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.
But it wasn't just his interests that made him more like his dad. He was more easy-going than his brother. Since Cain had reached young adulthood, he developed an attitude and constantly pushed back against his parents.
Especially his dad.
"Are you sure he's even mine?" Adam would joke with Eve, despite knowing deep down that Cain was indeed his.
"Yes, of course." She laughed. "You're the only man around, so who else's could he be?"
"It's just that he's so different from me. He doesn't like to do what he's told. He's always wanting to argue. He always thinks he knows better than us. You've seen it!" Adam threw his hands in the air to emphasize his point. "Even the angels have seen it."
True to their word, Adam and his family could still talk to the angels whenever they wanted. Cain and Abel would even present them with gifts they had made. Not that the angels needed anything though.
When Michael or Sera would talk to Adam, they would tell him how they were concerned about Cain's behavior. But every time he would try to bring up the topic with Eve, she'd shut him down.
Like right now.
"What do the angels know?" Her tone had grown sharp, just like the blade she was polishing. "He's still just a boy. He'll grow out of it."
"I thought so too," Adam sighed. "But he's not a child anymore. He's a young man now."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore. He's our son, and I will never turn my back on him. Despite what anyone says." Dropping the blade, Eve pushed past him and walked out of their hut. Adam followed behind her, not intending to just drop the subject.
But when he entered the courtyard, Cain and Abel were standing outside, and the chance to continue their discussion went out the door with him.
"Did you two finish your chores?" Adam asked the pair.
"Yes."
"No."
Adam rubbed his temple, knowing full well who answered what. "Cain, why haven't you finished your chores yet?"
Cain wore the same scowl on his face as always. One Adam wanted to do nothing more than wipe off. "Because I had other things to do."
He could feel his already worn patience growing even thinner. "And what exactly did you have to do that was more important than fixing the roof of the hut and gathering the crops?"
"I was making a gift for the angels." Cain crossed his arms over his chest. "That's pretty fucking important."
"Hey! Don't you talk like that in front of your mother!" Adam marched up to his son, matching his towering height. It was one of the few things he had passed down to him, along with his wavy hair. "What's wrong with you?"
"Adam, it's okay." Eve placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Cain, listen to your father and finish your chores."
Cain rolled his eyes and started to walk away. "Whatever."
"Don't worry, Cain. I can help you with your chores–" Abel started to say before his dad interrupted him.
"No! He needs to learn some responsibility. He's an adult. He can do his own chores."
"Then stop talking to me like I'm a child!" Cain whipped back around, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
"If you'd stop acting like a child, then I wouldn't have to treat you like one!" Adam knew he needed to keep his cool, but damn it, this boy really knew how to get his temper flaring. "You've been on this Earth for more than two hundred and fifty years and you still refuse to act like it! Even your brother, who's younger–"
Cain groaned. "Can you go one fucking conversation without comparing me to Abel? We get it! He's the perfect child!"
It took everything in Adam not to slap his son across the mouth. But he knew if he did, it would just make things even worse. Eve would start yelling at him, and then Abel would be pulled into this mess. Sometimes, Adam wished the angels would've warned him just how hard parenting would be.
Maybe then he wouldn't have agreed to it.
"Okay, that's enough." Eve placed herself between the two, separating them. "Cain, once you finish your chores, you can make your gift for the angels."
Cain huffed and stormed off towards the field. Meanwhile, it was Adam's turn to roll his eyes. He had been doing that a lot more since Cain was born.
"Adam, you're being too hard on him." Eve pulled him aside towards the garden.
"Oh, so now we're doing this?" Adam raised his eyebrow at her.
Eve let out an exasperated sigh. "I think you just need to be a little more patient. I hate seeing you two fight, and it's like every day we have to go through this."
"You heard how he was talking to us! I'm not just going to let him disrespect us like that!"
"I'll talk to him about that." Eve patted his shoulder, but her attempts to reassure him did nothing.
"Yeah, because he knows he can get away with anything with you." Adam shook his head before gesturing to Abel, who had been awkwardly standing to the side. "Stop standing around eavesdropping and help me prepare dinner."
"Uh, I promise I wasn't listening!" Abel trailed behind his father.
"You might be great at a lot of things, but lying isn't one of them." Adam deadpanned as he collected his tools from the hut. He had caught some fish earlier in the day and left them in a basket floating in the river.
So as the afternoon dragged on, Adam and Abel prepared the fish and cooked them while Eve and Cain gathered the fruits and vegetables and peeled them.
That was another thing that had changed for him after leaving Eden. He never used to sweat before. He didn't even know his body could do that. But as the sun beat down on him, he would begin to perspire from his brow and underarms.
It pained him sometimes to know his sons would never know what life in Eden had been like. He and Eve had agreed to speak very little of their previous lives. And when they did, they treated it as a mythical bedtime story.
He told himself it was because his children would never understand. But there was always that nagging feeling it was because he couldn't bear to reminisce aloud about what he had lost.
It was just easier to bottle it up and move on. That wasn't his life anymore. This was his life now.
But there wasn't a day that passed he didn't think about it.
As dusk started to settle, they came together again around the fire pit for dinner, eating in complete silence. Adam didn't mind it for once. At least it would be better than having to listen to Cain's constant whining.
Eve must've not felt the same way since she interrupted the tranquility. "So, Cain, what are you giving the angels?"
"I'm gifting them a basket filled with the sweetest fruits," Cain answered in between bites.
"What do the angels have use of fruits for?" Adam chuckled to himself, earning a glare from his wife.
"Adam," she warned through gritted teeth.
"What?" Adam shrugged his shoulders. "The angels don't need to eat. And even if they did, their food is probably a lot better than ours."
He didn't mention how the angels had cursed the very same ground that Cain planned to gift them from. Thorns and thistles now scratched at their feet, something he never used to worry about back in Eden.
"Well, I'm giving them a new breed of lamb I just bred," Abel piped up. "They have a thick but soft fleece. And they almost look like calves!"
"See? At least, that's unique." Adam went back to eating his meal, thinking the conversation was over. But when he heard Cain jump up to his feet and throw his food to the ground, he knew the onset of another headache was about to happen.
"I just can't do anything right! Can I, Dad?"
Even though they sat feet away, Adam could feel the ire radiating from both his wife and oldest son. But Adam ignored it. He wasn't going to let Cain have the last word like this. "Cain, you ask why I treat you like a child, but this is exactly why! You're throwing a tantrum like when you were twenty! Now pick up your damn fish and sit back down!
"No! Fuck this!" Cain started to walk away but not before yelling, "I hate it here! I can't wait to leave!"
"Go right ahead! No one's stopping you!" Adam called back as he watched his son disappear into the darkness. "You won't last an hour on your own!"
He didn't need to turn to glance at Eve to know what kind of look she was giving him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she got up without another word and went into the hut, leaving her unfinished dinner behind.
"Looks like someone's sleeping with the sheep tonight," Abel said after a long, uncomfortable pause.
Adam frowned at him. "Shut up and eat your fish."