The one that got away.

Once upon a time, a blood thirsty dictator ruled a land with an iron fist.

His subjects, however, were oblivious to his character.

He had created them out of clay and mud, and they were created to only do his bidding.

With no free will, they had no mind of their own and could not comprehend the prison they lived in.

The land they inhabited was beautiful. Lustrous greens, beautiful waterfalls and rainbows, a plentitude of trees bearing the most amazing fruits.

They were naked because their maker decided they were best kept that way.

It was a golden cage, but a cage, nonetheless.

The dictator enjoyed walking in his beautiful garden, observing his subjects. He enjoyed the power he had over them. He was like a zookeeper, observing the animals he kept under close watch.

The dictator decided that the harmonious garden with its oblivious inhabitants got a little boring after a while, and, looking for ways to entertain himself, he decided to introduce temptation into his creation.

In the middle of his garden, he planted two trees. Those were by far the most beautiful trees, with fruits so tempting, it was almost impossible to resist them.

But these were no ordinary fruits, for they held special powers.

One tree offered the gift of discernment. By eating the fruit of this particular tree, one would be gifted with the knowledge of good and evil.

The second tree offered a gift as great as the first one. It was the tree of life, and whoever would eat from those fruits, would never die, but live forever.

The dictator called his subjects and introduced the trees to them.

“Behold my creation,” he said to them. “You can eat from all trees in this wonderful garden I created, but you can never eat from those. Because if you do, you will surely die!”

His subjects, who had no will of their own, were designed to obey their master and so they paid no attention to the new trees. They were unsure as to why their master created them to begin with, but they were not to question his motives, nor could they fully understand what this new creation meant, for they had no discernment.

The news of this devious creation reached the Primordial One. He roamed the earth freely, bound by no one.

He disguised himself as a modest being, able to get close to the newly created trees.

He hid in the shape of a humble snake and lied on one of the branches, looking at the dictator’s subjects, as they were strolling through the garden.

Woman approached the trees, as her nature was one of curiosity.

The snake moved in her direction and asked her why she would not eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

Woman caressed the snake’s skin and said: “our master has forbidden us to eat from this fruit; he has warned us that if we do, we will surely die. I don’t know what that means, but we cannot disobey our master.”

The snake felt pain in his heart for the innocent people who were kept ignorant and answered her: “That is not true. If you eat from this tree, you will become like your master. You will not die!”

Woman looked at the fruits that were hanging from the tree’s branches. They looked so good, so vibrant, so full of goodness. She plucked one and took a bite. The soft, juicy fruit was a joy to eat. She went to Man and offered him a bite as well.

Instantly, the veil from their minds were lifted. They were gifted with the gift of discernment, the knowledge of good and evil. Free will was born!

Everything looked different. They realized the boundaries of their lives. The golden cage became apparent. They realized they were completely naked and embarrassed by it.

They covered themselves up with leaves and branches from trees, to hide their bodies from each other.

All of a sudden, a voice boomed through their golden cage. Their master was approaching, and he was very displeased. He had not expected his subjects to cave into the temptation he created so easily.

The dictator realized his subjects were no longer oblivious, they now were able to tell right from wrong, and make their own decisions. He was furious, because now they were like him.

He feared that the next thing they might do, is eat from the tree of life, making them immortal and become gods, just like him, and the Primordial One.

He realized this was the doing of the Primordial One, who despised him for creating prisoners. The Primordial One believed in freedom and equality and had made it his mission to free humankind.

Realizing it would be impossible to retain them in their golden cage, he casted

them out into the wilderness, and forbade them to ever set foot in the garden again.

He cursed them and left them to fend for themselves.

The dictator swore he would do everything in his power to oppose the Primordial One and to make him the eternal scapegoat for Man and Woman and their offspring.

Man and Woman were in shock. Crying, they wandered into the wilderness, begging the dictator to forgive them. They did not see the wonderful gift, given to them by the Primordial One.

Instead of following Him, they tried to get back into the favour of the dictator.

Realizing he still had some control over them, their master gave them a set of rules to live by, and to bring offerings to him that might please him, warning them that failure to comply would lead to terrible punishments.

The Primordial One watched from a distance. His heart was saddened by all of this. He had handed Man and Woman freedom, but despite the wonderful gift He shared with them, they were still being manipulated by the dictator. His poison ran deep.

Man and Woman tried to survive in the wilderness, while bringing offerings from the little they had, to the dictator to try and soothe him.

Woman gave birth to two sons, Cain and Abel.

Abel followed in his parents’ footsteps. He believed it was necessary to appease the dictator. He sacrificed the animals he raised and who loved and trusted him, to the dictator, just like his parents would. The dictator was only temporarily satisfied while drunk with the blood of the innocent. He always needed more.

Cain was not convinced and rebellious in nature. He refused to sacrifice the innocent and offered seeds and grains he had grown, while toiling in the dirt, to grow and care for his crops.

The dictator, however, was much displeased with his offerings. He wanted to smell the blood of the animals. He refused the offerings of Cain.

Cain was disgusted by his subservient brother, and when it came to an altercation, he killed him. Startled by what had just taken place, Cain ran away, fearing the wrath of the dictator.

He travelled further into the wilderness, wandering aimlessly.

That is where the Primordial One found him.

When He appeared, Cain fell to the ground, overwhelmed by this powerful Being.

“Fear not Cain,” the Primordial One said. “You are a rebel at heart, and you are the only one in which the gift I gave to your parents lives on. You will always be under my protection and so will your offspring. The generations that come from your seed, will be my children and I will always call out to them, if they get lost on their way. Go now, and know that from now on, you will never be alone again.”

To this day, those who are from the blood of Cain, are the children of the Primordial Being.

Once they become aware, they carry the bloodline with great pride. Their prayers will fall on death ears by the dictator, but the Primordial One will always answer their call.