Lilith's Cave
18 Sivan
Sinai Peninsula, Red Sea
The briny aroma of the Red Sea mingled with the earthy scent of the cavern. I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks, their rhythm a constant reminder of the world outside. As I focused on my breath, I felt the weight of my choice settling. No one said this would be easy, yet here I was, determined to bring my child into this G-d forsaken world. A slice of Heaven amidst my obvious Hell.
I pressed my palms against the slick rock wall, the cold seeping into my skin. Contractions twisted through me like a tornado, and I grit my teeth. Outside, the sky darkened, a cruel twist of fate. The sun was my only source of light, warmth, hope... and I could feel it slipping away.
"Ahhh!" I cried out, the sound echoing into the darkness. "You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" Amniotic fluid rushed from me. Pooling onto the ground like a slick puddle.
The atmosphere shifted, and I thought I heard whispers woven into the sound of the crashing waves. Were the Angels mocking me? Did they revel in my suffering for something I desired so much? Or was I just simply losing my mind?
"Lilith..." A voice pierced the cacophony, sharp and commanding. "You are not alone."
I turned my head, squinting into the dimming light. Three figures emerged from the shadows, their forms ethereal and radiant.
It was Senoi, Sansenoi, and Sammangelof—the same three Angels who had once hunted me after I fled Eden. They sought to bring me back, but I had refused, and here we were.
"Why are you here?" I spat, my voice low and fierce. "I have no need for you. Leave me be!" I clutched my belly, naked, in labour, and without time for their nonsense. I would never return to Eden.
Sammangelof stepped closer, his voice smooth as silk. "We have a pact to uphold."
"A pact?" I hissed, struggling against the tide of pain. "I do not understand!"
I knew what he meant, but Angels are notorious for their deceptions. I wanted to see if they remembered.
(The pact... G-d would take my children unless I returned to Adam... Adam had taken a new wife, Eve. Why must this pact be upheld? It was null and void. We were united once, and now we are not. I deserved to keep my child—and he had a compliant Eve, case closed.)
Sammangelof advanced, the light casting harsh shadows across his features.
"You are bound by your choices, Lilith. Do not forget. Her father is still an Angel. Fallen or not, you know the law. Nephilim are perilous. We can protect her in Heaven, so she does not harm anyone..."
—Lilith's Internal Commentary—
Was this the pact we had once discussed? Had G-d concocted another scheme, refusing to tell me since I had returned to Eden and persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit? Surely, He could not have forgotten the events with Adam, yet here we were. Unless this was a new decree: relinquish my "bastard" child and spare myself the pain of her loss.
I had told you Angels were deceivers. They played the long con, attempting to convince me that reality was different from what I perceived. I knew what G-d had proclaimed. How He learned of my consorting with a Fallen Angel was beyond me. Perhaps the Angels had stalked me since my departure, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. I wondered if they had enjoyed the carnal and sexual delights that had brought me here. We had engaged in acts that would surely raise G-d's brow, a sinful pleasure.
—Unless, of course, G-d already anticipated my actions. Rumour had it He knew everything, leaving no room for privacy. In that case, He was a perv!
I had no time to dwell. My child was on the verge of arrival.
