In Exile (Archangel Jarahmael and the War to Conquer Heaven, Book III)

by John J Higgins

  Borea on the other hand felt left out and was hurt that the contest was just about Gaela. No one was in a contest for her affections. She was used to Gaela getting most of the boys’ attention and never showed her feelings, because she wanted the best for her sister Gaela. And Borea felt even worse that Abel was involved in the contest because she was in love with him and was just waiting for him to notice her more.

  The next day Cain and Abel went to the fields. As promised by the elderly raven-hooded Simian, Cain had two rows of the most luscious fruit that had grown overnight. He went and took Abel from his herd to show him as well as his parents, Adam and Eve. He also brought Enoch to his fields, even though it was usually difficult to drag Enoch from his writings. Everyone was amazed at this new fruit and impressed with Cain for having been able to raise such a great crop.

  The pressure was now on Abel to bring some of his bounty to the table for that evening’s dinner. Enoch could see that Abel was troubled over this contest, and recalled how Abel tried to get himself out of it from the night before.

  “You seem troubled, Abel, about this contest. Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Not really, Enoch. I did not want to be part of this contest at all. For me to compete I would have to slaughter my favorite lamb over there.” Tears rolled down his face while he pointed at a small yearling ram that was running among the ewes, and frolicking around in the field. “It pains me to think of killing that poor happy creature just so we can eat a meal and have a contest.”

  Enoch watched the small but chubby black-faced creature covered in a blanket of soft wool springing almost straight up in the air as it played with other lambs. “I see how that would pain you, my brother. And that lamb is the best of your herd?”

  “Yes, it is. And the rules of this contest are to provide the best of my herd to compete with Cain’s fruit. And if I don’t win the contest I will lose any chance of being with Gaela. And to make it worse, this is Gaela and Borea’s favorite lamb too. The two of them join me every day to play with it. The ram is so full of love and life. If I sacrifice the lamb and win the contest, she will hate me for killing the creature, for I know I will hate myself as well for being so cruel!”

  Enoch had tears rolling down his face too and the two brothers walked over to the lamb and began petting it.

  “What do you want to do then, Abel?” Enoch asked. “Honestly I can’t see you killing this creature. Let us think on this for a while.”

  Around midday Gaela and Borea came to play with the lamb and neither Abel nor Enoch gave any hint of the decision that they were struggling with in their minds and heart. After the two young women were called away by Cain so he could show them his new fruit, the two young men continued to pet and comb the lamb’s wool when Abel came up with an idea.

  “I cannot kill this creature, there is no way I can bring myself to harm it. Enoch, will you help me hunt a wild boar that we can slaughter for dinner? I will tell them that it is my best lamb.”

  “That sounds like a much better idea to me, Abel. It would be better to lose the contest than forever hate yourself for taking the life of such a sweet creature, and one you, Gaela, and Borea so dearly love.”

  Having made a decision, Abel and Cain went out into the woods, found and slaughtered a wild boar for dinner. They were careful to cut the meat so it resembled a lamb, to make it appear that it was, in fact, the prize ram that was slaughtered. As an additional precaution that they would not be found out for their ruse, they built a small holding area to hide the young ram and a few ewes back in the woods.

  That night Adam and Eve were joined by Gaela and Borea’s parents, Guline and Noriem. Cain brought forth his newly prized fruit, while Abel provided the “lamb.” They were all amazed at this new fruit that Cain had developed and he felt that he was guaranteed winning the contest and as a result, Gaela as his mate.

  “Cain, this fruit is the best fruit I have tasted; sweet yet tart, and refreshingly juicy. It is perfect,” Guline said, having learned the language of the Humans after all these years of being their neighbors.

  “Yes, Cain, this is wonderful!” Noriem chimed in.

  “I created this strain myself!” Cain said proudly. “After many attempts and years of work, I was finally able to grow this strain.”

  “That shows you to have intelligence and perseverance, my son,” Adam said proudly, “good traits for someone to take care of a mate and future children.”

  Gaela and Borea both smiled at Cain in agreement and he was sure that he would now be announced the winner.

  But Guline also enjoyed the meat that had been prepared, as did the rest of them.

  “And, Abel, this is the best lamb I have ever eaten! Its texture and flavor reminds me of another meat I have had, and it is amazing that your livestock could capture that taste as well.”

  Noriem and the rest agreed and paid Abel compliments for the aroma and tenderness of the meat.

  Cain grew increasingly angry that Abel’s fare would even be compared to this great new fruit that he had developed. And he knew that he had a secret card up his sleeve to win anyway. For he also knew that Abel’s prize ram was the favorite pet of both Gaela and Borea. Once they knew they had eaten their pet, they would hate Abel and Cain would win anyway.

  When Guline was getting ready to announce the winner, Cain stood up and began to speak. “Before you make your decision, Guline, I want to thank you for coming to my parents’ home for dinner and to judge this contest. And in that spirit, I also want to be gracious to my dear brother Abel. We may be competitive with one another, but I also appreciate what he does for me. He did, after all, agree, despite his feelings against this contest, to compete and provide us all with the meat from his prized ram. I know what a sacrifice that was, as this ram was a genuine pet to you.”

