The Real Never-Ending Saga

“Evil lies within the power to give peace”. It was the most unusual of engravings Alex had seen in his 39 years of appraising fine jewelry. There was no stamp, yet it was definitely gold, the purest he had seen, possibly the oldest he had seen. Consulting the items’ intake form, the owner a man named Don Abad, had warned in the comments that, under no circumstance, was he to open the attached locket. This, however, seemed remissible to his duty, he had to at least check for a quality stamp or some evidence of source. After perusing every link of the remarkably unblemished, yet ancient chain, he gave into his curiosity. Superstitions, he premised, are just superstitions.

The locket gave little resistance to his time weathered hands, opening with a sharp deliberateness; almost as if it were conscious, as if it knew him already. The ornamentally designed heart, etched with unmatched precision, had somehow not weathered in what must have been an eternity. The message inside, while still cryptic inevitably initiated Alex’s cynicism as he read aloud, “Wishes are Three, with each your deepest desire will be revealed to thee”. He couldn’t help but to scoff at the trinket, “If I had a wish, I would have a beautiful young woman”. He waited a few moments with little expectation, and as expected, nothing happened. Alex continued his meticulous appraisal, measured its weight, and looked for any indication of age or quality. His conclusion, an impossible amount of purity. Just as he closed the heart-shaped locket, the door opened, and a gorgeous, long-legged, dark-skinned angel of a woman slipped in the door.

“We’re closed” Alex stuttered as he looked into her breath-taking, bronze eyes, her stride stealing his every thought. “I’m sorry” she uttered, “this storm just got too much to drive in and this was the only sign I saw open, the wind, the rain came from nowhere.” Alex looked inquisitively at the ominous clouds as they engulfed him from every direction with a thick and heavy fog, almost tangible, the intermittent rain eliminated any remaining semblance of visibility. Alex debated to himself whether the young lady was a serendipitous coincidence, like the storm. Forever the skeptic Alex concluded, superstitions are just superstitions.

“Please forgive me, stay here until it passes, I need to take a break anyway.” Alex pleaded, as the most magnificent being he had ever seen walked back towards the door. “Can I ask your… I’m Alex, owner here at Morningstar’s appraisal” he sputtered, in awe of the moment. “Eabha, but I go by Victoria, for obvious reasons” she said with an entrancing smile, threatening his very soul. They talked and laughed for hours over a glass of brilliant red wine, her scantly covered mocha skin contrasted beautifully against the thick, burgundy, well-aged wine. He was captivated by the storm, by the locket, by the angel in front of him. Alex and the beautiful young lady immediately had a connection he had never felt before, almost like an intertwining of souls. Mid-conversation he realized he was madly in love with the young woman, one he would never be able to satisfy nor keep up with. His age was an obstacle he knew he would never be able to overcome with wit and humor, she would be like trying to hold water with one’s bare hands. Their laughter was interrupted only by the thunderous roar of the storm inching closer, with each blaring clash of thunder thrusting them closer. Finally, a roar forced her out of her seat and causes her to land with her head and hand firmly on his chest. She slowly looked up into his eyes, as their gaze connected he couldn’t help but to realize, for all the perfectly crafted magnificence he was seeing, she must have seen unimpeded age in action.

Interrupting the moment of passion, a violent burst of lightening created a brilliant reflection, illuminating the locket and the roadside office with a magnificent array of colors. Her attention drawn to it, she couldn’t help but inquire, “what in this world is that made of”. “I honestly don’t know, and the inscription is odd, kind of scary” he responded, handing her the still vaguely illuminated locket. She read the back of the locket aloud “Live within le Power to give Peace, that sounds innocent enough” she responded in confusion. Alex snatched the locket in a mystified moment of maniacal terror. Had he misread something innocent into something nefarious? Is his age now causing delusions?

His hands began to tremble as he opened the locket, anxious of what the inside might read. The locket burst open with an unparalleled readiness, Alex was confounded by the still impeccable, but new etching, now only reading your deepest desire revealed to thee. “Do you believe in the paranormal” Alex asked, maintaining his stern, intense gaze on the etching. “Why do you ask” Victoria inquired with curious undertones. Alex explained the locket and what it had originally said while Victoria listened attentively. After soaking in the story Victoria finally interjected; “Well, the only way to know is to try again; what is the worst that can happen? This storm might be the end of us away tonight anyways”. Her humor, albeit dark, was a very real and present threat as the enormous eruptions began to shake the very foundation of the modest office building. Alex’s inhibitions firmly behind him, (mostly because of the attraction to the heavenly being in front of him, the super-storm outside threatening his life being largely remissible), exclaims to Victoria, “Superstitions are just superstitions but if you’re here, I’ll try.”

