The History of the Universe-Chapter 8

The History of the Universe~Chapter 8

The words of Yahuah plunged Qayin into the most terrible inner struggle. On one side, Satan and his hosts struggled to stop him in his slavery. On the other side, Yahuah and His hosts sought to awaken in that struggling heart the recognition of the only path to salvation.

Qayin was restless in his thoughts and tortured by the weight of responsibility resting upon them, as his steps would be followed by many others. He came sometimes to think of surrender. taking for himself a lamb. But that thought was soon banished, replaced by another thought of hatred and revenge.

During his agonizing struggle, the sun had walked to the west announcing another dark night. Overcome by his pride, Qayin took the tragic decision--he would never accept the plan of redemption symbolized by the lamb on the altar. The decision, like an arrow, painfully tore the heart of the Eternal and His hosts. Making them lay prostrate in mourning for the sad destruction of the beloved son. It was terrible to think that many would follow in the footsteps of Qayin in the great conflict unfolding for the throne of the universe. Ceased from battle, Qayin rose up with a smirk on his lips. He would not have more conflict in his consciousness. There would be no more disturbance by the idea of sacrifice. He would fight now and build with his wisdom and strength a haven of peace and prosperity.

Another night came, bringing with its darkness an insomnia of a crazy adventure, inhuman and cruel, which was now planned by Qayin. With his heart dominated by evil, he told himself that night, which was the first of the week, "Once daybreak comes, I will visit the home of Habal, pretending to be sorry. I will ask him for a lamb for my altar. I will ask him to accompany me to the flock that night in distant pastures. I know he will gladly serve me. When in our footsteps we find ourselves far from home, he will understand the pain felt by the lambs."

"After I kill him, I will hide in the forest, far from the reach of his partner's eye and out parents. Then will I celebrate his end, joining with my companion, as he did after the death of the lambs."

"When I see the sunset, the one with its afterglow, no more will Habal return to his home. With my sister I will flee to the valley where once I had returned, and there I will never return to this hostile hill where lambs perish without guilt. There we will walk until we reach the cradle of light which extends into the plain of Eden. There, away from the entreaties and advice from my intolerable father, there I will offer to the Eternal of Light cults of flowers and fruits. Products that are born under its glow."

The sun hid its march and announced off in the distance the signs of dawn, but the glare was reflected by a cloud, covering the light like a damp cloak.

Qayin apologized to his sister, saying he wanted to keep his purpose to never stain the altar with the blood of innocent animals, but he would fulfill the divine will, and sacrifice a lamb to achieve the blessing on their marriage, but he would do it in a distant field. After fulfilling this commitment, he would return to her, and they would thereafter become one flesh.

Habal rejoiced that morning next to his loved one, who with a smile awakened as from a dream. She reclined on his chest where his heart beat, which she could not imagine, would that day send out the sap of life in a last-ditch effort, never to return. Habal would be like a lamb on the altar after being struck with the instrument of death.

With steps moved by a decision that would not be revoked, Qayin bypassed the house of their fathers, and approached the home of Habal who, even at the foot of the altar, stood with his companion, exchanging vows of eternal love. His companion gazed tenderly at Habal. Under the glow of dawn, a reminder came to the girl that moved her. Stroking his face covered by a beard that was soft like wool, and with her lips trembling with emotion, she whispered, "Habal, your eyes are to me like the eyes of the lamb. It brings me security, peace and hope. I am grateful to be able to contemplate these eyes that shine with love! All I want is that they would never be closed to me!"

With excitement, Habal kissed his partner after hearing her words of affection, and replied with a smile, "Only death can close them, but even death cannot close them forever, for in the eternal dawn, they will open for you with a glow that will never be undone by this shadow."

Habal said these words, just when they heard the steps of Qayin. Habal consented willingly. Walking toward the flock, Habal asked his brother who was waiting for them to take a fat lamb to his altar. Hearing no answer from Qayin, Habal looked behind and was surprised to see the countenance of Qayin was upset and his eyes did not express gratitude, but anger. Habal turned to him and asked him why he was unhappy. Yahuah told him that He loved him, and since he was determined to offer Him a lamb, their marriage would be blessed, and they would enjoy peace of soul.

