Evelyn awoke and stretched before getting up and getting ready. It was another lovely and perfect morning. She put on her robe, white with a purple and gold sash, and went out into the immaculate city of splendor made of stone and decorated with cloth and metal. The streets were lined with trees and flowers, buildings decorated with them as well, and garden parks sat filling entire zones in place of buildings every third block or so. People tended to the garden, caring for the flowers and trees. Evelyn and her people have known this utopia for so long that their language lost the words for the various evil and ills.

  Evelyn waved with a big genuine smile at everyone she passed, who all in turn did the same. She took a trip to a temple, praying to the gods worshiped by her people. Then she went to get a meal and meet some friends. What looked like a restaurant with outdoor seating and umbrellas to shield from the sun or rain was her go to. Her and her two friends all chose meals and the person in charge of the building went to prepare. One of her friends, who we'll call Lily, was the first to speak.

  “So how are things going, now that you're officially the most important woman in the world?” Evelyn shifted in her seat a bit. “All I did was marry the brother of the architect, the man responsible for this city and its society. Not the man himself. Besides, I did nothing to earn my spot, it was chosen for me. Ordained by the gods.” The second friend, we'll call Thorne, spoke next. “Yeah, but being chosen is itself an accomplishment. It means that there's a potential in you. This is where you are meant to be, your rightful place in the world. You could be planting flowers or picking berries, or heaven forbid banished to the world of mud beyond these walls left to wallow with the filth.”

  Evelyn had only heard stories of the world beyond the city of splendor. A world without the order of the city, without the protection and abundance of life provided by the gods. Without their watchful eyes, an unclean world where nothing is given exists in unthinkable and ineffable chaos. Those unfit to live under the order are sent there, to fend for themselves. The people in the city knew no such struggle. It was a world without fear.

  “Those are just bad rumors Thorne, I've never seen anyone actually get banished. There may have been a few who went over the walls wanting to know what lay beyond but none ever returned. Probably because there's nothing outside the walls but a void. After all, what could possibly live outside the light of infinite splendor? Plants couldn't grow, and without plants animals wouldn't exist. Nothing could survive in a lightless world.”

  Lily nodded. “There is only the safety and sanctuary of the city. I couldn't even imagine a world existing without that safety. If there's anything beyond that wall it would be devoid of life and light, a goddess place. Ineffable in its unpleasantness.” Evelyn nodded, they were given their meals and quickly ate before moving on. No payment was given, the concept of money and greed were foreign. Everyone provided for the city, the city provided for everyone. As long as they cared for and respected the city, everything would remain perfect.

  The three talked casually for a bit before separating as Evelyn continued about her day. Eventually her day took her to the outer wall. A massive circle that surrounded the city. She looked around to see the street she was in was currently empty and started stacking things. Curious to see what it looked like over the wall. “Just a peek couldn't hurt, right?” After some effort and climbing she got herself on top of the thick wall and looked over it. There she saw water, like a pond or creek. One that stretched on forever.

  “There isn't even a barren land, just… water. Is this the case for the entire city? Is this the only land in the world or is there something beyond that yawning pond?” Evelyn got down and put the things she borrowed and stacked back where she found them. She saw a shadow in the corner of her eyes, around the corner of the street. Someone saw her look over the wall. She rushed to catch the person, but no one was there. “Just my imagination.” Evelyn said as she put her hand over her chest. She continued on with her day.

  She eventually returned home, to her new husband who was talking with his brother The Architect. The Architect was a diligent individual, one who put everything down to the smallest detail on paper before anything even started being made. He checked, double checked, triple checked, and sometimes more finding every last potential flaw in a design before making it real. His brother, on the other hand, put little thought into creation, if any. He would plant trees and flowers willy nilly with zero thoughts to soil conditions or relative placement.

  Two flowers can't be next to one another without their roots strangling each other till one dies? The brother wouldn't even know enough to think about that. He loves creating, just as much as The Architect, but doesn't want to be anchored or burdened by thinking of anything other than the aesthetic of the end result once it's finished. One brother a perfectionist, the other a carefree spirit. Evelyn was somewhat glad to be with the more carefree of the two. If she had been given the choice between them she would have still married the brother.

