Cain by José Saramago Page A

sun. Many years later, people would say that a meteorite had fallen there, a celestial
body, of the many that wander about in
space, but that isn't true, it
was the tower of babel, which the lord, out of pride, would not allow to be completed. The history of mankind is the history of our misunderstandings with god, for he doesn't understand us, and we don't understand him.

Chapter
7
     
    It was written
on the tablets of fate that cain would meet abraham again. One day, on yet another of those sudden time-travelling shifts from present to present, now forwards, now backwards, cain found himself at the hottest hour of the day outside a tent near the oaks of mamre. He thought he had caught sight of an old man who vaguely reminded him of someone he knew. In order to be sure, he called at the door of the tent and abraham appeared. Are you looking for someone, he asked, Well, yes and no, I was just passing through, when it seemed to me that I recognised you, and I was right, I'm cain, how is your son isaac, You're
mistaken, the only son I have is called
ishmael, not isaac, and ishmael is
the child I had by my slave hagar. Cain's sharp wits, accustomed to such
situations, immediately came into play, this game of alternative presents had once again manipulated time and shown him what would happen at a later date before it actually did, which, put in simpler, more explicit terms means that isaac had not yet been born. I don't recall ever having seen you before, said abraham, but come in, make yourself at home, I'll get a servant to bring you water to wash your feet and give you some bread for the journey,
    First, I must
tend to the needs of my donkey, Take him over to those oak trees, where you'll find hay and straw and a drinking trough full of fresh water. Cain did as abraham suggested and, tethering the donkey in the shade, he removed the saddle to give the animal some relief from the heat. Then he felt the almost empty saddlebags and wondered what he could do to remedy what was fast becoming an alarming lack of food. Abraham's words had given him new hope, but man cannot live by bread alone, especially one who has grown used to gastronomic delicacies far above his original station and social class. Leaving the donkey to enjoy the most basic of country pleasures, water, shade and plentiful food, cain returned to the tent, called out to announce his presence and then went in. He saw at once that some kind of meeting was going on, to which, of course, he had not been invited. Abraham was in conversation with three men, who had apparently arrived in the meantime. Cain made as if to withdraw discreetly, but abraham said, Don't leave, sit down, you are all my guests, and now, if you'll permit me, I must go and give my orders. He went into a room in the back of the tent and said to sarah, his wife, Quick, knead three measures of the best flour and make a few loaves. Then he went to the area where the cattle were kept and brought in a plump young calf, which he handed over to a servant to be slaughtered and cooked. When all this had been done, he served his guests the veal that had been prepared, saying to cain, Join us under the trees. And as if that were not generosity enough, he served them butter and milk as well. Then the men asked, Where is sarah, and abraham replied,
    She is in the
tent. That was when one of the three men said, I will return to your house within a year and, at the
appointed time, your wife will give birth to
a son. That will be isaac, said
cain in a low voice, so low that no one seemed to hear. Now abraham and sarah were well on in years, and she was no longer of child-bearing age. That is why she laughed and thought, How could I possibly have that pleasure again now that my husband and I are old and weary. The man asked abraham, Why did sarah laugh, believing that she cannot have a son at her age, when nothing is too hard for the lord. And he repeated what he had said before, I will return to your house within a