In response to the loving words of Habal, Qayin said coldly, "You are the lamb that I want to sacrifice." After saying this cruel statement, Qayin took from his inner clothes a stone knife and advanced on his brother, who, now pale, begged him to stop. Qayin struck him with a deep blow to the face. Blood immediately gushed like a lamb, making Habal tremble with fear. "Wouldn't you have received the day by affirming life?" Habal inquired with a groan. He then felt another violent blow that toppled him to the ground.

In his mind, stunned by grief, in a last effort of his conscience, he remembered those exchanged vows of love at dawn. At the cusp of his death, he seemed to hear his beloved tell him, her lips trembling with emotion, "Your eyes are like the eyes of the lamb...All I hope is that they will never be closed to me!"

With effort, he relived the memory of their last kiss accompanied by his promise that made her smile. "Only death can close them, but even death cannot close them forever, for on the eternal dawn, they will open for you with a glow that will never be undone by this shadow!" After remembering this oath of love, Habal was beaten by a fatal blow and plunged into unconscious darkness. He was sure that soon this shadow would be banned from his eyes on the day of resurrection.

Qayin only ceased to strike his brother after making sure that he was really lifeless. He then dragged him into the forest, leaving him there covered with foliage and grass. Returning to his home, Qayin showed to his companion the bloodstains on his hands, and said he had answered the divine request, sacrificing a lamb. Now they were free to join in the Eternal's blessing.

Overcome by carnal passion, they then joined in the glow of that sun that did not shine for Habal. When the sun tinged the horizon with its afterglow, Qayin rose startled remembering his crime, and said to his companion that in his sacrifice, he had promised the Eternal of light to present their flowers and fruits as an offering of gratitude for the blessing achieved. This offering should be offered in the borders of Eden during the dawn. They needed therefore, to leave immediately. Without questioning the will of her husband, the young woman hastily gathered his clothes and offering of gratitude and departed into the night. Qayin was in a hurry because he knew that the absence of Habal that night would bring revelation of his crime, which he intended to always hide from his wife.

Bathed by the light from the afterglow, that young wife smiled, certain that she would hug her Habal before night. Contemplating the sin in its decline over the meadows where she expected to see him return, she fondly remembered how the dawn light revealed that the eyes of her husband were tenderhearted as a lamb. She was moved to remember what she had said to him in a whisper, "All I want is for your eyes to never be closed to me." She remembered his loving response, "Only death can close them, but even death cannot close them forever, for on the eternal dawn, they will open for you with a glow that will never be undone by this shadow!"

With this memory, the young wife finally saw the sun move far enough into the distance it could no longer be seen, with his last flare involving the empty plain. Her heart throbbing with longing also remained empty. Frowning with concern, the young woman asked, "Why did my beloved not come?"

Driven by the desire to find him, she ran to the house of their parents, who were surprised by the encounter. She called for him but heard no response beyond the noise of her footsteps. The onlooking parents came to meet her, asking, "Daughter, are you looking for Habal? Has he not arrived yet?"

"No," said the daughter, now in tears. "He has not arrived yet!" Although concerned, those parents embraced their daughter looking to console her, saying that he would soon be in her arms. In a veiled concern, Adam then asked his daughter, "Was it some time ago that he left?"

"Shortly after awaking at dawn," she responded. In this reply, there followed a silence. They asked each other disquieting questions while together trying in vain to see his figure from the meadow under that last bit of light. Sighing deeply, Adam, already suspecting a possible evil, asked his daughter, "Did he go alone?"

Sobbing, she said, "Qayin awoke in the morning, asking for a lamb, and Habal went out with him." Worried, Adam went silently into the house of Qayin. Calling there for him, he heard no response. He then broke through the foliage to the inside of that cabin, where he read the sad empty presage of the painful betrayal, confirmed in a robe stained with blood, being erased in the shadows.