“I want to be young for the rest of this age…” Alex began to announce as he started to squeeze on the locket before Victoria interrupted, “AND THE NEXT!”. At the precise moment Alex snaped the locket, he shouted, “AND THE NEXT!” Immediately an impossibly powerful, seemingly endless roll of thunder threw Alex and Victoria violently to the ground. Explosions and the sound of jets filled the sky as the two shaken lovers searched the smoke-filled room for each other. With no visibility, Victoria’s hand grasped the dense fog until it met Alex’s, he instantaneously pulled her into him, her head and hand fell firmly upon his muscular, thick chest. Her hand caressed his new body and face. His face was taught, chiseled, and strong even without seeing him she knew his beauty was magnificent. The two embraced in a kiss of passion, almost freezing time with their passion and ignoring that their “storm” is not like any storm man has seen before.

The enchanted embrace continued passionately until harshly interrupted by the shrill sound of an emergency broadcast. This one was unusual; the mechanized voice was replaced by the President. He somberly announced “We, as a nation, are at war. Not only with other countries, but with a device we have created. We planned a sneak attack and in doing so, we implemented a new weapon, one meant to create a storm. This new weapon has gone beyond our control, covering much of the populated Earth with super-cell storms, hurricane force winds, tornadoes, and ball lightening. Some call it “playing God”, but as my advisors preached, “There are no rules in love and war”. If we surviv…”. Suddenly the broadcast cut to a dial tone. Alex in a rage of anger smashed his handheld antique radio against the marble floor. “Why did you do that?!” Victoria exclaimed to the visibly frustrated Alex. “You still have one more wish!” she reminded him. “Of course,” Alex exclaimed, holding the gold locket triumphantly as it illuminated the room.

As the heart spun, he couldn’t help but to notice the new engraving, Le Power to give people Peace. He opened it as explosions, barely distinguishable from the incessant roars of thunder, filled the air, “What do I say” he inquired of his new love. “Something, fix this, now” Victoria urgently hastened as Alex opened the locket. “I want peace in all the world right now!” Alex screamed closing the locket. The earth bellowed loudly causing the artificially produced clouds to immediately seize the world with a noxious haze. Humanity was left in a panic, billions of men, women, and children took in their last breath of oxygen the next being a gasp that instead filled their lungs with poison, suffocating all of mankind in a mysterious gas. Planes fell from the sky, bodies lined stores and streets, the carnage was beyond imagination. Somehow, Victoria was also immune to noxious cloud, with this Alex knew all was not lost, everyone could come back! Alex thrusted the locket upon Victoria, “what did I do? Fix it please. Use 3 wishes and turn back time!”.

Victoria took Alex’s hand and urged him to stand up, and with a painful but loving smile she looked in his eyes and said, “I can’t”; “I have already used my 3 wishes for this life, look at the locket”. Alex looked down in confoundment, reading the engravement he read, “EVIL APPLE”. Victoria continued “see I started as a serpent 10,000 years ago, I wished to be a beautiful human, then I asked for the depths wisdom, finally I grew so proud, I wished to be like a God. That is why you would know me as Satan, but instead that is how the world sees you, Mr. Morningstar. You see history is written by the victor. In the end, when your mortal soul leaves your body and begins its restoration process, I will write the story to our descendants and I will be the poor, deceived, innocent Eve. You, my dear Morningstar, you will be the serpent.”

In a brutal rage, Alex picked up a piece of glass laying near the shop in the street and pressed it firmly against his neck, “I’m not going to let another world of people be birthed from evil, I’m going to end this madness here!” Victoria laughed hysterically, revealing “this happens every time, you won’t do it Alex. Your soul and everyone else’s will be recycled in a great cyclic timeline that recreates the Earth, placing one’s soul into the shell of what they hate the most.” After his anger subsided, she reminded him that without them, man would cease to exist. “Why, why do I keep the same shell, why do I not get to change? I hate this life!” Alex asked in anguish, unable to forgive himself for the fall of man. Victoria’s retort had a depth that Alex never could have expected, “Exactly, isn’t it written that, “he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.” Alex knew he could not change, and inevitably he would be doomed. He was eternally doomed by his guilt, and as a result, by his self-loathing, to unwittingly repeat his life every several millennia.

Alex Darius A. Morningstar and Eabha Victoria Eshwar left the city to find the most beautiful land they could find, walking over the masses of debris and bodies into the amber, smoky sunset. This story cannot be dated to one date but must be cited hundreds of times in the cyclical history of man, it was 10,000 years ago, 20,000 years ago, and maybe, tomorrow. Have a Happy Forbidden Fruit Day: this day only comes once every 10,000 years or so.

Michael A Ballard