God was sitting beside the lake while Gabriel was lying next to Her in the grass. The angel was lying on her back looking at the sky, cumulus hanging motionless in the air above her head. A bit further down the river, Adam was fishing with Nathan, a befriended neighbour. Every now and then God and Her companion could hear them scream when they had caught another fish.
"It sounds like they have become quite good at it." God said. "They have to thank Eve for it." God raised an eyebrow.
"A couple of days ago Eve told Adam that she had wanted to have fish for dinner. Adam has learnt by experience that if Eve wants something now she is pregnant, he better not start an argument with her." God smiled, normally Eve was already a fierce person, but a pregnant Eve was a force to be reckoned with.
Adam was standing up to his knees in the water, trying to catch some fish with his bare hands while Eve was watching. But every time he caught one, it slipped right out of his hands. Poor Adam became pretty annoyed by it. The fact that Eve was holding her belly from laughter did nothing to improve his mood. In the end, Adam was so determined to keep one that he kept grabbing for the wiggling fish till he lost his balance and fell face forward in the water.
Eve had fallen backwards, howling with laughter, When Adam got up and looked at his wife he had a demonic look in his eyes. He stepped right up to Eve and took her in his arms so Eve got soaked too. Eve was squealing. Then she told Adam he could quit trying to catch a fish if he would get her some milk. Then she would be satisfied if they only had fruit and vegetables for dinner. Adam had rolled his eyes at her. But actually he looked pleased to be able to get away from the daunting task. He never got the hang of it like his friend
Nathan had.
The next day when Adam came back from herding the sheep, he found Eve near the river. Three fish were lying on the ground beside her. Eve showed Adam something she had made that day. She had knotted a couple of nets in such a fashion that fish couldn't swim through the holes in it. Then she had attached it to a stick. Fishing net she called it. Eve showed Adam how it worked. She put the net into the water and waited till a fish swam very close to it. Then with a sudden movement of her wrists, she caught the fish in it, and flipped it out of the water. Adam became enthusiastic and asked her if he could try it. After a couple of attempts he got the hang of it. Before he knew it they had eight fish lying next to them.
Eve asked Adam if he didn't think it was enough. But Adam told her he thought it would be nice to surprise their neighbours for once. They had helped them so much that he wanted to do something in return, and preparing them a nice meal would be a welcome surprise for them. He thought that maybe Eve could make more of the fishing nets to give them as presents. Eve told him that preparing them a nice meal would be enough of a reward for them. There would be enough occasions in the future where they could be good neighbours and help the others in return. These nets were too precious to give away. She could exchange one of them for a new dress. The two she had were becoming too tight. She wanted to ask Muriel if she could make her a new one with some of those decorative stones sewed into it. Eve hated making clothes herself, she lacked the patience and skill. Adam cuddled his wife.
"How clever of you. Maybe you can make one for Nathan too. I could exchange it for one of his knives. It would be so much better than using a sharp stone for skinning an animal."
"Eve told me then that maybe she could think of more tools to come up with to make their hard existence a bit easier." God smiled after hearing Gabriel's story. "They are very inventive, these humans. And why do I have the feeling Eve and Adam still are your favourites?"
"Maybe because they are the real Innocents here. I can't forget the images of that day when we returned. All those slaughtered angels lying around. It still keeps me reeling. How You could let them get away with it so easily still keeps me wondering?" "Would you rather have Me giving up on their souls that easy? What purpose would that have served? And besides, I promised them that if they turned in their leaders, I would be merciful."
Gabrielle sat straight up. "You still owe me an explanation for what happened to the celestial bodies of Lucifer and his accomplice."
"Lucifer was too powerful to take away his celestial body, but I added something to it. Most of his body is made of red phosphor. Where he is now, his body is kept from the light and oxygen. But if he comes to the surface the red phosphor will turn to white, and the light of the sun combined with oxygen will make him start to burn. The longer he stays on the surface, the hotter he will burn, the worse his pain will be. So coming to the surface will not be a wise thing for him to do. His accomplices have lost their celestial bodies; I have replaced them by black phosphor. The chance that they will burn up if they ever manage to break free from where I have sent them is great. So I don't think they will bother us themselves."
"And those demons that occasionally turn up threatening heaven?"
