The first one born on Earth

Abel was sure that his brother was simply mistaken. The fact is that his judgments, his thoughts, his perception of reality are just not quite right. Sinful and displeasing to the Lord, just as the father said. That his brother was just jealous of him. He could not accept that God liked his gifts more, that God favored him more, and only because he obeyed his father in everything and had never contradicted his will. Because Adam the oldest in their house, and therefore the wisest. It couldn't have been any other way. That's what Abel thought. But life with the perpetually gloomy, embittered, and resentful was not easy. Cain was always trying to hurt him with words or deeds. He was rude, sarcastic and prone to various kinds of conflicts. The only person he communicated well with was Sif. Only with her, the gloomy Cain was affectionate, cheerful and kind, but he did not seek to marry her, oddly enough. He did not want to follow the Lord's command that people should be fruitful and multiply. He was just wrong, but Sif didn't think so. “Talk to him and you'll see how wrong you are,” the sister said. But it was naturally impossible to talk to Cain. He turned all the words his father had said inside out. In his sick head, the just punishment given to him by his father for poor work or disobedience turned into torture, bullying and indulging his, Abel's, desires. Everything his father called sin was in his head. All the lies that Lucifer himself poured into his parents' ears, offering the fruit of knowledge, somehow inexplicably ended up in his brother's head. “Listen to him. Try to understand what he wants to convey to you,” Sif asked. She said Abel should listen to Cain. He should at least try to understand him before something bad happens. But the only source of problems was Cain himself. It seemed surprising to Abel then that his sister did not understand this. Although Seth had always seemed smart to him, she somehow managed to understand and accept all the utter nonsense and outright heresy that poured out of Cain's mouth and was born in his thoughts. But he was trying to understand his brother. Abel sincerely tried. And it cost him his life. On one of the most ordinary days of all, Cain again quarreled with father over the sacrifice on the altar. Abel remembered this cruel one very well: “Does a moody God like to watch blood flow more?” This was already an extreme, after which my brother received his well-deserved slap in the face as punishment. Yes, the father probably overdid it a little bit and hit his brother too hard, which caused him to bleed. But still, it was a fair punishment for such insolence and blasphemy. — Please repeat what you said to him before that, — Sif asked, methodically washing the wool sheared from the lamb. — What does it matter? ― Abel kicked a small pebble and it fell into the river, startling some small fish lurking at the bottom near the shore. ― Cain doesn't get mad for nothing. What did you tell him? — Sif was calm. Her face hadn't aged a day or gotten a single wrinkle since their childhood, precisely because she rarely expressed her emotions. Even her smile was so light and imperceptible that it did not deform her poor skin, which was constantly hidden by the shadow of the shawl. ― Repeat it verbatim. — Accept it, brother, God just doesn't need your vegetable plate, — the repetition caused Abel a strange feeling of awkwardness. Under the indifferent gaze of his sister's half-closed eyes, the guy became unbearably thirsty, and his blond hair suddenly began to get in the way, getting into his eyes and tickling his neck. He boasted, openly belittled his brother, succumbing to pride. But if he had really stumbled, he would have been punished by his father. Adam never let any of his children get away with their sins. — You know exactly what you said wrong as I see, — Sif was as cold and indifferent as ever. — But I wasn't punished, unlike Cain,― Abel tried to justify himself. ― So I didn't stumble. And he said it right. Cain brought useless vegetables once again, and the Lord did not accept this gift. It was just a statement of fact. ― If Cain's vegetables are so useless, then why do they take up most of our plates during every meal? — Sif asked, slowly and unhurriedly picking out small parasites and dirt floating on the surface of the water. ― If plants are so useless, then why don't your animals eat anything but them? What would we do without Cain's medicinal herbs and what would we make a fire out of if it weren't for the trees from the nearby forest that Cain and I harvest? Sef's words hurt Abel. It seemed that his lambs were needed solely for the sake of sacrifices on the altar for the Lord, and they themselves ate meat, milk and cheese to a minimum. All their clothes were mostly made of cotton and linen from the endless fields of Cain. There was not enough wool from all over the world after processing, and it grew much more slowly than the same flax. — You're just trying to belittle my efforts right now, ― Abel protested. — Just like you belittle your brother's efforts as our father do, — Sif replied sharply.