Cain Read Online Free Page B

You killed him, Yes, I
did, but you are the one who is really to blame, I would have given my life for
him if you had not destroyed mine, It was a question of
putting you to the test, But why put to the test the very thing
you yourself created, Because I am the sovereign lord of all
things, And of all beings you will say, but not of me and my
freedom, What, the freedom to kill, Just as you had the
freedom to stop me killing abel, which was perfectly within your
capabilities, all you had to do, just for a moment, was to
abandon that pride in your infallibility that you share with
all the other gods, and, again just for a moment, to be truly
merciful and accept my offering with humility, because
you shouldn't have refused it, you gods, you and all the
others, have a duty to those you claim to have created, This
is seditious talk, Yes, possibly, but I can guarantee you that if I
were god, I would repeat every day Blessed are those who
choose sedition because theirs is the kingdom of the
earth, That's sacrilege, Maybe, but no more sacrilegious than you
allowing abel to die, You were the one who killed him,
True, but you were the one who pronounced sentence, whereas
I merely carried out the execution, That blood over there
wasn't spilled by me, you could have chosen between good
and evil, but you chose evil and must pay for it, The
person who stays to keep watch over the guard is just as much a
thief as the one who actually goes into the vineyard, said cain, That blood is
crying out
for vengeance, insisted god, In that case, you will have your revenge
both for a real death and for another that did not take place, Explain yourself,
You won't like what you hear, Don't worry about that,
speak, It's simple enough, I killed abel because I couldn't kill
you, so, in intent, you are dead too, Yes, I see what you
mean, but death is forbidden for the gods, Oh, I know, but you
gods should still take the blame for all the crimes
committed in your name or because of you, God is innocent, it would
be just the same if I didn't exist, But because I killed
someone, I could now be slain by anyone who meets me, No, I'll
make an agreement with you, God make an agreement with a
reprobate, asked cain, unable to believe what he was hearing,
Let's say it's an agreement based on our shared
responsibility for abel's death, So you recognise your share in the
blame, Yes, I do, but don't tell anyone, it will be a secret
between god and cain, This can't be true, I must be dreaming, That
often happens with gods, Is that because your ways are, as
they say, mysterious, asked cain, No god I know ever said
such a thing, it would never even occur to us that our ways
are mysterious, no, that was something invented by men who
presume to know god intimately,
So I won't be punished for my crime then, asked cain, My portion of the blame
does not absolve yours, you will have your punishment, Which
is, You will be a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth, In
that case, anyone will have the right to kill me, No,
because I will put a mark upon your forehead, and no one will
harm you, but to repay me for my benevolence, you must try
to do no harm to anyone else, said the lord, and with the
tip of his index finger he touched cain's forehead on which
there appeared a small black mark, That is the mark of
your condemnation, added the lord, but it is also a sign
that for the whole of your life you will be subject to my
protection and to my censure too, I will be watching you wherever you are, All
right, I accept, said
cain, You have no option, When does my punishment begin, Now, May I say goodbye to
my parents, asked cain, That's up to you, I don't involve
myself in family matters, but they will certainly want to
know where abel is and I don't imagine you're going to
tell them you killed him, No, No what, No, I won't say goodbye
to my parents, Off you go, then. There was nothing more
to be said. The lord disappeared before cain had even taken his first step.
Abel's face