"Creations from Lucifer. But inferior creatures. Bad, of course, because he feeds them with his spirit. But when he creates them he becomes very weak. He may have some powers, but if you want to compare his powers to Mine you have to think like this: His power is like that of the little sun that your precious planet revolves around. Very powerful and a great force to consider in the lives of humans. But Mine is like all the stars in the universe, all those stars together, and then a hundred times more powerful."
Gabriel looked at God and shivered. She could not imagine how big a force She had to be. And how She would look if She was in her natural form. "Why do you choose to be in this form then, if it makes you weaker? And what was the meaning of that kiss?"
God had feared this question the most. How could She explain it without scaring her golden angel away? So She looked away from Gabriel, looking for a way that she could stall the answer.
And then a miracle happened! They were interrupted by a loud scream. Gabriel turned pale.
"What was that?" "I have no idea, but it seems to come from the site of Eve and Adam's camp." They both hurried to the spot where the tent of the human couple was stationed. The closer they came, the louder the screams seemed to become. In the tent they saw Eve lying on the bed. Muriel was kneeling between her legs. Something that looked like a ball was coming out of her vagina.
"Get it out, oh God get it out of me!" Eve's body spasmed. The veins in her neck stood out. The head came out a bit further. "Come on Eve, push a bit more! The head is almost there."
Adam who was holding Eve's hand felt himself suddenly pulled down so his face was close to that of Eve's. "You bastard! After this is over I am going to cut your balls off with that knife you got from Nathan. No way am I going to let something like this ever happen again." Adam turned pale. "She can't mean that, can she?"
"I don't know!" God said. "This is the first time someone has given birth. There seems to be a flaw in the design of the body that makes it a painful happening. So who knows what she may do to never have to go through it again?"
Adam looked at Gabriel, alarmed, as if she could do or say something to reassure him. But before he could panic, another ache went through Eve, and she pinched Adam's hand so hard that she nearly broke his bones. Adam screamed along. Who would have guessed that his wife had such strength in her hands? The head of the baby came fully out. Muriel grabbed it and pulled. The rest of the body came out smoothly. A cord still attached the child to its mom's body.
"It is a boy! But how do we get rid of the cord?" Muriel asked.
"Well Adam, it seems that you can use your new knife for something else than what your wife suggested." God said with a wink. Adam gave Her a weak smile. Then he took his knife and cut the cord. After a tap on the buttocks from Muriel the child started to cry, filling his lungs with air. Then Gabriel took the baby. "I better clean him first. I never could have guessed that giving birth would be such a bloody mess." While she said that she gave God a very stern look.
"Oh come on Gabriel, how was I supposed to know that it would also be needed to squeeze a child through it? And even if I could have known it, how could I have foreseen it would be that big?" Gabriel pinched her eyes. God thought it was a sign that She better keep Her mouth shut on the subject. "Stubborn creature. Maybe I should let her create some new forms of life. Let's see what she will overlook. Maybe then she won't bug Me anymore about My little mistakes." God muttered after Gabriel had stepped firmly out of the tent.
Then Eve started to scream very loudly. Muriel looked at God from between Eve's legs. "I don't know what is wrong, but it seems that this one isn't able to come out." "Let Me take a look!" God knelt between Eve's legs and put Her hands on the woman's belly.
"The child is in the wrong position in the womb. It needs to be turned so the head will be downward toward the opening." God pushed with Her hands on Eve's belly, pushing the coccyx up and the head down so it pointed at the opening. Behind Her, Gabriel entered the tent with the washed kid in a clean cloth. She watched what was happening.
"The baby is now lying in the right position. Come on Eve, push!"
Another contraction came up after God had said that. The head of the baby appeared after a few contractions. "The baby looks blue" Muriel remarked. God took a closer look. "It looks like the navel-string is tied around the neck." God cut the navel-string and pulled the baby out very fast. Then She puffed some little breaths of air into the baby's mouth. Soon the kid had a normal colour. God held the child up in awe. It was amazing! Everything was there. Tiny fingers, tiny toes, and the cutest of all, a tiny nose. Suddenly Gabriel was standing beside Her, squeezing Her arm lightly and looking up at Her with a beaming smile.
