A/N: Although Awan is not mentioned by name in the Bible, she and her sister, Azura, are mentioned in the book of Jubilee, which is part of the Apocrypha. Azura married her brother Seth.
"His is dead." In the eyes of my brother I see fear, remorse, and most of all, torment. "I slew him."
Dead. I have seen dead animals before, many times, lying limp on the ground, all the life gone from their eyes. To think of dear, sweet Abel, my brother and Cain's as well, lying upon the ground as they do is simply too horrible an idea to contemplate.
"But why?" I ask.
"I was angry," Cain says simply, as if that fact alone were justification for his actions. "The Almighty accepted his offering but rejected mine."
My heart is filled with fear for him. "You must hide!" I urge him. "Surely the Almighty will smite you when He learns what you have done!"
"He already knows," Cain tells me. "Abel's blood cried out to Him from the ground."
"Surely His wrath against you must be great."
"He has condemned me to roam the earth forever," Cain replies. "He has put a mark upon me so that no man can harm me, but I am no longer your brother, nor the son of our parents."
"Then I will come with you," I suddenly decide. I cannot bear to have the loss of Abel compounded by the loss of Cain as well.
"No," Cain says softly. "It is my punishment to bear alone. I cannot, and will not, take you away from the only home you have ever known, my dear sister."
"Yet I cannot bear to see you cast out alone," I answer him. "I will be your companion in exile. We shall know one another as our parents have known one another, and beget sons and daughters. Just give me a moment to say good-bye to our parents."
Bidding my father, Adam, and my mother, Eve, good-bye, is much more difficult than I ever could have anticipated. They have now lost not only two sons but a daughter as well. I pray that the Almighty will grant them more children to comfort them in their loss.
Cain waits for me, and in his eyes I see deep gratitude. I take his hand and we walk away together, leaving the security of home and family for a life fraught with uncertainty. It is for the love of my brother Cain that I have made this sacrifice, and I know that whatever lies in store for us, we will face it together, my brother and I.