  After finishing up an argument over the brother letting his creative side flow without thought The Architect left. Evelyn greeted her new husband after the Architect was gone. “I find it interesting that the only imperfection and not good thing in all this city is the relationship you have with your brother and your arguments.” The Brother sighed. “My brother is… slightly cumbersome at times. He overthinks everything and can't just be in the moment. It's why this paradise even exists. Because my perfectionist brother is overbearing. His obsessive compulsive drive for absolute order will drive him mad if it hasn't already. The only way to truly eliminate chaos would be to have full control. Then there would be no free will.”

  Evelyn tilted her head in confusion. “We have plenty of free will. Granted there's little to do other than tend gardens and harvest crops. This city has been in a state of peace for so long. Other than chaos, all words for things outside this blissful order have been lost to time. We want for nothing, need for nothing. There are no burdens outside the ones we choose. No struggle. Your brother created a perfect world. I don't see why he can't relax and enjoy it like everyone else.”

  The brother shook his head. “My brother can't help but see the smallest flaws like cracks in a vase. But rather than patch them he'd rather build an entirely new vase and remove any sign of a past imperfection. The things he's done to create this paradise…” The brother looks to a shelf with several decorative cases he himself made and painted, with one ornate jewelry box in the shape of a golden apple sitting among them.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  The brother looked back at Evelyn. “You weren't around before he built this place, so you aren't burdened with the memory of what came before, because the things that once plagued the world weren't simply forgotten. He erased them for the people of the city, sealed away even the memory of the things that once were. All of the not-good.” Evelyn wasn't sure why her husband was telling her this. How the paradise was created didn't really matter. All that mattered was the fact everyone was happy.

  “From what I can tell the world is great this way. I couldn't imagine one where people were unhappy. Maybe we're better off without those things.” Her husband scowled lightly. “We left behind another world, one that moved on without us. Beyond the seemingly endless expanse of water there's a primitive people who've yet to gain the gift of knowledge. They are not privy to our Utopia. They couldn't even begin to grasp the most basic of concepts, children left to play in the mud. My brother could elevate them, but he sees them as too flawed to fix. He ignores the world beyond the wall and pretends it's not there because he knows he could never reinforce his idea of perfection on that scale.”

  Evelyn shrugged. “Children grow.” Her husband nodded in agreement. She spent the rest of her day casually with her new husband. Her eyes were occasionally drawn to the new jewelry box on the shelf wondering why such an ornate and symmetrical thing was sitting among the asymmetry of her husband's imperfect creations. A gift from his brother perhaps. It was the only explanation she could think of, even if it was strange considering how often the two fight.

  Evelyn chose not to ask, she had been curious enough for the day and turned in for the night. However, as night fell, she couldn't help but have this strange feeling. If asked to describe it she would be unable to find the words. It was less like she was experiencing something and more like she was experiencing an absence. The lack of something she could not name. Perhaps it was because of the talk she had with her husband, his confession to things being removed by his brother.

  Evelyn pushed it from her mind, smiled at her husband, and gave him a gentle kiss before going to bed. The next morning her husband gifted her a small necklace with what looked like a jet on it. Her life continued as normal outside of that. The same routines for several days. Nothing really changed, nothing developed. The only difference was now she was aware of absences. Little lack of somethings she'd notice from time to time.

  Then one day on her way home after going for her daily walk she saw a woman she didn't recognize standing outside her house. “May I help you, stranger?” The woman jumped slightly and turned around. After doing so she made a perplexed expression, then smiled at Evelyn. Her emerald colored eyes seemed to sparkle as she smiled. “Ah, lovely day to you.” Evelyn then noticed the woman was holding the golden apple shaped jewelry box. “Did you… walk into my husband's home uninvited and take that?”

  The woman looked at the box, then the house. “Well this was my home too, once upon a time. I was once paired with your husband but we were not a good fit.” Evelyn almost felt something, another forgotten feeling robbed from her before she could feel it. Another absence of something for which she had no name. “Well even if that is the case that box is my husband’s, a gift from his brother I think. Made by The Architect. I suggest you return it.” The woman handed the box to Evelyn willingly. “I was just curious, you know. It was made by The Architect, so whatever is inside must be wondrous. However, it's locked and I can't open it anyway.”

  Evelyn eyed the ornate jewelry box that was now in her hand, the keyhole had a shape and size that matches up with the key her husband gave her. The emerald eyed woman then spoke again, this time there was a strange time to her voice. “Aren't you just dying to know what's inside too~?” Evelyn stared at it for a moment but eventually shook her head. “I'll kindly ask you to leave and not return.” She then went inside the building to find it empty. Unsurprising considering she doubted her husband would have let the woman just leave like that.

