Where to Find Eden
by Stephanie Percival
Long pale fingers, pluck an object from the woodland floor. The tips glow with the thrill of the find.
“Found something,” Almay shouts.
She shows the treasure to the senior archaeologist. It doesn’t look much; a small green apple. They crane their necks upwards to see a canopy of gnarled branches above them.
“This must be the tree from the ancient Earth texts,” Majori says, placing a palm against the crevasses of the bark. Nothing like this grows on their barren planet.
“And if this is the tree, then this could be the place we’ve been searching for.”
They observe myriad greens surrounding them; buds, flowers and fruit growing in
abundance. The smell of ancient wood, filling their lungs.
“It certainly looks like a garden of paradise. With riches like this, it’s inconceivable Earth
had to be abandoned.”
They place their hands on the tree in reverence. Fingers glowing.
Stephanie’s writing journey began, when she was a finalist in BBC’s End of Story competition. She enjoys writing in different genres and experimenting with different styles. She’s published a collection of short stories, which includes stories that have been long and short-listed and been winners in a variety of competitions.
This story was shortlisted in the November 24 Monthly Micro Competition.
Lovely story, Stephanie!