The story never made it to the newspapers.
Only a few knew something about what went on that Saturday morning. What actually followed the incident was never made clear. Nobody saw him arrive. Apparently, he was a scruffy looking man wearing nothing but a loincloth, who was suddenly standing in the middle of the crowd. It was only minutes before the start of the major end-of-season sale at the store. One moment he wasn’t there and the next, he was! Those immediately around him were visibly shocked, and despite their being part of the crush, they slowly backed away. He was soon standing alone in the centre of the shoppers, with all eyes on him. The doorman, who had been responsible for giving the signal for the department store to open, made his way through to the stranger. That’s how it began.
A short time after he found himself sitting in an interview room at the local police station. Someone had found an old lab coat for him and given him a cup of tea. The officer interviewing him had struggled to get any sense out of the man at first, it was as though he was finding it hard to express himself. The policeman persisted with his questioning.
“You say your name is Adam and you can’t give me your address. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you come from, when you appeared I mean, out there in the crowd this morning?”
The man sat more upright, as though he was remembering something. “I come from the garden,” he said. “I have returned because I am responsible.”
The policeman nodded. “Responsible for what?”
“For all this!” He wave his hand around. “I am responsible for the way things are. You have so many troubles here. I was disobedient and this is the result.”
The interviewer made more notes. “By all this, what do you mean?”
“The world, your world now, cluttered with wars and famine and disease.” He wiped tears away with his sleeve. “I disobeyed and brought all this about.”
The policeman got up and left the room.
He would need to make a report…