Reconception: The Fall by Deborah Greenspan

solar powered too."
    "But this is wonderful!" Evie exclaimed. "You have
food and water, and you've adapted to the air and the ultraviolet.
You've survived!"
    Eye of Eagle exchanged a glance with Teller before
answering. "Yes and no. We do have food and water, for a limited
number of people. And the air is okay, but there are problems." He
sighed. "Come on. Let me introduce you to some of our people."
    "What about our van? We need it ... "
    "We know. Don't worry. We'll bring it around."
    Taking Evie's hand, and signaling to the others, Eye
of Eagle continued across the meadow, through the trees on the
other side, and into a large wilderness area. Here, too, everything
that could be green was green. Pathways were made of natural rock
and weeds grew profusely. "We call this the garden of the
Goddess."
    "That's because we don't touch it," Teller added.
"We've done nothing but water it for over a hundred years. We've
often found valuable food plants growing here and added them to our
stock."
    "How big an area is it?" Garret asked.
    "It's about 100 acres."
    "But I thought we were heading toward your village?"
Evie said.
    "We are. It's on the other side of the Garden of the
Goddess."
    "But why does this Garden stand between you and your
farm? That doesn't make sense." Garret said.
    "Actually, it makes a lot of sense," Teller replied.
"If we'd located the Garden at the outskirts of the farm, then how
would we expand our areas under cultivation? By destroying the
Garden? This way, when we expand we only reclaim the desert. We
never touch the Garden."
    Garret smiled. "I see. You're right, of course."
    "It takes a little more work this way," Eye of Eagle
added, "to move food across these 100 acres, but we think it's
worth it."
    The Garden of the Goddess, except for a system of
pathways crisscrossing it, was a complete wilderness. Evie breathed
in the fragrant air, savoring a moment of complete happiness. "Why
is it called the Garden of the Goddess?"
    Eye of Eagle laughed, "I could give you a quick and
easy answer to that, but it's really a complex question ... .I
guess by the time you leave here, you'll know."
    Ducking under the branch of a tree, Garret waited
for Evie to catch up. Cries at the Moon seemed to have disappeared,
and Garret assumed he'd taken a different path. He was worried
about the van, and questioned his judgment in leaving it behind.
What if these people weren't as well-meaning as they acted? What if
he were being careless? After all, his and Evie's life depended on
that van.
    It was stupid to leave it in the hands of others.
Because of his anxiety, he was in a hurry to get to the end of the
Garden, and kept walking ahead, only to have to wait for the others
to catch up. He tried to communicate his apprehension to Evie by
catching her eye, but she was so lost in the beauty of the place,
she didn't get his feeling at all. He felt strangely alone, in a
way he'd never experienced before.
    Almost from birth, he and Evie had been inseparable,
and here she was so busy with the place and the people that she
seemed to have forgotten him. At that moment, she and Eye of Eagle
caught up with him. As Garret held the branch up for them to walk
under, she looked up and smiled into his eyes. Recognizing his
distress, a question replaced the joy in hers.
    "Are you okay, Garret?" she asked.
    "We need to get back to the van," he replied.
    Teller, who had been bringing up the rear, asked if
he was all right.
    "Yes. I'm fine."
    "I feel great!" Evie said.
    "Don't worry," Eye of Eagle said. "Your van is just
ahead. Cries at the Moon has gone ahead to get help to bring it
around. No harm will come to it or to you."
    Evie smiled, and Garret felt the constriction around
his chest ease up a little, though he wouldn't be happy until he
was back in the van.
    After a few more minutes, the group emerged into a
large clearing. Built into the hill, on the north side, were
several long and wide porches with sliding glass doors leading
inside. The