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Jack & the Tree of Knowledge
By Fhate
04 September 2005
I've been planning this one for a while. I'll probably end up editing it sometime, but I think it's pretty presentable the way it is right now.

            The following events are absolutely true and completely unedited. Not a single name has been changed for this perfect written adaptation. That said, proceed at your own expense.

 

            Jack Adams was the son of a farming woman from Lovely Island, a former prison camp. Jack's mother had become successful in the farming industry by growing natural narcotics and using them to exploit the common addictive personality. She began to enjoy the power she had acquired over others as well as despise any feeling of inferiority or submission. Thus, she came to seduce a man by the name of Ross Adams, resulting in the birth of Jack. Marriage became an obligation.

            Perhaps Mrs. Adams' most powerful adversary was Ken McNite, not to mention a very influential character to the minds of the general youth of Lovely Island, including Jack. Ken was not only a famed farmer and fashion model, but also the President of the Environmental Protection Agency. He had a tight grasp on the Lovely Island community, a tight grasp that enraged Mrs. Adams.

            As a young man, Jack had always followed Ken's image to the letter, more so than any other citizen of Lovely Island. He was completely unaware of his mother's hate for the man, and thus continued his vicious idolization.

            A war had been raging for years upon years on the mainland, a war that's cold grasp would surely reach out and tear apart each and every resident of the mainland. This was why Jill Everson had decided to move to Lovely Island. Her father was a revered general, yet Jill despised war and violence. Within a week, she had befriended Jack, who was just as excited to meet her.

            Jack and Jill became inseparable, spending the majority of their time on the hill, from which one can peer over the entire island. They shared stories and memories, jokes and anecdotes. Neither had ever felt better before meeting the other.

            It hadn't been too much longer before they moved in together, much to the dismay of Mrs. Adams, who would always long for a man to push around. However, Jack and Jill were ecstatic. They had planned to start their own farm. To begin with, Jack bought a cow.

            What both of them neglected to realize was that they knew nothing of farming. Thus, Jack found himself having to get rid of a now unhealthy cow. He quickly decided that he had to find a way to get as much of his money refunded as possible.

            He pulled his sick cow out into the village market and offered her for sale. Many bidders did not satisfy Jack's expectations. However, one bidder aimed to satisfy Jack's curiosity. A farmer approached Jack with a strange offer. The offer was as simple as a second chance at farming in the form of a small but supposedly rare seed. Jack's curiosity got the better of him, setting the deal in stone.

            That night Jill was furious. She could not believe her own love interest would be so stupid as to trade a cow for a seed. Jack was as apologetic as a man could be without losing his dignity, of course, meaning he was not at all apologetic. Regardless, in a fit of rage Jill threw the seed out the window, into the night sky.

            Jack was horrified. Now nothing had been gained from his poor cow. The seed was so small that it would probably become lost forever. He declined to speak with Jill and instead went straight for bed. His thoughts cradled him to sleep.

            As Jack awoke the next morning he opened his blinds as was his morning tradition. However, he was greeted by a shocking sight. A large, beautiful tree had grown in his yard overnight. He was sure this was the work of the seed. His first thought was to rush and wake up Jill, so he acted on it. She was as excited as he had been. The conflict they had the night before had been overlooked and forgotten.

            The tree bore huge golden fruits that appeared absolutely delicious. Jack began to wonder how something like this was possible. A tree would normally take years upon years to grow so large, and he had never heard of a tree that bore golden fruit. His only choice was to call on Ken McNite. The Environmental Protection Agency had to know something..

            Ken arrived later that evening to inspect the tree. After a long silence, he determined that the tree was an endangered specimen and that not a fruit on the tree could be so much as nibbled on without great consequences to the consumer. Jack and Jill agreed not to eat the fruits. Ken warned that he would be inspecting the tree each week until more details were determined.

