Lose Those Chains

It's Brutal Out Here

It didn't take long to find out that life outside Eden was tougher than they both imagined. In fact, tough would be an understatement.

Brutal was more like it.

Animals they once saw lying side by side together like the wolf and the lamb were now predator and prey. The very same creatures Adam had befriended and named had even turned on him. He was no longer their companion, but just another meal to hunt.

And they were the same to him.

The first time he had to gut a fish, he gagged. With trembling fingers, he sliced open the flopping fish, trying to avoid looking into its eyes.

It was much harder to avoid their eyes when he moved on to bigger game. No matter how many times he would tell himself it had to be done, Adam would still pause during the gruesome task, feeling his stomach churning.

With each kill, the tears he shed became less and less.

He washed his hands and clothes every time he skinned an animal. But he could still see the blood staining his skin. Could still smell its sickening sweetness in the air.

Speaking of his skin, which was once free from any blemishes, was now bruised and cut from the field he toiled. His formerly smooth hands had grown rough with calluses. And his previously clean-cut face currently sported a beard. When he first built the hut they now lived in, he learned the hard way what a splinter was. It took hours for Eve to find it and remove it.

Not even Eve was immune to these changes. When she became pregnant with their first child, stretch marks appeared on her stomach and thighs.

Childbirth had terrified him and he was so relieved he would never have to experience it. He thought Eve was dying when he saw her screaming and moaning as she struggled to push their son out.

But as soon as Cain was born, it was as if the pain had vanished, and she became calm. She was still covered in sweat, but she was no longer screaming and moaning. It was their son who was now the one crying.

When Adam held his son for the first time, he had no words. He had seen babies before, but never a baby human. Cain was so tiny that he could fit entirely within his arms. He never imagined humans could be that small.

That moment was one of the happiest moments he had been post-Eden.

Adam enjoyed seeing his son grow and go through childhood, something he never got to experience himself. It was fascinating to watch a human develop in ways he never did.

He couldn't wait to teach Cain everything he knew. He had only interacted with other human women up until this point. It would be fun to have another man around.

But he also thought Cain shouldn't be alone. After all, the angels had said man shouldn't be alone, and that was why a wife was created for him. He hadn't expected Eve to agree since she would have to go through childbirth again, but she actually did.

So after a few years, their second child was born, and they named him Abel.

Adam had hoped his firstborn would take after him, but it was made clear almost immediately who he resembled. From his dark auburn hair to his amber eyes, Cain was his mother's son. He would help her in the garden and the field rather than going to hunt or fish with his dad. Cain proved to be a better farmer than a hunter anyway.

But when it came to Abel, he was Adam's son through and through. Not only in physical appearance but in personality as well. Since he could walk, he would follow Adam around everywhere. He loved to be outdoors, learning how to use a spear or pole. When it came to hunting and trapping, he quickly became an expert.