Cain Read Online Free PDF Page B

had no
further need for his feelings of remorse.
    He
left the hut and took a deep breath of cold air. The sun had not
yet risen, but the sky was lit with delicate colours, enough for the arid,
monotonous landscape before him to appear transfigured in
that early morning light, a kind of garden of eden with no
prohibitions. Cain had no reason to set off in any
particular direction, but he instinctively sought the footsteps he had left behind
him before he had
departed from his route to investigate the hut where he had spent the
night. It was simple enough, he just had to walk towards the sun, which would
soon be appearing above the horizon. Apparently soothed
by those hours of sleep, his stomach had moderated its pangs
and would, with luck, remain in the same quiet mood
because there was no hope of finding any food soon, and
although it's true that he did come across the occasional fig
tree, there was never any fruit, it not being the season. With a
remnant of energy he didn't even know he had, he set off once
more. The sun came up, it won't rain today, and it might
even be hot. It wasn't long before he began to feel tired
again. He had to find something to eat, if not, he would die in that desert
and, within a
matter of days, be nothing but a skeleton, because the carnivorous
birds or the occasional pack of wild dogs that had not as yet appeared would
make short work of him. It was written, however, that cain's
life would not end there, mainly because it would not have
been worth the lord's while to have spent so much time
cursing him only to leave him to die in that wasteland. The
news came from below, from his weary feet, which had
taken a while to realise that the ground they were walking on
had changed, there was now no vegetation, no scrub or
thistles to hinder his steps, in short, cain, without knowing
how or when, had found a path. The poor wanderer was
thrilled because it is a well- known fact that a road, path or
track will lead sooner or later, nearer or farther, to an
inhabited place where it might be possible to find work, a roof
and a crust of bread to assuage his hunger. Encouraged by
this sudden discovery, and, as they say, putting a good
face on a bad business, he dredged up some energy from
nowhere and quickened his pace, expecting at any moment to
see a house, signs of life, a man mounted on a donkey or a
woman carrying a pitcher on her head. He still had to walk
a long way though. The old man who finally appeared was
on foot and leading two sheep along on a rope. Cain
greeted him as warmly as his vocabulary allowed, but the man
did not reciprocate. What's that mark on your forehead, he
asked. Taken by surprise, cain asked in turn, What mark,
That one, said the man, raising his hand to his own head,
It's a birthmark, replied cain, You're obviously not a good
man, Who told you, how do you know, answered cain
unwisely, As the old saying goes, the devil marks those he
finds fault with, Oh, I'm no better or worse than anyone else,
I'm just looking for work, said cain, trying to lead the
conversation in the direction that best suited him, There's no
shortage of work around here, what can you do, asked the
old man, I'm a farmer, We've got enough farmers, you
won't find any of that kind of work, besides, you're on your
own, no family, No, I lost mine, How, I just lost them,
that's all, In that case, I'll leave you, I don't like the look of you
or that mark on your forehead. He was about to move off when cain stopped him, Don't go, at
least tell me the name of this place, They call it the land of nod, And what does
nod mean, It means the land of fugitives or wanderers,
and seeing as how you're here, tell me, what are you
fleeing from and why are you a wanderer, Look, I'm not going to
tell my life story to someone I happen to meet on the road, a
man leading two sheep along by a rope, besides, I don't
know you, I owe you no particular respect and am under
no obligation to answer your questions, We'll meet again,
Who