The First Brothers

In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve. After being cast out of Eden for eating the forbidden fruit, Eve gave birth to two sons - Cain and Abel.

The brothers were as different as night and day. Abel was kind and compassionate, always caring for his flock of sheep. Cain was hardened by years of grueling labor in the fields, jealousy simmering inside him at the praise Abel received.

One morning, Cain snapped as Abel tended happily to a newborn lamb. "You think you're better than me?" Cain shouted, grabbing a rock. Abel pleaded for reason, but Cain struck, again and again, until blood soaked the earth.

Overcome by panic, Cain buried Abel's body and invented a lie to tell his parents. But that night, Cain heard a booming voice - it was God. "Your brother's blood cries out to me! You cannot hide this sin."

Cain fell to his knees, finally repentant, but the damage was done. As punishment, God banished him from the land, marking Cain's forehead so none would kill him in his wanderings.

Adam and Eve were devastated when Cain disappeared. Eve wept inconsolably, torn by anguish and regret that her firstborn could commit such evil.

Alone on the road, Cain still heard his brother's voice ringing in his ears. He traveled far, but found no peace. News of his crime preceded him, leaving Cain friendless and despised wherever he went.

Back home, Adam and Eve mourned their sons - one brutally killed, the other exiled forever. They clung to each other, trying to make sense of it all. But no reason could justify what Cain had done.

At night, in his restless dreams, Cain was haunted by visions of his past. He saw Abel's smiling face as a boy. Felt the rock in his hand and Abel's blood splatter his skin. Watched his mother's anguished sobs when she learned the truth.

Cain awoke each morning exhausted and tormented. As the years passed alone on the road, he regretted his choice more with each sunrise. But redemption was beyond his grasp. The mark on his head forbade that.

So Cain journeyed on in despair, lamenting the brother he destroyed and the life he could never reclaim. His dark road stretched endlessly ahead, for how could one ever find peace without forgiveness?