"I don't know what I did to change her mood for the better, but I better not say a thing and kill it." God thought as Gabriel leaned into Her. After a few minutes Gabriel took the boy from God to clean him, too.
Adam in the meantime was beaming from ear to ear. He held his first born in his arms and felt his chest swell, tears in his eyes. He had never expected he could love anyone else more than Eve. Now he knew he had been wrong. No matter how much he loved Eve, it paled in comparison to the love he felt for this kid. Maybe it had also to do with the fact that it looked so small and vulnerable. It brought out his protective side. For the first time in his life he felt what it was to be needed. With Eve he didn't have that feeling. She looked so strong. Even now after such hard labour, all sweaty and tired, having lost all that blood, she sat straight up to take over their second kid from Gabriel. She looked radiant holding him.
"What are you going to name them?" Gabriel asked. Adam looked at Eve who was looking as embarrassed as he felt. They had never thought of giving names to their kids. Eve looked at Adam. "Why don't you give a name to him, then I will come up with a name for this one." Adam looked at the kid's face, supporting his head with his left hand. "I name this child Cain, which means acquire, because he has taken my heart." Gabriel nodded, very pleased with Adam's choice. "This one shall be named Abel, which means breath! because he needed a breath to come to live."
God felt very pleased with that name. It would be a nice reminder of the fact that God had brought this one into the world, with Her bare hands.
The next day a lot of neighbours came by to welcome the newborns into the world. Adam had slaughtered his best sheep and roasted it on a fire. Nathan had helped to catch fish, and Muriel prepared bread and vegetables. Eve was served the liver. Gabriel told Adam that it was good to restore the blood in her body. Other neighbours brought fruit and nuts with them. Some brought instruments with them. It was a great party, filled with music, stories and laughter. God and Gabriel also came by for a while and joined in the fun.
Cain and Abel grew up to be each other's complete opposites. Abel was cheerful and extrovert, always joking around, charming the people around him. Most people had to smile when they only saw him.
Cain was an introvert. A quiet boy who always seemed to be brooding about everything. A serious boy who explored the world around him. And the older he became, the more interested he seemed to be in animals instead of humans.
As a kid he lay in the grass, studying ants for hours, or he climbed into trees to study predators hunt their prey from a distance. The only thing he really liked to do with other humans was to fish. Mostly with his dad, standing beside the water for hours, catching fish, comparing their lengths of their catch, and then putting them back in the water. The biggest catches were brought home for dinner. Cain enjoyed the peaceful silence that hung between him and his dad on such occasions.
As a little boy he followed his father around, learning how to take care of the herd of sheep his father owned. And in spring, when the lambs were born, he would always take care of the newborn lambs. Rubbing them dry, giving them milk if the animals were weak, or their mothers refused to feed them. It made him very proud if the lambs survived.
As an eight year old boy he saved two wolf cubs from death when shepherds had killed their mom. First his dad didn't want to hear anything about it. But Cain begged Adam to spare them, promising that if they ever killed any sheep, Cain would kill them himself. Adam, who had trouble refusing his son anything, gave in.
Most people kept a careful eye on the animals, but soon even the biggest sceptic had to admit that the animals were enrichment. They were intelligent and loyal animals, learning all kind of tricks, helping with the hunt. What astonished people the most was the fact that the animals helped the boy with keeping the herd. The boy had used his flute to teach the wolves how to respond to commands by different melodies. Adam was very proud of the ingenuity of his son.
Abel was the apple of his mom's eye. But also the favourite of God and Gabriel. From when he was a kid, he imitated his mom in everything. As a four year old he was fascinated when his mom put little seeds in the ground and a couple of weeks later the first plants greeted the sunlight. It didn't take long for him to plant some seeds himself. When the first signs of his labour became visible he called his mom. When Eve came to see why Abel was calling her she found the boy standing in front of the piece of ground that he was allowed to use for his vegetables. Coming close by, the boy stepped aside to show her his first results, beaming from ear to ear.
God and Gabriel were watching the scene from a small distance. "Isn't he cute? Look at how proud he is for having achieved that!" "Indeed, but I think it is endearing how he tries to imitate his mom. If Eve grabs her back after a day of hard labour on the field, he puts his arm on his back and acts as if he has difficulty to get up himself."
