventured another question, “So let me get this straight; after his mate’s death on the ramp of the Ark, Lusadé chose to go extinct like me, and then came back here, and then formed a plan to go back to the Original Garden, and reset history itself?”

“Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. I was trying to help the people keep things as close to perfect as possible in the post-flood days, and Lusadé was trying to go back to the Beginning to help the people that way. It did not seem possible, but I wanted to support my friend in any way I could while he mourned his fallen mate,” Eldey said.

“What happened when he went back then? I’m assuming that when he went back into the Garden; that he found a way back to the Original Garden of Eden since you said his story started on the Ark?” I said rather proudly that this nonsensical thought weirdly made sense.

“At first Lusadé would openly communicate with me daily. About the 35th day, Lusadé told me that he had done it! He never communicated exactly how he did it, and I had often searched for a way to the Beginning myself when I was back in the Garden after my extinctions, but never found a way. Lusadé told me that he had grown legs when he returned to the Original Garden and that he had seen the man and his wife, Adam and Eve, walking in the distance earlier in the day. He said that he located the two trees of the Garden, so he could stake out the area and make sure nothing happened.”

“If he found the tree where the people were to eat the fruit and curse the world, why didn’t he succeed?” I asked, astonished by what I was hearing.

“Lusadé wanted to make sure that no serpent in the Original Garden did anything to bring the curse upon the people. He admitted he did not know who to be looking for exactly, but he vowed to let no creature talk to the people without him being there. He told me what it was like to be with Adam and Eve in the Original Garden and how at peace he was. I began to grow excited by this possibility myself, because if he had made it back to the Beginning, maybe he could reset things from there,” Eldey explained.

“Wow. That is amazing,” I said shocked by what I was hearing.

“I am not clear what happened in those last few days, but he began to withdraw into himself. Lusadé told me that he had been talking to someone in the Garden who seemed wise, and this someone told Lusadé that if he ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge before Adam and Eve, he would know exactly what he had to do.”

“So he met an angel or something then in the Garden?”

“I am not sure who he spoke to, and I do not want to even venture a guess. He never told me, but that was when Lusadé’s plans to reset things began to unravel and inevitably fulfill the long foretold prophecy. When I asked him what was going on, Lusadé said that he now saw a flaw in his plan. Seeing the man with the woman happy every day, made him realize that if he reset things in the Original Garden, he would never again be with his mate. Things would appear perfect for everyone else, but he was afraid he would be alone and miserable for eternity. As you know George, when you choose to go extinct you are not as at peace as other animals in the Garden. Lusadé ranted that creatures should have more of a role in the Garden than trying to help the man. He reminded me that was what the woman was for. I did not know how to console him, so soon after the loss of his wife,” Eldey said exasperated.

“On what was the 40th day, the last day I was able to communicate with Lusadé, things fell apart. It was almost like he was fighting with himself; partly concocting revenge on the people and partially wanting to help them. At least that was what I think happened from his rantings. He talked to me, but it was more of a window into his internal monologue. Eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge did not help him know the best thing to do. The tree of knowledge made him aware that he did not know everything,” Eldey confessed.

“That’s what happened to the people when they ate from it too wasn’t it?” I asked trying to recall the specifics of the story.

“Yes. One of the last things I remember him telling me was that if he could not have Silvia back then the man and woman did not deserve to live happily ever after either,” Eldey explained. “I pleaded with him to think things through, but he said he had made up his mind. I told him that if he did not change the past, the future would play out the same way, with him losing his mate all over again. He said he would rather live a year with his mate aboard the Ark, than to live forever in the Original Garden without her. That day I lost my best friend, and we all lost what could have been.”

“That is terrible. So have you seen or heard from Lusadé since?” I asked

“No, but we do hear about things that he has done. I know that he still despises the people. The problem is that he loved his mate and feels justified in his actions. He blames the people for his mate’s death under the foot of Ham even though it was an accident. Blinded by his hatred, he does not see that his choice to lead the woman into temptation brought the curse upon his species that in fact caused his mate to die. In a way Lusadé’s selfish, spiteful actions against the people were just as much to blame for his mate’s death as Ham’s misplaced, curse fulfilling step. ”

“I see. I almost feel bad for him,” I said sadly.

“So do I, George. So do I. I blame myself for not being able to do more for him. This is another burden that I must bear. I am hoping that this mission will somehow bring peace between him and the people. He might even be able to tell us how to return to the Original Garden and reset things there. I know that we have not seen the last of Lusadé, but I hope we can still accomplish what we are here to do.” Eldey said more hopefully.

“One more question if you don’t mind,” I pressed.

“Go ahead,” Eldey said, regaining his composure.

“If Lusadé went back to the Original Garden, and no serpents left the Ark other than him, why are there so many snakes in the world today? I mean you said he couldn’t go forth and multiply,” I said trying to come up with the answer before Eldey spoke it.

“Like I said George, I do not know everything. Remember to view things more globally. Not all serpents are created equally; meaning there are over 2,700 species of snakes in the world today. You cannot label all serpents ‘evil’ because of the bad choices of one individual. The people tend to group them all together and hate the entire serpent family. Do not think like the people my friend. Lusadé is like Pat, Nessie, and you. He is an individual trapped here, facing extinction in its truest sense. The only difference is that Lusadé does not seem to want to go back to the Garden as you do,” Eldey said before parting