  Before Guline could speak again, Gaela and Borea looked at their plates in horror and then at Abel, who was now sitting with his eyes cast downwards, appearing guilty for having sacrificed his prized animal and the girls’ pet as well. Both girls began to cry, and then wail, as neither of them would have even thought of eating that ram.

  Cain smiled at their reactions and sat down. He knew that no matter who Guline would choose, he would be the winner, for the tears of the young Simian females would soon turn to hatred of his brother Abel.

  Enoch could see that Abel was overwhelmed by what had just happened. Abel had been tricked and all of them had been manipulated by Cain. So he took it upon himself to interrupt before Guline could make his decision.

  “I apologize for interrupting everyone, and you especially, Guline and Noriem. But I have to explain, as I can see my brother Abel will be unable to, or even if he did you may not believe him.”

  Enoch made sure that he when he spoke he looked at everyone seated at the table carefully and slowly so that they could all hear and understand.

  “This contest was Cain’s idea and, as you all remember from last night, Abel did not want to participate. When I spoke to Abel today about this, he was distraught at the terms of the contest. He would have to produce the best of his herd for this dinner and that meant his prized ram that he treated as a pet, as did Gaela and Borea.”

  Enoch was briefly interrupted by another set of loud wails by Gaela and Borea.

  Enoch took his hands and pushed downward through the air to indicate that the girls should become quiet.

  He continued in a softer voice. “I watched how much Abel loved this creature and how much Gaela and Borea loved this creature when they came to play with it at midday. Abel told me that he was in a quandary, as he did not want to lose the chance of becoming Gaela’s mate, but in order to win this contest he would have to break not only his own heart but also that of Gaela and Borea. We struggled all day before Abel came up with a solution. And that is the meat you have before you on the table and that you enjoyed this evening.”

  The young females wailed again and didn’t stop for a few minutes before they could be quieted
down and Enoch could speak again.

  “But this is not the meat of the young ram at all. In fact, it isn’t even meat from Abel’s herd. It is meat from a wild boar he and I slaughtered today in the woods.”

  The two young women looked up in disbelief, as they were trying to allow this information to sink into their minds. At the same time Guline was angry that he had been lied to by Abel, if this was true, and he had not been fed the best of Abel’s herd.

  Cain was watching carefully, and was not to be undone by what he thought to be Enoch’s lies to protect Abel’s chances with the Simian women.

  “Now, now, Enoch, that was a nice try, but I checked on Abel’s herd before dinner, and that ram of his, the special one you are talking about, was gone. I am sure it is the one we had for dinner this evening!”

  “It is the truth!” Enoch said. “I can prove it to you. Come follow me!”

  The whole group rose from the dinner table and followed Enoch out into the neighboring fields and then into the woods. Set back, out of sight, they came upon a small clearing that opened into an area blocked and fenced in which held Abel’s prize ram and another couple of female sheep for company.

  “So you did lie to us, Abel!” Guline said, glaring at the young man. “You tricked us into thinking the meat we ate was the best you had.”

  “Yes, he did lie to you, Guline,” Cain interjected. “He does not deserve your daughter!”

  But now it was Adam’s turn to speak. He had become wiser the older he grew and knew the feeling of loss and having to make difficult choices, ones that sometimes harmed the person who made a decision that they thought was best.

  “Let's pause for a moment, Guline, and consider what has happened here. All three of these young men are my sons and I am proud of them in their own way for the talents they possess. I am proud of Cain, my oldest, for his initiative and desire to try new things. Abel for his steadiness and kindness. Enoch for his ability to see through some of our faults as Humans and for his intelligence.”

  Adam looked around and then focused on Cain. “But today I am embarrassed by you, my son. Although I will always love you, what you showed us all today was selfishness and manipulation. You made this contest for your own ends, and knew that it would tear your brother Abel’s heart. At first I thought that it was an accident, and that you didn’t know your brother Abel would have to kill his favorite possession in order to compete. But I realized you did know, when you looked to see if he had in fact killed this poor creature.

  “Now for Abel and Enoch. I am disappointed that you felt you had to lie about slaying this sheep. But I can see how you would have thought it to be necessary.” Adam then focused directly on Abel. “Let me ask you this Abel, would you as a matter of ordinary circumstances slay one of your sheep for someone’s dinner?”

  “No, Father. I have never killed or allowed someone to kill one of my herd for dinner, there are more than enough other types of food handy for eating.”

  “Then one more question, if I asked you to bring us meat home for dinner what would you bring us?”

  “Some form of wild meat but not one of my herd,” Abel answered, again looking down at the ground as though he was doing something wrong.

  “There is nothing wrong with that, my son. So, in other words, the wild boar you brought home for dinner was the best of yourself that you could provide for dinner with a clear mind and heart?”

  “Yes, Father.”

  Adam then turned again towards Guline and Noriem. “There you have it then. The meat we ate this evening was the best of what Abel had to offer, while the fruit from Cain was the best he had to offer. It is now up to you to decide which was the better of the two.”

