Forbidden Fruit

The Forbidden Fruit



Once upon a time in Tomes ,there was a maid named Tala who lived among the Drunken Valleys. She was like no other; beautiful in a mysterious way, she had reddish brown hair with piercing green eyes shaped like almonds. Those who have seen her have been dazed at her exotic beauty ,and surely not one man has failed to vow that she will someday be his.Unfortunately there is not enough of her for every man. Destined to be an orphan at birth, this girl ,this beautiful maiden ,lived alone.

There was a young farmer who lived not so far away. He was inflicted with the disease that comes with being an unhappy impoverished man. Often he has a lustful eye for whatever his neighbors have that he doesn’t have . Whenever strangers pass by with carriages teeming with victuals of all kinds, riding on horses that seem to be more well fed than himself, to be hidden from shame he would run into his house for refuge.Then from the inside he would stare out his window to the grand fortress of his neighbor. It seems that the earth and the gods favor this fortress because the sun seems to always cast its rays upon this grand structure.This would always further beat down his ego or what is left of it, and he would always then say “At least I have a roof above my head.”

One day as he was sowing, his straying eyes caught glimpse of the beautiful maiden walking along the dirt path. As she neared his house, he immediately rested from his labor and quickly walked back into his house. Through the darkness his eyes followed her every move until she was almost gone from his sight. Then he immediately ran quietly from the house and concealed by the thick bushes along the road followed her to her destination.

There was a festival being held that day at the young farmer’s rich neighbor‘s house, Lord Byron.. Apparently it seemed to the farmer that Lord Byron had invited Tala to his celebration. From the farmer’s view from the bushes, he saw that there were arrows and spears and all sorts of equipment being set up on his property. Lord Byron has prepared an evening of games later on .

The farmer stayed in the bushes until it was dark. Then from the house people streamed out , holding cups of whiskey shouting merrily. Lord Byron walked towards the group of arrows and lit one on fire. Then he motioned for Tala to come meet him, and with the crowd cheering, he gave Tala a polite kiss on the hands. Looking into the distance ,for practice he shot at least 2 dozen arrows ,all of them on fire, lighting the night. Before he started the competition, he presented to Tala a box. The farmer saw Tala light up as she discovered the treasure. A young child nearby threw an object near the hiding place of the farmer. The child saw the lusting eyes of the farmer and then he screamed. Unaware of the child since he was mesmerized by Tala ,he suddenly realized that he was discovered and ran with quick feet back to his home. The fear of being discovered overwhelmed his senses,and upon arriving to his house, he said, “At least I have a roof above my head.” And when he looked up his house was on fire.The flimsy roofs were unmercifully fed to the growing fire, and it shriveled up and turned to ashes before his eyes.From the roof an arrow dropped to the ground. It wasn’t long before he realized that Lord Byron burned his house.
The next day he visited the witch doctor. He asked the witch doctor to give him a potion to turn Lord Byron into an object for what he has done. “He burned my only home, my only haven,” the farmer pleaded.”Now I have nowhere to lay my head.”
The witch thought this over carefully,growing more ugly and repulsive with the countless wrinkles and creases on her face. Then she said “This magic cannot be used for revenge lest a curse more severe will be upon you. Go to him and talk first.”

When he returned to the place where his house burned down, he thought about the conversation with the witch.. He realized that his anger and shame is too severe to be put into words, so why confront Lord Byron anyway? Making up his mind he ran back to the witch’s dwelling.

As soon as he trespassed onto her property, he scanned the inside to see if she was in there. Reassured that no one saw him, the farmer stealthily reached through the open window to grab a little sack on one of the tables. Holding it with two hands, he looked inside and found a green powdery substance. “Now, the burden is upon your head,” he murmured . “Human or not, I will avenge for your misdeeds.”

Still gloating over his stolen item, he quickly ran back to his place lest the witch might catch him. He gave a sigh of relief as soon as his burnt house was in sight. Suddenly he tripped over one of the remains of his house and out spilled the green powder. In an instant the farmer suddenly turned into an apple tree. He can feel his new stiffness,and realized what he had become. Yet the thought of not being able to avenge in turn of his suffering made him angrier .His bitterness and irritability made him shudder and the whole tree shook. Where his house once stood now he , as an apple tree,stands.

One day, the newlyweds, Lord Byron and Tala, were riding through the woods together. It was a lovely spring evening,and there wasn’t any couple lovelier than those two in sight. Their love was passionate ;each had only one set of eyes for the other;without the other ,it is impossible for the other one to exist .Thus they rode through the woods in this disposition, until Lord Byron spotted a peculiar apple tree growing in an unusual spot by the dirt road. He reeled the horses to a stop and stepped down. “Wait here,my love“ he said and walked towards the apple tree. He noticed that the tree was freakishly fully stocked with ripe apples while it is only the first evening of spring. It looked inviting, and so with curiosity he plucked one of the fruits and bit into it. In an instant his face turned blue and it seemed as if the young man had a nervous shock . Down onto the floor he fell ;his consciousness left him,and he was no more.

Tala from the horse’s back observed this. She stepped down from the horse and walked towards Lord Byron. Checking his pulse to discover that he was dead ,she let out a sigh and frowned. She stood there ,close by the tree and Lord Byron for a few minutes. Then she reached her lovely hands into Lord Byron’s pocket to get his money. Then she untangled the golden chain around his neck, and slid the gems off Lord Byron’s finger. Making sure she didn’t forget anything else, she walked towards the restless horse.With her reddish brown hair being enhanced from the remaining rays of sunlight, caressed by the gentle breezes, her lovely green almond eyes made more exotic from the surrounding earth elements, alone this girl, this beautiful maiden, rode on towards the sunset, shouting “Lord Byron is dead! Lord Byron is dead!”