  Evelyn placed the box back on its shelf, but she couldn't take her eyes off it. It was almost like it was calling to her, begging to be opened. Almost as if her opening the box would answer every burning question she's ever had. The woman's voice echoed in Evelyn's mind. “Don't you want to know what's inside?~” She tightly closed her eyes and looked away before forcefully walking away. Her husband saw her looking at it one day and told her under no circumstances was she to open it, and that he gave her the key because he could no longer trust himself. She did her best to ignore the box from that day but from then on it was almost as if it was mocking her.

  Eventually Evelyn couldn't take it anymore, she took her key to the box and hovered over the keyhole. Her hand shaking as she tried her best to continue to resist the urge to open it. Her curiosity finally got the better of her and he opened the ornate jewelry box shaped like an apple. Inside there was a singular gemstone. Large, black, and perfectly cut. At first Evelyn felt disappointed, but then she noticed movement inside the large gemstone. Like swirling black ink forming a whirlpool inside the cut stone.

  Evelyn’s hand slowly reached for it, seeing the faintest glow from inside the whirlpool as she did so, and lightly tapped the surface with her finger. The gemstone cracked and black ink-like clouds started pouring out the cracks as they progressively got bigger and eventually like shattered glass the gemstone broke letting all the blackness out. Evelyn closed it fast, keeping the light that was in the center inside the box and locking it back up. She went outside to see the sky become overcast before the clouds sorted in a nice swirling circle in the sky letting the sun through.

  The sun wasn't the sun anymore, but rather a blood red eclipse ring turning day into night as the moon became a blood red circle on the other side of the sky reflecting the blood halo sun. Her husband who was just getting home looked at her. “What did you do?!” Evelyn put her hands to her head. “I don't know, I couldn't help myself. What was in there?” Her husband responded. “That box was the jail for all the evils that once were, and the hope we no longer needed.” Evelyn looked around at the sky frantically, figuring hope was that light. “Well I closed the box before the light got out, keeping hope safe.”

  Her husband grabbed her hand and started running. “We need to evacuate, now.” Swirling bits of black seemed to taste into the sky and open up to another place, a place of monsters and horrors beyond imagination. They started entering through and teaching the people of the city the things they had forgotten. Fear, hatred, jealousy, illness, death. Waves started to rock the city, getting bigger and bigger. Fires started in different places, set by monsters, people in a panic, or intentionally after the people who've never known anger now gain access to it.

  Evelyn dropped the jewelry box in the panic to evacuate, and some who had just learned the meaning of greed snatched her necklace in the chaos. As people desperately packed into boats leaving the city many were killed by monsters, other people, or simply sank along with the city. Evelyn, her husband, and The Architect all got into a single boat together. After several days of choppy waters the sea calmed down but the sky remained darkened. Another few days and the boat made landfall.

  At the shore were strange looking people, their bodies covered in a lot more hair than the people she was familiar with. Barely able to stand upright they looked to the sky and pointed. “Savage primitives.” The Architect spit. The brother put a hand on his shoulders. “We live in their world now, we must share in their struggle. So we might as well share our gift.” The Architect rolled his eyes as he grabbed a few things from the boat and lit a torch, showing the people how it was done. The Architect gifted the mud people the gift of fire. With that fire came knowledge. With no choice but to live among them The Architect and his people started helping the mud-men learn how to create.

  In exchange the mud-people taught the people of the city how to hunt and gather, how to fend for themselves in the mud-world they now had to inhabit. A world that now, thanks to The Architect and his prison, thanks to Evelyn and her curiosity, was now filled with actual monsters. The negative emotions once forgotten, now made flesh and manifest. As time passed some of those that lived in the city paired up with mud-people, much to the shagrin of The Architect. In time there would be no separation and humanity was forever changed in multiple ways.

  After two thousand years in darkness; long after Evelyn and her husband had passed, long after her children's children, and their children’s children faded from memory and history, the sun eventually rose again in all its glory. The story of the city is nothing more than a myth now, changed and altered and split into different cultures as humanity grew and continued to change. Even as the monsters and mankind mixed, the world was still plagued by the mistakes and hubris of the people of the city that once was. The city most commonly known by the people of today, as Atlantis.