Overcome by anguish, Adam fell to the ground, breaking into tears. Not wanting, however, to reveal his desperation to his daughter and wife who needed solace to overcome that sad night, Adam in a huge effort wiped tears and steadied himself against emotions, only to hear footsteps approaching him.

Outside, Chavah, and their daughter, hopeful of finding Habal there visiting his brother, asked, "Are they there, Daddy?" The hopeful voice of his daughter in the middle of that night, was an arrow to his bleeding heart, and he feared to answer her question. Finally, he walked toward his daughter, and seeing her suffering in the absence of her companion, tried to console her by saying, "Daughter, trust in the power of Yahuah. He will take care of it and bring the dawn."

The words of comfort from Adam, however, far from softening the mourning of that young woman, dipped her into more pain, making her relive memories of the promise Habal had uttered that morning. He had said that someday his eyes would be erased by death, but that they would open for her at the dawn of the eternal Shabat.

Qayin and his companion in their footsteps made a hurried escape, and they finally reached a distant hill, immersed in the valley of darkness that would never deliver suffering parents. Qayin, now, beside his wife, boasted himself up mocking the darkness, promising to undo it soon with his strength. Overcome by fatigue, they fell to the ground, where they remained dormant until awakened by the dawn. Having reset their fatigue, they continued the journey on the path of adventure, in steps that Qayin remembered walking, but was interrupted by inconsistency.

How foolish he had been, he thought, to give ear to the voice of the angel! If then he had continued on his mission, he would possibly already have a paradise bathed in eternal light.

Daylight faded when the fugitive couple reached the valley of bones. Impatiently, Qayin revealed where he met once with the angel in the borders of Eden. Having said this, he pointed to the left adding, "Let us go in this direction. because I do not want to meet him again."

Taking her by the arm, he walked fast and enjoyed the last light of the afterglow. When at last his steps could not be taken without difficulty because of darkness, he gazed through the foliage a glow that, more intense than the sun, stood for a moment, fading. Standing next to Qayin, his curious wife asked, "Did you see that?"

"Yes," Qayin replied, shaking.

"What is it?" At this question, Qayin did not answer, but simply took her by the hand and said, "Let us go back. Let us flee from the light that can kill."

Without understanding the mystery, the young wife followed quickly, here and there, and caught herself from tripping and being cast to the ground. In this escape, however, they failed to dodge the glare that became stronger before their amazed eyes. While trying to escape in a last-ditch effort in another direction, they were arrested by a strong hand, revealing to their eyes before them the face of the Eternal, brighter than the sun.

Not knowing how to face Him in His light of justice, Qayin feared being punished for his crime. He bowed his head in had hands. The Most High asked him earnestly, "Where is Habal your brother?"

The question was heavy, and Qayin was embarrassed by having to confess his terrible crime before his companion, who wanted to hide, so he simply replied, "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?'

Outraged by this response of contempt and recklessness, the Eternal told him firmly, "What did you do, Qayin? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now," Continued Yahuah, "this earth will be damned that received the innocent blood of your brother."

With a voice full of sadness, the Eternal continued, "To this day, your labor on earth had been prospered and covered in blessings, giving you pleasure in this realization. But now, I cannot bless you, because this spontaneous rebellion by you has closed the channels to the blessing. Therefore, you will always walk on this cursed land of your fault, as a fugitive and a laggard. The light of the sun's face that always smiled with forgiveness and salvation, for your defiance will topple into the eternal night."

After revealing Qayin's sad and hopeless situation, Yahuah raised His voice, and wept bitterly. It was hard to dismiss into death this beloved son, but his insistent rebellion had sealed his eternal destiny.

Qayin, trembling and gripped by fear and horror for his deplorable condition, desperately cried out to Yahuah, "Come back Master! Give me just one blessing!"

Moved by His infinite love, the Eternal turned towards Qayin's shaky plea. Qayin spoke of his fear, "I'm afraid of the dangers of the forest, and those who want to find me in the future to avenge the blood of my brother that I poured."