They both laughed. "Yes, and he hates to make clothes and jewellery as much as his mom does. And when it comes to getting meat and fish, he'd rather leave that to his father and brother. He can't stand blood."
When Abel got his first harvest he offered God and Gabriel some. They both took a small amount and tapped his head. Pleased, Abel walked back to his mom. Eve laughed, her son was a very generous kid.
Cain had watched the scene of the offering and became mad. He once had offered God a fish that he just had caught. She had seemed to freeze and refused to take it. She said he could better use it for his family. Cain remembered how disappointed he was after that rejection. And now She easily accepted Abel's offering. Gabriel saw Cain looking at them with an angry expression on his face. She remembered that same scene, so she thought she knew what he was thinking of. Gabriel also knew the reason God had refused the offering. God didn't want to eat any of the living creatures. She didn't need the meat, so She saw no reason for anyone to kill a creature on Her behalf. Gabriel thought that maybe she better talk to Cain about it someday.
Before she could give it a second thought, Abel pulled her robe. In his hand he held a lime that he offered to her. It was the first lime that had grown in their garden. A couple of years ago Eve had planted a lime tree, and this year it had carried its first fruits. Gabriel took the offering, touched by the young boy's gesture. Life was very hard for the people. There were times they had to live on stored food, and sometimes there was hardly enough to stay alive on. So being offered food by these creatures was something she highly appreciated. She gave the boy her sweetest smile. In return the boy smiled so wide she was afraid he would swallow his ears. Dimples appeared in his cheeks. Gabrielle chuckled. The kid was so easy to please.
Cain slipped outside. Angrily he kicked against a stone. It always went like this, every time Abel was in his proximity everyone seemed to forget that he even existed. He took his flute and played a tune. The wolves appeared at his side. He decided he better take the sheep to a valley nearby, nobody would miss him anyway. At least there he could play on his flute without disturbing anyone. He would catch some fish for dinner in the river that ran through it and play with the wolves.
Gabriel looked up from Abel. She looked around. Cain was nowhere to be seen. "What a pity." She thought. "That talk has to wait for another time." "What are you searching for?" "Cain. There was something I wanted to tell him." "It looks like the boy is withdrawing himself more and more from the others." "Yes, I think people are blinded by the light of Abel. They don't really look at the boy. And if they do, they always compare him with Abel. People say he is a moody boy, but if they took the time to talk to him they might be surprised by what a wonderful kid he really is. If he tells stories about the animals they really come to life, he has studied them very closely and he knows a lot of their behaviour." "Yes, it is strange that he is becoming the shepherd. He loves his animals very much, but in the end he knows he has to kill them." "Yes, but because he loves them he makes sure they have a good life first."
God looked at Gabriel, amazed. She was surprised by the inside view the angel seemed to have on the behaviour and motives of the humans. Moved, God stroke a lock of hair behind Gabriel's ear. "You have an amazing and wonderful soul." Gabrielle blushed. She should have been used to it by now, but every time God paid her a compliment she became very shy.
The boys grew up to become young men, both following the path that was already set in their childhood. Cain became the shepherd while Abel worked the field. The older they became, the bigger the differences between the two of them seemed to become.
Cain was spending more and more time with the animals in the field. The only time he really spent with others was during fishing. Time spent in silence. It was clear to the other humans that he'd rather spend his time among the animals. Gabriel had tried to approach him a couple of times, but beside some polite answers the boy hardly said a word to her. Finally, she gave up trying to get him to speak.
Occasionally Cain played his on his flute at gatherings. Most people were made uncomfortable by the melancholy tunes. Strangely enough, the only one that really appreciated it was Abel. It moved him, but the sadness in the music made him feel hurt for his brother.
As little boys they played a lot together, swimming in the river, trying to catch fish with their bare hands and shooting fruit from trees with a slingshot. Sometimes they held wrestling matches. Abel stopped wrestling his brother after it became clear that in time their matches had become nastier. Abel didn't know when or how, but it seemed that Cain was using the wrestling games as a way to take things out on him. After a couple of very rough matches in which Cain really did hurt him, Abel told his brother that he didn't like the game anymore, so he better find someone else to play with. Angry, Cain had stormed off. The few words that they normally spoke to each other had become even less.