  Guline was moved by Adam’s words and considered what he had just witnessed, especially the emotional effect on his daughters when they thought they had been fed something they loved.

  “I must say that this has been a difficult situation for us all. And at first, I did believe that Cain’s fruit was the best and he should have won Gaela as a mate. But I have watched and thought about what has been said here tonight, and I cannot approve of Cain having either of my daughters as his mate. He has shown such an utter lack of concern for anyone other than himself that I would not want him alone with either of my daughters. So I declare Abel the winner and that he can have Gaela as a mate.” Guline then looked carefully at Borea’s reaction and then added, “In Simian culture a male can have more than one mate, Abel, so I give you my blessings for you to have both of my daughters.”

  As the words left Guline’s lips and went off in the distance, Cain became insanely angry at what he had just heard. He was insulted and he would not stand for any of them anymore, and he stormed away from them, heading back to another cave he had seen, determined that he would seek and obtain revenge.

  Chapter 54

  A DISCUSSION

  The old raven-hooded Simian met Cain the following day as he promised, walking up through the fields, planted with the seeds he bestowed upon the Human.

  “Good day, young master, have you enjoyed the fruit from the seeds I gave you?” the Simian said as he took a bite out of a piece of the fruit he had picked. “Tastes wonderful, doesn’t it?”

  “That it does, old Simian, for all the good it has done me,” Cain said with bitterness in his voice.

  “That certainly was not the response I expected. I thought you would be ecstatic with the wonderful qualities of this crop! Did it not grow overnight? Produce fruit that is the best tasting that you have ever had? Made you the envy of your family, especially your brother Abel?”

  “Yes, but no. Thank you very much,” Cain said as he started to turn his back on the old Simian.

  “Is that how you thank someone for presenting you with such an outstanding gift?”

  “Yes, especially when it meant that I lost a contest to get the female Simian I desired most in the world.”

  “Now I am really confused, young man. You should have won any contest you entered with these fruits!”

  “That’s what I would have thought as well. But I was tricked by my brothers and even though I may have won the contest I was tricked into losing the female. Two females, in fact.”

  “That’s impossible!” the old Simian exclaimed in disbelief.

  “Yes, but true all the same. Now let me go back to my planting.”

  “You are a stubborn one, aren’t you? Let me understand this then. You won the contest but your brother . . . what is his name?”

  “Abel.”

  “Your brother Abel tricked you during the contest, so that at the end you won the contest, but he gained the prize of getting two Simian females? From their father, I assume?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “The answer is simple then. You just have to get rid of your brother Abel.”

  “Get rid of him? How do I do that? He is greatly loved by both my parents and the parents of the female Simians. They will never let him go anywhere else.”

  “Who says they have to agree with you getting rid of your brother?” The old Simian smiled at Cain and took a bite out of another piece of fruit.

  “He lives here, in fact, he is working at the other end of the field, just over the rise over there.”

  “As I said, the answer is simple. You just need to make it so he doesn’t live here anymore. If you can’t make him leave here, then all you have to do is to make him not live. It’s that simple.”

  “How does one make someone not live anymore?” Cain asked as he tried to understand. This could very well be the answer to his problem. With Abel gone, there would be no competition. Enoch did not care about mating with either of the Simian females. He would be the only Human interested in Gaela and Borea. He could have them both all to himself.

  “I can show you if you like. Remember that Angel I told you about. He knows how to do that, to stop someone from living.”

  “Can you teach me?” Cain asked, almost begging for the knowledge.

  �
�Yes, the Angel taught me, and told me I could give you the knowledge and means to do so.”

  “That is great!” Cain said, excited that his problems with Abel could soon be over.

  “There is only one condition and that is you must swear allegiance to this Angel and worship him and be faithful to him. Carry out anything he tells you to do.”

  “I will do anything,” Cain answered.

  “All right then. Tonight when all are asleep, you must come back outside and look to the east. You will see a light leaving a trail in the sky. He will be looking for you outside. You must kneel in the dirt and call out his name ‘Morning Star’ three times. One of his lieutenants will appear and you must do what he tells you to do.”

  “Agreed, I will be there! Thank you, kind Simian,” Cain answered

  “Wonderful. I will see you tomorrow then about this time!” the old Simian said as he walked away, headed off into the distance.

  Chapter 55

  A CONTRACT

  Cain was preoccupied the rest of the afternoon, thinking about the idea of getting rid of his brother Abel the next day. In a short time he could have all he desired. He could have the undivided attention of his parents and the attentions of the females that he lusted after. It would be a perfect solution.

  As he headed home towards his own cave, he saw Abel and the two Simian females walking back towards the cave of Adam and Eve. Just the day before, Cain was positive that he would have won everything in a competition he had devised himself, by competing using the fruit the old Simian gave him. He still lost, outmaneuvered by his brother Abel, but this was only temporary. In another day, he would be back on top of the world.

  It hurt too much to watch Abel with the two Simian females, especially Gaela, who he had wanted since he was a child. So he turned his head towards the ground and walked faster towards his new lonely cave.