Internal Divisions

I was born, as all men are, because of the act of love between a man and a woman. Later, I was to consider the pains of labor my mother went through as a great sacrifice made on my behalf. I came into this world with another, a twin brother who became my only companion growing up. Though we took different paths of survival, we loved each other as only brothers can.

At the age of seven, our father took us away from the cottage for the first time, and led us through the forests and fields that surrounded our home. I myself was entranced with the way my father could grow a field of wheat from husks of grain and entire orchards from tiny seeds. But my brother was more excited by the animals in the field and the thrill of a good hunt. As we grew, so did our passions, though it led us from each other.

In the sixteenth year of our birth, our mother told us the history of the world and of the garden. And though our father scoffed at the idea, my brother and I agreed, after much discussion, that we should give a token of thanks to them that had created the world. After much thought, we came to the conclusion that only through fire could our offering be made to Heaven.

So, to prevent the risk of the fire going out of control, we constructed short pillars of stones with dry wood on top. When the kindling fire was ablaze, we placed our offerings on the separate altars. Because mine was grain and fruit, it had finished burning before my brother’s had even begun to smoke. Somehow, this left me feeling as if my sacrifice were smaller, less valuable than his, though the labor I had invested in the harvest was far greater than his small hunting trophies. When he began to mock me, I became angry with him.