Abel and Cain

Original link: https://wangpei.net/2022/09/01/%E4%BA%9A%E4%BC%AF%E5%92%8C%E8%AF%A5%E9%9A%90/

A friend asked me which of Borges’ novels I liked, and my answer was every one. I even want to rewrite them one by one and make them my own.

For example, the following short story by Borges, I read the English translation at the time, and was impressed. So I rewrote the novel based on my own memory.

Abel and Cain

When night rises, a bonfire rises on the high hills. Adam and Eve’s two sons, Cain and Abel, sit around a bonfire. It has been a long time since the first murder in human history. At the moment of the murderous killing, Cain, jealous of his brother Abel’s sacrifice, was more pleasing to God, so he picked up a stone and gave it to his brother Abel. Hit it on the head. Immediately, Abel’s blood flowed to the earth, and the earth opened its mouth to tell God about Abel’s grievances. God saw, God listened, and looked at Cain for wandering in the land: toiling without being sated, moving without dwelling. Everyone knows this.

Now that everything seems to be over, Abel smiled and looked at his brother, handing him the roasted leg of lamb. He accepted it with a smile, and handed the baked matzo to his dear brother.

After a long silence, Cain finally spoke:

“Brother, my dear brother, I’m so glad you forgot about that.”

The charcoal was crackling, and Abel was stunned for a moment, and asked:

“What?”

“Yes,” Cain felt a little embarrassed. He threw a piece of firewood and smashed it against a dark red burning charcoal, which cracked in half with a snap.

“It’s that one. When I hit it with a stone, I just wanted to teach you a lesson. I didn’t expect…”

Having said this, Cain suddenly added infinite courage.

“I was so impulsive that I didn’t expect it to hit so hard. Yes, I can still see the scar. Can I feel it?”

Before waiting for Abel to answer, he boldly reached out and touched the dark red scar, but Abel didn’t even hide, as if he was listening to someone else’s story.

Cain burst into tears.

“Brother, you don’t know how regretful I am since then. I can’t eat or sleep. When I close my eyes, I see you lying in a pool of blood. It’s over now, everything is over.”

Abel looked at Cain, who was laughing through tears, and said:

“As long as the remorse is there, the sin is still there.”

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