The music that Cain played on his flute revealed a very lonely soul. Abel regretted it, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it. A lot of that loneliness was formed by Cain's own choices. And he and his brother had become strangers to one another over the years.
Cain was with his herd. He was also pondering about the changes he and Abel had gone through. How as a kid everybody had been charmed by Abel. The golden kid they named him. Cain remembered how people had spoken about his brother and him in his presence as if he wasn't even there. Probably they hadn't noticed him, it felt like they never did. And if they did, they always seemed to compare him with his brother. The odd kid they named him. The one who would rather play with his wolves than with other kids. Brooding, stubborn and grumpy were a few of the words they used to describe him. When people talked like that Cain always tried to make himself invisible. He slipped away the moment he thought nobody would notice it, looking for a silent place where he could play his flute, as he had done now. He thought about the sorrowful expression he had seen on Abel's face. He felt sorry too, for what they had become to one another. Still, Cain couldn't help it. The way everybody acted toward Abel was a constant reminder of all Cain's shortcomings. He envied his brother for his easy skills in acting around other people. His friendly smiles and kind words, how he could easily wrap an arm around someone, while Cain froze when another person touched him. Cain sighed, he would never be like that.
Yesterday Abel had given a party to offer God some of his first harvest. It was a good harvest, and Abel had felt the need to show God his gratitude for the creation of all of it. He had offered Her some of his best fruit and vegetables. God had accepted it in grace.
Then Cain had heard some of his neighbours speak about how it seemed that Abel had been blessed by God from his very birth by being given the breath of life from God Herself. Cain was thinking this over. Maybe he should try to get a blessing from God too. Maybe his luck would change. Cain was sick of being the outsider, always looking in.
Looking at his lambs, Cain picked one out that he thought was the weakest. Cain would slaughter and prepare it to offer to God. There was no use killing a good animal if it was only meant to be eaten, something he had picked up from the wolves. They almost always seemed to pick the weakest animals to hunt. And God wouldn't notice the difference. He took the lamb with him to the outside of the field. There he killed it, skinned the body and took out the organs to feed to his wolves. Then he rubbed the inside of the lamb with oil, salt and herbs. He roasted the animal above a small fire.
At the beginning of the evening, Cain carried the roasted lamb into the tent of his parents. God was sitting there with the golden angel at Her side. Cain walked up to God, knelt on the floor in front of Her and offered Her the lamb by lifting the plate he had put it on.
"I offer you the fruit of my labour. Will you please accept it?"
God stiffened. What was lying on the plate She would have not described as fruit. "Dear Cain, I am sorry, but I can not accept your offer myself. However, it would please me if you offer this lamb to your family and neighbours to eat." Cain turned pale. Wasn't his offering could enough for God to eat? Angry, he rose from the floor and stormed outside. There he threw the lamb into the fire. "If my offering isn't good enough for God to eat, then I don't think it will be good enough for my neighbours either." Then he ran off to the field where he had left his sheep and wolves behind.
Abel, who had seen the scene unfold, followed his brother into the field. There he grabbed Cain by his arm. Angry, Cain swung around and pushed Abel away. "Don't you touch me! Go back to your precious God and kiss Her ass some more." Abel was angry at the hard push Cain had given him. He grabbed Cain by his arm again. This time Cain punched Abel in his face. "I told you not to touch me!" Abel shook his head. He was a bit stunned by the blow he had received from his brother. He felt something leaking from his nose, he wiped it with his hand. It was blood. At the sight of it, he became angry at Cain. He had only wanted to help his brother. And this was the result of it?
Furious, Abel threw himself at his brother. He had only gone after Cain trying to help his brother. He wanted to explain to Cain that God had refused his offer because She didn't want to eat living creatures. And now that stubborn fool was hitting him. Punches flew between the two. Cain however, had years of anger built up inside him, and it all came out. As if in a trance, he kept hitting Abel over and over again, till Abel was lying on the ground without any movement.
"Get up! Get up you coward and fight some more!" Cain walked up to Abel and kicked his leg. Still no movement. Cain knelt beside Abel and lifted his head. Cain was shocked. He knew that look. He had seen it often after he had slaughtered one of his animals. "Oh my God, oh God!" Cain took Abel's body in his arms and cradled it. "Please God, bring him back to life!" He rocked the body of his brother while tears were running down his face.