            The next day was Mrs. Adams' birthday, so Jill was to be home alone watching the tree. As a rather large snake began to climb onto a limb of the tree, Jill rushed towards it to scare it away. In panic, the snake's movement caused a fruit to fall from the tree. The snake slithered off into the distance.

            Jill decided that the ground was public domain and that, since the fruit was already detached, devouring it would no longer make a difference to the tree. Her first bite drove her into a hypnotic daze. Her second bite drove her over the edge of the pool of obsession. She began to devise a plan to sell the fruits at the market. She could make a fortune and even pay off Ken to keep his mouth shut. However, she first had to wait until her fruit intoxication wore off. The intoxication had made her feel so paranoid, almost as if she was naked.

            Jill hauled ten boxes of the golden fruit into the market square and opened up shop. Jack, having stopped to buy a few things before returning home, found Jill at the market. After Jack questioned her, Jill explained her plan and handed him a fruit. He hesitantly bit in, suddenly understanding her plan.

            The local radio had announced that evening that the war had ended and that the entire mainland was crushed and desolate. Jill told Jack that she wanted to use the money to move back to the mainland, where they could be alone. Jack was very fond of the idea.

            A week soared by and they had nearly enough money to accomplish their goal. The only obstacle in their way was Ken's inspection. When Ken finally arrived, he was disgusted as to what they had done. Upon being bribed, he took extreme action. It wasn't long before the Environmental Protection Agency took hold of their property and banished them from Lovely Island, proclaiming them a danger to the environment.

            In a way, one could say Jack and Jill got what they desired. They kept the money and lived on the mainland. However, in such an empty place, the money was useless. The worst factor, however, was that Jack and Jill lived the rest of their lives in restless withdrawal from the toxins of the fruit, something that would live on forever in their genetics.

Reviews

Written by larry_schreiner (1 comments posted) 4th September 2005
"A week soared by." 
I think, and I'm no expert, that "soar" is the wrong word here.  
"Soar" seems to indicate flying high and I don't see how a week can be said to fly high.  
There are so many examples of this in your story that it needs revising. Word by word. 
Another example, "Jack was very fond of the idea."  
Here, the word "fond" just doesn't seem right. One is fond of people, places, pieces of music, etc., but I don't remember ever being fond of an idea. 
Am I being picky? Yes, but I think one needs to be, because your readers certainly will be. 
Good luck. 
larry_schreiner :)

Written by Fhate (1 comments posted) 4th September 2005
Thanks for the review! 
 
Yeah, while I'm at it I might as well remove all the metaphors from all of my stories. :)
you've got the germ of a good story/sat
Written by kevinrobson73 (371 comments posted) 6th September 2005
don't take umbrage at critique 
it is meant kindly and to be discourteous doesn't become you 
TITLE - is it eye-catching, relevant to story? good title 
BEGINNING - Does it hook you, lead into the story, relevance -quick and clever, should allow you to slow down for more detail later, buy you some time 
VOICE/VIEWPOINT - Does it come across well, show personality, is it right for the story, well handled? pacy and well delivered 
CHARACTERS & DIALOGUE - Do personalities show up; are they stereotypes; are they right for the story? drawn some interesting chasracters , picked out their quirks and foibles well 
USE OF ENGLISH/STYLE - Does it read well? Imaginitive use of language/imagery/layout, does it show 'sparkle'? 
this is where i think you trip yourself up a bit, suggest you give it another treatment with thesaurus in hand for words that didn't quite fit 
 
Are there spelling errors/typos/jarring grammatical errors? 
DRAMA - Is there good use of action, enough tension/conflict? good work 
EMOTION - Are we swayed by the narrator and identify our emotions with the narrator? compelling 
STORYLINE/PLOT - Is it evident? Is there a beginning,middle,end? Interesting/ original? adequate, could have injected a little more detail and humour 
THEME - What's the underlying meaning of the story? Was it evident? Understandable? parody and metaphors were good, could have been a little sharper 
ENDING - Are loose ends tied up? Are you let down? Was it expected/original? not bad

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