— Think about it and apologize to our older brother. At least because I've just felt how unpleasant it is when your work is not appreciated. It was nonsense. Complete nonsense and heresy, which Sef tried to feed him under the guise of truth, just as Cain did. But what really couldn't be argued with her was the need to apologize. Still, what he said to his brother in front of the altar was really very rude. However, the apologies resulted in a conversation. And in conversation, Cain always gave him very strange and frightening things. This is heresy. — I accept your apologies, ― Cain said calmly. There was something in his eyes, dark brown, almost black, that scared Abel to the point of trembling. In moments of special calmness, my brother seemed to radiate cold, like the winter cold. And even in the middle of the hot summer, he wanted to wrap myself in a blanket. — And I'm not really mad at you. You're not the one who wants to fight. And you're not really indulging in conflicts between us. Abel felt uneasy. He was filled with curiosity and a desire to find out what, in his brother's opinion, was the reason for their constant quarrels. Deep down, of course, he expected that one day Cain would understand everything and tell his own name, but each time these hopes were dashed by the bad character of the first born on Earth. ― And who do you think is guilty? — Abel asked timidly and quietly. ― Father, — Cain's answer was startling. ― But he hardly understands what he's doing either, so I can only blame him for his own stupidity and blindness. — What are you saying? — Abel turned around, afraid that their father would somehow hear them, even though he knew it was impossible. ― You can't talk about our father like that. He's the head of the family! ― And why not? — Cain's tone remained flat and as indifferent as Sif's. His brother was slowly and methodically sharpening a sickle to collect medicinal herbs. Shiny and untouched by rust. This tool seemed new, despite the fact that it had been used for many years. — Wait, though, I'll try to guess. Can't we say that because the Lord has commanded us to love our father and mother unconditionally? But we did not hear this from the Lord himself, but from our father, who supposedly speaks through his mouth. And only he and no one else can hear his voice. Have you ever thought that the words of the Lord are convenient only for our father and only his correctness is always supposedly confirmed? — Supposedly? What do you mean? — Abel felt anger rising in his throat. — Relax, ― Cain snorted. The whetstone cut across the sickle's blade, sending out a shower of bright golden sparks. — You're face has already started to turn red. — Have you come up with a new heresy? There's always something in your head that brings you suffering that makes you angry at everyone around you, — Abel tried not to raise his voice. ― Cain, all your problems are born in your head. Thoughts that tell you to doubt the father and the Lord from the evil one. — But at least I let my own thoughts into my head, and I don't just live by someone else's, — the older brother's gaze was heavy and empty. It was like a night sky with no stars. ― Tell me, do you really think that the father always says what God tells him? Can there be no other options? ― Of course not, — Abel replied confidently, moving closer to his brother. ― After all, otherwise it would be a lie told by the father. And Dad can't lie to us. — What makes you so sure of that? The question stumped Abel. A strange lump rose in my throat, but it wasn't anger, it was fear. A sticky and almost animal fear that made him speechless and even unable to breathe. However, of the two of them, only he was afraid of sinful thoughts and outright heresy, while Cain was not afraid of such things. His brother didn't seem to be afraid of anything. Not even death. — He's our father, ― Abel managed to say. — Why would he lie? ― To keep order the way he sees it, ― Cain's reply made Abel feel a little dizzy. He completely stopped understanding his brother's logic and just continued to listen to what was being said to him in silence. A slow explanation from Cain, who clearly noticed that his words were not understood and continued with a tired sigh, putting down the sickle and whetstone. ― It's easier to control us if we quarrel with each other. Paradoxical as it may sound, it is beneficial for our father to have a white crow in my face in the family in order to punish from time to time and scare everyone else with it. You know that yourself. You see how I'm constantly getting punished, and you're being quiet and obedient yourself, doing everything your father tells you. You do everything for not to be in my place. If he didn't need me as a bad example, he would have left a long time ago. To be honest, that's exactly what I've been wanting to do for a long time, but it's my father who won't let me go. Surprisingly, if I try to go too far, he immediately brings me back and punishes me for trying to shirk my job. And then, during another sacrifice, he talks about how my work is useless, although he could let me go if I'm not needed. Don't you see a contradiction here? Abel felt dizzy. There was nothing much to object to him except to keep saying that his father knew how to live better for them. That the father is wiser and that it is he who dictates the will of God to the whole family. But how can Abel resolve the contradiction that Cain voiced? How can he justify the father and the Lord? How to explain this strange discrepancy? Surely both the father and God could not have been mistaken at the same time? Could the father have misinterpreted the Lord's words? And if he could, where else did he misunderstand the word of God? Aren't the very thoughts that the father might have been wrong heresy? — Abel, — brother's voice, steady and calm, brought him out of his anxious thoughts. ― Tell me, do you see a problem in me? ― Yes, ― the guy nodded. A strand of blond hair fell over his forehead, reminding him once again how similar he and his brother were in appearance and how different they were in everything else. — Then I have a suggestion. You will help me leave here, I will never appear next to my father again and I will not embarrass either his mother or our brothers and sisters with my presence. And I will give you a chance to personally talk to the Lord and find out from him whether Adam correctly conveyed his words to us, — a smile appeared on my brother's lips. — What do you say to that?

