“Give me some!” Cain said, unable to hold his voice down.
“Shhh.” Abel smiled deviously, as Cain fell right into his trap.
Cain clenched his fist. He wanted to punch Abel right in his stupid smiling face.
Eve put her hands on her son’s shoulders and whispered, “Abel, thank you for the rabbit but . . .” Eve pointed to the sleeping baby beside her. Abel smiled at his mom, then shot a mean look at Cain before jumping down from the bed and leaving the room. Cain sat in the now quiet room, looking at the final piece of rabbit meat resting on her lap.
“Have some,” she pushed it toward Cain. He bit into the warm tender meat, the delicious juices filling his mouth.
“Now let mommy get some sleep. And hopefully I’ll feel all better in the morning,” she said, rubbing his earlobe. Cain hugged her around her neck and carefully rolled off the bed, blew out the oil lamp, and left the room.
Cain lay under his blankets for a long time in the dark, trying not to think about all the fun things he would do if his mom got out of bed in the morning.
Cain woke suddenly in the dark to the sound of a long painful moan. He lay under the blanket in the dark, hoping he had dreamed it. Then he heard the unmistakeable sound of his mom throwing up on the other side of the wall. He felt a sickening twist in his gut.
Dad said it was a healing fruit. Dad said it was a healing fruit. Dad said it was a healing fruit. He repeated trying to imagine those words coming out of his dad’s mouth. But the more he tried to convince himself the less sure he felt. He put his head under his blanket and pretended to be asleep.
Then he heard his father shout, “Cain!” He knew that voice. He remembered his father’s anger after the snake bit Eve. Don’t let it happen again, his dad had said, his fists balled up.
Cain threw back the blankets, crawled across the floor, and climbed out the window into the darkness. His shoulder landed hard on a rock. And for a moment he lay in the long dry grass, his arm throbbing. Then he heard his mother shout in pain and retch again. Cain forced himself to roll over and crawl. He crawled over sharp weeds that stung his hands and rocks that scraped his bare feet.
“Abel! Go find your brother!” Adam’s voice cut through the dark.
“Cain!” his brother shouted. Cain crawled to the far end of the garden and then took to the path and finally hid himself under the berry bush. He lay in the dark, quietly gulping air. Again, he heard his mom shout in pain and his mind flooded with memories of the night Seth was born. The midwife running back and forth with water and bloody sheets. Cain pulled his knees to his chest and held his breath.
“Cain! Where are you?” Abel yelled, his voice coming closer. “Dad needs to talk to you right now!” Then he saw Abel’s small muddy feet through the bushes. “I know you are in there, Cain. So just come out now!”
“Why?” Cain said through stifled tears.
Abel got down on his hands and knees, his eyes level with Cain’s. “Because you made mom sick!” Abel insisted.
“Dad said it was a healing fruit,” Cain said weakly.
“You’re supposed to feed fruit to the goats first, you idiot!” Abel scoffed as he poked a wooden arrow into the bush. The sharpened point dug into Cain’s shoulder. He angrily crawled out of the bush and stood up.
“Stop it!” Cain clenched his fist as he glared down at his younger brother.
“You stop it!” Abel said, poking Cain in the chest with the arrow. “You’re the one that made mom sick! I told dad not to take you! You mess everything up!” Abel shouted, whipping Cain in the arm.
Cain felt anger boiling up inside him. Abel had told their dad not to invite him. How many times had Cain been left at home because of Abel. Abel was big enough to milk cows and pick berries. Abel was old enough to change Seth’s dirty clothes. Abel could be helping. He should be helping.
Then Cain heard their mom throw up and his anger was split with fear.
“Maybe . . . maybe . . . maybe it was your rabbit meat!” Cain said digging his finger hard into Abel’s chest.
He heard his father’s voice shout, “Cain, get in here!”
“Everyone ate the rabbit!” Abel shouted, swinging the arrow at Cain’s shoulder. But Cain was ready for it and he blocked the arrow with his forearm. Then he punched Abel right in the face. Hard. Harder than he meant to. Abel’s head jerked back and he fell into the grass.
Cain looked down at his brother. In the glow of the yellow moon, he saw Abel lying silent and crooked at his feet, his hair matted with blood. Abel’s head had hit a rock hidden in the grass.
Cain shook his brother’s limp shoulders. “Abel. Abel,” he whispered frantically. Cain tried to wipe the blood off his pale face. “Abel, please wake up, wake up, wake up.” Cain sat down and lifted his brother’s head onto his lap.
“Help,” he said, barely above a whisper. He took a few deep breaths and then shouted, “Dad, help!” Cain’s shout woke up the night. The cows started mooing and wild dogs in the distance began frantically barking.
Abel opened his eyes. Then Abel touched his face and saw his small fingers covered in blood. He shrieked. “Dad!”
“It’s gonna be okay,” Cain said, crying tears of relief. “It’s gonna be okay.” Suddenly Abel’s body was illuminated with warm light. Their father stood over the two boys holding a blazing torch. Cain looked up at his father’s serious face.
“What happened?” Adam demanded.
Cain looked down at his brother who was screaming and crying. “I . . . I . . .” Adam crouched down and rubbed blood away from Abel’s eyes.
“What happened, Abel,” Adam asked again, this time his voice softer.
“A snake!” Cain said before Abel could answer. The lie came tumbling out of his mouth. “Abel came to find me. And . . . and a snake . . . a huge snake snapped at Abel and he fell and . . . and . . . and then he hit his head.”
Adam stood up and swung the torch around. “Take your brother inside.”
Cain helped his sobbing brother to his feet, unable to look up at his father.
“And after you wrap his head, go get more water for your mother. She is having a terrible time passing that fruit you gave her,” Adam said with a cold anger.
Cain nodded and walked him back into the house. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his father swing the torch through the long brown grass.
Inside he lifted Abel up onto a chair. His brother’s legs kicked wildly as he wrapped Abel’s bleeding head in long strips of cloth. Cain winced as he heard his mother moaning in pain from her bedroom.
When he finished wrapping the bandages, Cain put his hands on his crying brother’s shoulders. “All done.”
Abel felt the bandages on the back of his head and checked his fingers for blood. When he was sure he had stopped bleeding, Abel sniffed back his tears and hugged Cain.
Cain felt Abel’s small arms wrapped tightly around his chest. It had been a long time since Abel hugged him. He forced a smile. “Go lie down, and I’ll check on you in a little bit.”
“What happened to your brother?” his mom called.
He took a deep breath and walked into her mom’s bedroom. The air was thick with the smell of sweat and vomit.
“A snake tried to bite him, and he fell and hit his head,” Cain said, looking down at a bowl of green vomit on the floor beside her bed. The last remains of the fruit were now reduced to a disgusting pulp.
“Is