Miracle

Mira was her name. A gift from God.

A gift I promised would not go to waste.

I had adopted her from an orphanage. Her parents had gone missing and with no family besides them to go to, she ended up there. We lived in a small cabin in the woods. The closest thing to a neighbor was an older gentleman about a mile away. We had met in town some time ago and realized based on talk of similar landmarks that we were in fact living in the same woods. He talked about how he enjoyed fishing on the lake and even invited me to join him sometime.

Mira seemed to enjoy her current living situation. She had told me she used to live in a big city with her parents before they disappeared. She never talked much about her parents. I also never pushed her to talk about them.

Most days would go the same way. I homeschooled her, so I would spend time teaching her about math, science, history, and all that. She truly was gifted in all fields. Everything I taught her she picked up in no time. She would ask questions of course if she ever was confused but most of the time she just listened. She was especially interested in science, something I was grateful for. I myself was also particularly interested in science as a whole.

It wasn’t long before she discovered my bookshelf which held not only published books but some of my journals from over the years. After finishing reading all of the published work she eventually asked if she could read some of my journals. Before letting her, I explained that they might not be exactly what she expects. At this time, she was 12 almost 13. I gave her my first journal and upon reading a couple pages in, she and I started a conversation.

“You used to be a scientist?” she asked.

“I did…was… a scientist, yes.”

“What did you study?”

“Many things. Things yet to be explored or explained.”

“Isn’t science about exploring the unknown?”

“It used to be. Now most would rather concoct solutions to problems using what we already know. Its why humans cannot evolve.”

She continued to read my journals for the next couple weeks. There were many of them to go through. To my surprise she didn’t ask me about them again for some time. It wasn’t until that day that I realized the effect they were having on her.

“I want to plant a pear tree.” She said one day after strolling in from playing outside.

“A pear tree? Why specifically that fruit?” I questioned even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer. She pulled out one of my journals and flipped through the pages until she found exactly what I thought she was looking for.

“This is why.” She said holding open one of the pages in the journals towards me.

I smiled. Later that day we went to town and purchased the supplies we needed to begin her experiment.

It took 3 years for the tree to fully mature and start bearing fruit. In those years Mira and I had had many conversations about my old life as a scientist. My experiments, theories, and ideas were unheard of to her. Things she could not find elsewhere in the world. We had conversations about the ocean, space, dreams, nightmares, fantasy, reality. She was really quite intelligent for her age.

My journals became her everyday reading material. Everyday she would read a little bit but not too much. They were her playground.

Finally, when the pear tree started producing fruit we ventured outside together.

“It’s finally time.” She said excitedly.

“That it is.” I replied with a smile.

She took one of the fruits in her hands and snapped it off from the tree. She held it in her hands for a while. Staring at it like it was gold. I gestured for her to eat it. She did.

Nothing happened.

At least nothing that was visible to us.

My theory was not all that complicated. I had always been fascinated with the old story of Adam and Eve. The story of the first humans who consumed fruit, specifically an apple, to gain knowledge. For years I studied this story looking for similarities in other religions. I planted many apple trees trying to recreate a moment in which knowledge would be bestowed upon me. Some said I was crazy. I probably was. It wasn’t until I found that I had accidentally planted a pear tree that I made my discovery.

“I don’t feel anything.” Said Mira disappointed.

“You won’t” I said.

“Then how do I know it worked?”

“You won’t. Until it does.”

She seemed confused. Perhaps she hadn’t read all the pages of the theory or maybe she had just hoped it would happen the first time. She went back inside the house and began reading the theory again. She read and read and read all day, until night had fallen upon us. Everyday she would take a pear from the tree and eat it.

Nothing ever happened.

I could tell she was both confused and frustrated.

Then, one day she ate from the tree which was mostly bare except for a few pears. Once again nothing noticeable happened. I decided to cheer her up by bringing her to town. We stopped at the local candy shop, and I let her get what she wanted. While paying for the candy the teller spoke to us.

“I hear there’s going to be a comet tonight.” He said.

“A comet?” I asked

“Yeah, they say it’s going to be visible tonight and it’s supposed to be huge.”

This confused me. I kept up to date with science journals and anything to do with strange occurrences, phenomena, or once in a lifetime opportunities such as this. Nowhere had there been a mention of a comet.

“Are you sure such a thing is happening tonight?”

“Oh yeah it’s been all over the news today. People have been preparing for months to see it.”

“Months?” I said confused.

