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“We’re going to read from the Tree of Life,” the first parishioner said, beginning the passage in
the Bible where Adam and Eve are deceived by a serpent.
The story was one that everyone in the church had heard before, one Ross had been told as a
child, as had Julia. In it God instructs Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree in the middle of the
garden, for if they do, they will die. But a snake arrives with a different message.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made,” the
parishioner read aloud. “‘You will not certainly die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows
that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and
evil.’”
There was a ding of the piano as the next parishioner took the pulpit.
“O Lord!”
“Hallelujah!”
As the story continued—a story of good and evil—Julia realized she didn’t have to broach the
uncomfortable subject of the Silk Road with Ross. She believed that what the sermon was saying in
that very moment wasn’t for the dozens of churchgoers who praised the Lord already, or even for her;
it was a message from God, who was speaking directly to Ross. She reached over and grabbed his
hand as they listened to the rest of the tale, where God explains that there will be repercussions for
Adam’s actions.
“He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live
forever.” Another ding! rang through the room. “O Lord!”
When the service ended, Ross and Julia walked outside and waited for the bus to arrive. “What
did you think?” Julia asked him. “Did you enjoy any of the verses we read?”
“Yes,” Ross said. “I get the morals. I can see how for some people it’s really important. I really
get that, but for me, I just don’t need something like that.”
“Well, how do you know what’s right and what’s wrong?” Julia asked.
“I think about it,” Ross said, then paused for a moment. “I think about it myself.”
In the distance Julia could see the bus approaching. She looked back at Ross and tried to press
the question again. “But how do you know what’s good and what’s evil without a reference point?
Jesus is my relationship that helps me decide if I’m doing good in my life.”
“I think a man is his own God and can decide for himself what’s right and wrong,” Ross said.
“As a man, I decide for myself.”
Julia listened to him, realizing that Ross saw himself as a guiding light, and there was no room
for another. In his eyes, he was his own God.
When the bus arrived, they got on in silence. Julia was sad that he hadn’t accepted the verses, but
she wanted to enjoy the day and what was left of the weekend, so she decided to change the tone,
reaching for her camera as they began taking selfies together, capturing a moment in time that she
would never forget. They decided to get off the bus at a nearby park and then walked toward the
Golden Gate Bridge. There was a sign at the edge of a cliff that read DO NOT ENTER.
“Come on,” Ross said to Julia as they scampered behind the barrier. She giggled with the
excitement of it all. She handed him her camera and Ross looked through the viewfinder and began
taking a rapid succession of photos. As his finger pressed the shutter, Julia slipped her yellow dress
off her shoulders until it was in a crumpled pile on the grassy ledge. In a matter of seconds there was
no dress at all, and then he dropped the camera on the floor and they had sex on the edge of the cliff.