***

It was worth guessing that Cain would send him from the sacrificial altar with his throat cut to talk to the Lord, but during his lifetime he was stupid and naive, which he was ready to admit boldly after many years spent in paradise. However, the elder brother did not lie, and then he managed to talk to the Lord. It didn't take long, and the creator refused to answer his questions anyway, but the fact itself... Cain wasn't lying, and that already made me think about a lot. The centuries passed slowly. There were more and more inhabitants of paradise, and soon not only brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren appeared among them, but Adam himself. After years without his presence, Abel managed to forget about how oppressive and authoritative his figure was for him personally. But now he understood Seth and Cain a little better than when he was alive. ― I wonder why Cain is still missing? — Abel asked Sif one day, while she was pruning roses in the garden that Seraph had allowed her to set up far from the main buildings. — Did he go to Hell? I'm not mad at him anymore. I don't consider him a villain or a person who did the wrong thing, I've already told Seraph a thousand times that brother belongs here, but she just shakes her head. No one really explains anything, they just say that I shouldn't bother my own soul with these questions, — Abel put the roses his sister had cut into a neat wicker basket. ― Sif, at least tell me what really happened after my death? — Cain was banished, ― the girl replied shortly. ― He became free. As they've wanted for many years. The answer didn't really reveal anything. He only stated one more simple truth: after what he had done, his brother became free, as he wanted. Calculated everything correctly and not only gave him what he promised, but he also got what he wanted. The perfect deal in which both sides got exactly what they agreed on. In this alone, Cain was even better than Lucifer or Satan himself, who were famous for the art of making deals, but always lied in the end and either did not get what they wanted or deceived those with whom they concluded contracts, if you believe what they say about them. This indirectly proved that the thoughts and actions of the First Man Born on Earth were not guided by the forces of evil, as Abel initially thought. ― And you don't know what happened to him next? — There was a faint hope in the man's soul that everything was fine with his brother. — I've only heard rumors from my eldest Grand daughter, ― Sif sighed, cutting another rose. ― That Cain got along well with the pagans, helped them build Sodom and Gomorrah, but when the cities grew, he got bored with them and went first to the desert to conquer it and laid out a magnificent garden in the middle of the sand for the pagan Pharaoh. And then further north. Conquer icy winds and new peaks. He's never been able to sit still, and I only know about him from hearsay. But he should still be alive. Sera said that the Lord did not want to see him either in heaven or in Hell, but afterwards... How long have you been in contact with God? Did you hear his own voice, not his Right Hand? — I... ― Abel froze. He hadn't heard the eye of God for quite a few years. At some point, from time to time, the Almighty began to transmit His messages through His Right Hand, but then He disappeared altogether. He retired from business in Paradise and seemed to become a recluse. The more souls there were in paradise, the quieter the voice of the Lord became and the louder his Right Hand and Seraph spoke. It didn't happen all at once, but gradually. Unbeknownst to Abel himself. ― I do not know, — the guy muttered. ― I don't remember. ― So He decided after all... ― Sif, lowered her hands, looking at the young, not yet blooming rosebuds. ― I didn't think He would decide. Or at least listen to me. — Sif? ― the guy touched his sister's fragile shoulder with a puzzled voice. Even after death, she remained pale and thin, like a young willow. ― I'll explain later. When the time comes, — the girl replied, taking a basket full of roses from her brother's hands. — In the meantime, help me set the table. Emily's probably waiting for us by now.