“For now she need not think of anybody. She could be herself, by herself. And that was what now she often felt the need of - to think; well not even to think. To be silent; to be alone.”

“tell them you don’t know how Eve felt when the snake brought you his heart like an apple and your thirst, your hunger, your curiosity all red and pulsating like an open wound made you take it and hold it until your knees gave out, until he carried you into the darkness like some white horse who mistook the street lights for a sunset. tell them you don’t know how Eve felt the morning after when the skies parted and you realized that all angels are demons who haven’t been cast out yet, so you ask him to stay and he does, and you look at him, that man, the one with the empty chest, the one everyone warned you about, and he may not be God, but at least he’s here. oh, Eden is so sweet Eden is so beautiful but you do not want to stay here forever, because women are the only ones who can create life yet you are supposed to believe that we were conceived from a man’s ribs. tell them you don’t know how Eve felt when she was told that she was the downfall of humankind before humankind even began, when eating that apple made her the first wild thing, the first beautiful creature to not do as they’re told. your heart is an offering not a caged bird. This man in your bed may be a mistake, he may answer the questions you didn’t want to know but, you will grow, your roots spreading across the seas, your limbs growing apples your heart growing thorns to protect itself. tell them you don’t know how Eve felt when she saw Adam in one hand, and the rest of the fucking universe in the other. tell them you don’t know how Eve felt when she wanted the universe.”