The Creator had compassion on Qayin, promising him protection. As a sign of this promise, He stroked his face, making his abundant beard disappear. In a last gesture of a loving father caressing his son even in eternal departure, Qayin saw disappear before his eyes the glare of that face bathed with tears, produced by his ingratitude.

A night of despair and tears were finally banned by the glow of a new dawn with its light to reveal an even greater sadness. Even before the sun showed its face on the eastern valley, a young widow with her parents rushed where the herd was grazing in those days. With their hearts still pounding with hope they saw in the distance the herd. Summoned there for Habal, but their voices brought no response beyond a hollow echo. Their eyes then discerned through the tears, the marks of pain on that lawn crumpled and covered in blood.

Overcome by sadness, they painfully followed the bloodstains, until they found his body torn, covered under grass and flies. Faced with this scene of terrible humiliation, they raised their voiced in cries of fear, unable to bear the pain of separation. There they remained in agony, until they saw the sun fall over its most melancholy evening.

How painful was the thought of having to return home, leaving behind the beloved Habal falling apart in the cold night. They remembered his childhood, when they covered his bed with love, promising to wake him at dawn with a kiss. Those parents with a painful effort covered him again with that grass, knowing that at the dawn of the eternal day they would again awaked him happy with a kiss.

Struggling, they finally left that place already taken by the night and found their way up toward those empty houses whose walls were no longer flowering joy for them.

Overcome by the horror of the last revelation, Qayin's wife bowed low fainting, and awoke again shortly after the Eternal had left. There in the darkness, she remembered the terrible revelation of Yahuah, and was possessed with great fear. She feared not only the darkness, but mostly Qayin. She thought to scream for help, but who would save her?

Dominated by these feelings, she was attentive, waiting for dawn to reveal beside her the sleeping body of someone who did not look like Qayin. Startled, and fearing to wake him, she walked a few steps leaning against a tree trunk, where she remained until she saw him raise his smooth face, calling her. Recognizing the voice of her husband, she moved towards their direction, but she soon stopped dominated by fear. Inquiring in her heart about the mystery of his now smooth face, said, "I am afraid to approach you!" After expressing her fear, she revealed another higher, "I am also afraid to run away from you!"

Rising with a smile, Qayin asked her, "Why do you fear me?"

"I fear death," replied the afflicted.

"I too, until yesterday, was like you, afraid of death." Qayin told her.

"Now you do not fear anymore?" inquired his wife.

"I do not fear," Qayin replied, rubbing his smooth face.

"But what banned you from your fear?" She asked, fearing to come even closer.

"Do you see my face now smooth? This is the sign of a promise made by the Eternal."

"What promise?" Asked his companion, now approaching without fear. Qayin spoke to her of the promised blessing and confirmed that signal, which she would share too, if she followed in his footsteps. But she would not find safety and life, however, going into him.

Comforted by the promise of guaranteed protection in the smooth face of her husband, the young woman followed in a long walk around Eden. They planned to transpose it, reaching the eastern valley that stretched beyond its impenetrable meadow. There they would build an altar establishing their new home. Qayin and his companion on their journey finally reached a valley covered by dense forest that stretched eastward of paradise. There looked like a hostile environment that they would have feared if not for the promise that was marked on the face of Qayin.

Craving to find a better place beyond, they built a provisional altar where at the dawn of the first day of a new week, they offered flowers and fruit--symbols of fertility to the g-d of the sun. Under the light of dawn, they teamed up again at the ceremony commemorating victory to have found that thought. After joining his wife, Qayin raised her before the altar dedicated to the sun g-d their home. He asked that they become fruitful to give many children the right to contemplate his shining face.

Qayin concluded his prayer of consecration, with a promise confirmed by a sign, saying, "If you look on our supplication, bringing in thy brightness fertility, we will build altars where we walk in honor of you, where we worship with offerings of gratitude. As a token of our allegiance, to consecrate our worship, this day we allege under thy light, which we will call by your name- The SUN DAY."

The End