God was sitting near the fire when she heard Cain calling for Her.
She got up and touched Gabriel's arm. The angel looked up and saw the worried look upon God's face. They said their goodbyes to the family and left. Gabriel followed God into the field where Cain normally kept his sheep.
Cain heard someone approaching and panicked. He had killed his brother. Cain jumped up and dragged his brother's body behind a bush. There he hastily covered it with leaves. "Cain, where are you?" He heard God call for him. He stepped from beneath the bushes and looked at God avoiding Her eyes. "I am here."
God looked at Cain and saw his crumpled outfit, the blood and bruises on his hands and face. "Where is Abel, Cain?" "How would I know? Am I my brother's keeper?" This alarmed God. The boy had always looked Her straight in the face, and now he was avoiding Her gaze, looking just beside Her head. And even if Cain didn't speak much to Her, he always remained polite.
"What have you done Cain? Why do you refuse to tell me where your brother is?" Gabriel had walked up to him and now she looked in the bushes. She saw what looked like a foot behind it. The angel rushed to the spot. What she found there made her scream.
In the tent, people heard her scream. Eve and Adam rushed out to the field. What they saw there froze the blood in their veins. Gabriel stood there with the limp body of Abel in her arms. Eve rushed toward her. When she saw Abel's face she knew he was dead. With a cry, she threw herself on the dead body.
"Oh my boy, my sweet boy!" Tears were running down her cheeks.
She turned to God. "Bring him back to life!" God shook Her head. "I am sorry Eve, but I can't do it." Eve wanted to say more but Adam grabbed her hand. Then Eve looked at her other son. "You have done this. You killed another person. He was your brother; you even shared my womb together. How could you?" Then she turned to God. "Throw him in that place where you put Lucifer and his followers. God put her hand on Eve's shoulder. "I am sorry Eve, but I can't do that either."
Cain had fallen on his knees, begging his parents for forgiveness. He cried, telling them that he had never expected this to happen. He had never wanted to kill his brother. How could he have known? They fought before, also with some others, but never had anyone died from it.
God looked at Cain and knew it was true. The boy could not have known. Never before had someone killed another human. Fighting was something that humans occasionally did, but never had something this severe happened because of it.
"Cain, get up." God spoke softly to the young man who was almost lying on the ground. "You have done harm to your brother, but you didn't know what you were doing. For that I won't punish you. Never has something like this happened before, so you had no way of knowing what you were doing. Therefore you will be left untouched. So I will give you my protection, if someone wants to harm you, they will see the sign I will put on you and they will refrain from hurting you."
"God may not punish you, but I will. I want you to leave this place and never come back again. You will no longer be my son." With those words, Eve took Abel's body and carried it to the camp. There she washed it and wrapped it in cloths. Adam had wanted to follow his wife but he turned to his son first. "I don't think I will ever be able to forgive what you have done. But you are still my son. Therefore I will not let you leave without any means. You can take half of the herd. You have worked hard enough for it, so I think it is only fair. But I agree with your mom on one thing. You better take your herd, your wolves and your other belongings and leave. I never want to see you again. I will send someone out with the rest of your stuff." Without a word of farewell Adam turned around and followed his wife back to the camp.
God addressed Herself to Cain. "You have lost a lot today, if not everything. But there is a future for you. You will meet someone who will see right through you. Someone who will recognise and understand you." God put Her hand on Cain's head. The sign of remorse was now clearly to be seen on his face. "Don't despair, you will be seen!"
Cain looked up at Her. "That was all I really wanted." God stroke his head. "I know!"
Muriel showed up, carrying a bag with Cain's belongings in it. Without a word she handed it to him. Then she looked at his face. A look of pity appeared on hers. She took the boy in her arms and hugged him. Without a word she let him go. Cain packed up his things. Gabriel hugged the boy to her and gave him a kiss.
"I wish you a wonderful life, that many good things may come on your path."
The young man then took off with his herd and wolves. Tears streamed down his face. The three left behind watched him till he was no longer to be seen.
To Be Continued...