We left the candy shop. Mira and I climbed into my truck and began our journey home. “That’s strange, isn’t it?” I said breaking the silence.

“What’s strange?” she asked.

“That gentleman mentioned a comet which apparently has been known about for months. Yet I haven’t seen or heard about such a thing.”

“Neither had I.” she said staring off at the road ahead.

We arrived home as the sun was setting. A light rain had begun to fall and gray clouds filled the sky.

“Looks like we won’t be able to see that comet tonight after all.” I said. Mira had been reading one of my journals since we had arrived home. “Which one are you reading?” I asked. She must have been deep in thought because she didn’t answer. I decided to let her be and prepared myself for a nap on the couch.

I later awoke and knew instantly that something felt off. The rain had stopped, and a green light fell through the window. Mira was nowhere to be found. I called for her several times while searching throughout the house. There seemed to be no power at all throughout the place. It was then that I saw my journal laying on the ground, illuminated in the green light. I picked up the book and a grin formed on my face once I began to read what exactly had her so entranced.

I quickly grabbed my coat and made my way outside. Mira stood there by the pear tree, her back to me gazing up at the sky. It was then that I found the source of the green light. There in the sky was a comet. “Mira?” I called to her. She didn’t move. She only spoke.

“It worked.” She said softly. “It finally worked.”

I couldn’t help but smile. The pieces started coming together. “You did it didn’t you?”

It was then that she turned around to face me. In her hands was what remained of a pear she had eaten. Silver liquid dripping from her mouth reflected the green light of the comet and her eyes were pure black. “I made a wish,” She said, “and it finally came true.”

My theory, which I thought would only remain as such, had finally been proven. The evidence was right in front of me. Adam and Eve ate an apple to gain knowledge. My theory was that the apple did not give them knowledge simply because that was its purpose but rather because that is what they wished for. It was only through a mistake of accidentally planting a pear tree and eating from it that I had realized I had been using the wrong fruit all this time. My theory was that sometimes a fruit would be produced which had the ability to grant any wish to the one who ate it. A special fruit which had only been recorded once in history.

I smiled uncontrollably. “You did it Mira! Tell me. Please… what was your wish?”

She showed no emotion as she spoke. “I wished… for a Miracle…” she said.

“A Miracle? That’s it?”

“All I asked was for a Miracle.”

I began laughing with happiness at the success of my theory. I was right all along. I wasn’t crazy. I was always right. “Mira,” I called to her again, “When you made that wish what Miracle were you hoping for? What, in your mind, did you envision?” It appeared all at once my dreams were coming true. I held up my journal to show her the page she had left it on. “Mira, you were thinking of this weren’t you?”

She said nothing but I continued anyway. “I am a scientist, Mira. An unconventional scientist who explores things others would never explore. Ideas which are mistakenly proven to be myths, legends, fakes. I had explored all my theories until I had proven them. All except for two. One being that of the existence of a wish granting fruit and the other¬---“

“The other, that a human would be the cause for the end of existence.” She interrupted. “I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a long time. How old are you really?”

It was then that I realized just how she had come to figure out my secret. “147” I said calmly. “How did you figure it out?”

“You’re journals. Only one was ever dated. The first one. Then as I kept reading, I realized that you’ve already made contact with the wish granting fruit. From there I put two and two together. You can only eat the wish granting fruit once, can’t you?”

I nodded. “That is correct. You may only eat once and therefore only make one wish.”

“What did you wish for?” she asked.

I smiled a horrible smile. “I wished to live to see the end.”

Slowly she brought her hands up. They were beginning to grow dark and lose their shape. The eaten pear fell to the ground. “There’s something I should tell you about the fruit” she said in a sad tone.

I smiled even more.

“Once you eat it… and make your wish…” her voice broke into a cry.

I finished for her “You die.”

“You knew?” she said with a broken voice.

“I knew” I replied. “Which is why my wish centered around living until my real wish was granted and seen through to fruition. Adam and Eve were void of sin before eating the apple. It was only after their experience that humans obtained the disease we carry with us today and subsequently the effect of death upon consumption of the miracle fruit.” Mira collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her hands. “You have been very helpful Mira. Finally, this old man’s wish will come true.”

I then watched as shadow continued to consume Mira until that was all she was. It was then that I came in contact with the first Shadow. At first it maintained a shape close to that of Mira but eventually, like all do, changed to become as we know them today. Creatures who hunger for our shadows. Creatures which would terrorize our world for years to come. Creatures which would bring about an end to the world. Creatures which would make my wish finally come true.

All it took was a Miracle.