A Glimpse of Eden

                                                                                                         By Ali Nabaah Shareef

A great door, steely and pearl-white stood menacingly before me – stubborn, relentless, unwilling to give me passage. As my fingers gently swept over the metal scanner, a gentle hissing sound escaped from within as it flew open. A sudden rushing sound filled my ears as I was dragged forth into a pristine chamber, lined with gadgets and canisters of clean gases. The door slammed behind me – I made no effort to turn back, the familiar sight of these massive machines, gears churning and heaving was nostalgic to me. Eventually, the chamber had subsided from its uncanny voice and let forth a breath of fresh air into the abysmal vacuum. The sight of a crystalline vault befell me once again, and once more, it opened at my command.

I hovered over the mess of multi-colored wires entwined with one another. A neon sign was winking, reading a queer script. The lack of leather sofas and a high-definition TV was presented to me. Instead, lining the gilded walls were desks and velvet chairs, each seating a man in a bleached garment, embroidered in badges and complete with vibrant scars – furiously clicking away at the miniscule tabs in front of his screen, emanating beeps in a metronome, oblivious both to me and his co-workers synchronized with him in the monotony of work. Wires like vines hung from the ceiling upon which star-like lights were loosely screwed, metal cabinets stood over the untidy workbenches littered by plates, trays, pots, and pans mingled with the occasional leftovers of succulent food. Taking hold of the ambrosia I pecked at the wrappers, seizing every crumb soaring away from Armageddon. Quelled. A blissful taste melting my tastebuds like salt dispersing in water.

 …

There it was, a fine glass sphere situated at the center of the dingy room, encrusting it was a line of cold metal bearing no marks. A window it seemed, glimmering like the tapestry of stars outside, presented as a portrait of intergalactic marvels. I took another nervous step forwards, anticipating a wasteland just like any other but with many more inhabitants. The sight, however, was even more stunning! A watery marble, swimming steadily in the mix of space-junk and monastery of asteroids in steady orbit. But for the lush blemishes upon it, a perfect image of peace was before me. This was it – Eden.