And Yah commanded the man, saying, “Eat of every tree of the garden . . .”
I hold the manuscript with care. The room is dim and I am all alone, but I still glance over my shoulder. I am on the second floor and I would hear anyone coming up the stairs, but it makes me nervous just the same. I do not know why. These words are not forbidden. More like forgotten.
My finger follows the writing as it goes on to tell the story of Adam, our father, and Hawwa, our mother. In all the world, only one thing was forbidden to them. Fruit from a tree, a tree that bestowed the knowledge of good and evil.
On the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.
Except that nobody does. Apart from Abel. And nobody talks about him.
I hear someone coming up the stairs and hurriedly put away the manuscript. How it came to be in this room, I have no idea. It is in a small trunk, underneath some rough woollen garments. The trunk is clearly my brother's craftsmanship. Tubal-Cain's skill with bronze and iron is known throughout the city of Cain.
It is only Naamah coming up the stairs. She has come up to see what is taking me so long. I was sent up to the stuffy, crowded room to get some more bronze platters.