Lose Those Chains

Your Apathy is Like A Wound In Salt

After the death of Abel, things weren't quite the same between Adam and Eve. If divorce had been a thing when they were alive, they would have absolutely filed for it.

But Eve kept her word and remained by his side. Adam wasn't sure if it was because of the curse passed down from Michael or because somewhere deep inside, she still loved him. 

Or maybe she was like him and was terrified to be alone. 

After all they had been through, the only constant thing in their lives was each other.

Although the term didn't exist at the time, their living situation would be described as roommates. During the day, Eve would spend most of her time in the garden or the field. Meanwhile, Adam would wander into the forest or tend to the animals. It was really only in the morning or at night time when they crossed paths and were forced to interact with each other.

Every day, it was the same monotonous routine.

It was what kept them alive, what made them survive.

Adam had wanted to try again for more kids. He had tried to convince Eve that they could have daughters this time around, and it would be better.

But whether it was due to the stress of what happened or because Eve hardly ate anymore, her body missed its monthly bleeding and wouldn't conceive. 

Not that it mattered much anyway since they were rarely intimate anymore. 

When they did sleep together, it had none of the passion it used to have. Adam would do all the work while Eve would just lay there, staring off into space. 

Their conversations weren't like how they used to be either. One topic they left unspoken was what happened between Cain and Abel. Eve didn't need to say anything that Adam didn't already know. He knew she blamed him and herself. And as much as he didn't want to blame her either, he couldn't. It was true that Cain's actions were his own, but Adam had warned her about his behavior.

He just didn't think it would go this far. 

Many times, he would find himself lost inside the forest, and the thought of never coming back out would tempt him. He would daydream of flinging himself into the lake and letting himself sink to the bottom. Or climbing the highest tree and jumping off. There was even a time he considered crawling into a bear cave he had come across.

But he could never go through with it.

So as the years wore on, their once perfect, ageless bodies wore down as well. Wrinkles formed along their eyes and mouths. Their muscles turned into flab, and their skin started to sag. 

Eve's once thick curls thinned, and even their beautiful shade of auburn grew gray. Adam's hairline receded, and bald spots appeared on his scalp. Eventually, his hair lost its color too, fading from chestnut brown to snow white.

The aches and pains that came with aging plagued both of them. They were still strong, but they weren't as agile as they used to be. They got tired quickly and had to stop to rest more often. 

They were shells of their former selves both inside and out. 

After about eight hundred years, Eve rarely got out of bed anymore. He had to force her to eat and would feed her by hand. When it came to bathing, he would have to help her with that, too. As he washed her body with a rag, he saw just how thin and frail she had grown, no longer resembling the woman he fell in love with in more ways than one. 

Despite pleading with the angels to intervene, they told Adam there was nothing they could do. Her body was failing, and she would soon die. 

Death was an inescapable part of life now.