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As he distributed the tasks, a sense of indifference wove through the words. His eyes became expressionless, his face forbidding.
Silently, I accepted the book from my brother. With a last glance at Edward, who quickly turned away, I walked to the comfortable reading chair with one of the candles. Although we now had light bulbs hanging everywhere in the room, I still preferred the candlelight.
By now, it was well past midnight, and I was shivering a little. Wrapped in a blanket, I snuggled into the chair. I closed my eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and tried to escape the overwhelming sadness that Edward's story had evoked in me.
Then, I took a closer look at the copy of the Koran in my hands. According to the indication on the cover, this translated version was from the early twentieth century and was very well preserved despite the long time it had survived. A black cover stoically enclosed this Holy Scripture.
Never before had I held such an old book in my hands. Almost in awe, I opened it and flipped through the first pages until I came across the creation story.
This book describes how Allah created the heavens and the Earth and then announced to the angels he would create someone who could watch over them. Allah formed Adam from clay and breathed into him the soul. Against his loneliness, Allah gave Adam a wife by his side, Eve, and allowed the two of them to live in Paradise and had his angels bow down to them. Among them was Satan, who was not an angel but a Ginn. A being with free will, created from fire before Adam and Eve had come into being. He refused to bow before man and fell out of favor with the Creator. Satan then vowed to do everything he could to make Adam and Eve stray from the right path. In the meantime, Allah forbade the two to approach a particular tree in Paradise. Satan took advantage of this opportunity and tempted them to oppose Allah's request. After that, Adam and Eve were ashamed and asked Allah for forgiveness. In his mercy, the Creator forgave them but asked them to leave Paradise and live on Earth from then on.
Lost in thought, I closed the book. Much of it resembled the story of creation in the Bible. I opened the book to read again the part where Satan seduced Adam and Eve, and a page at the very beginning of the Koran caught my eye. Handwritten, therein the upper right-hand corner was a name.John Adam Nash. Astonished, I looked at the note, which probably reflected the previous owner of the Holy Scripture. Somewhere, I had heard or read the name before.
However, where exactly? And in what context? Then, it struck me that I didn't know Edward's last name at all.
Strained, I squinted my eyes until the letters blurred. The answer lay deep in my memory, just waiting to be discovered.
"Myrina, are you done reading?" I heard Alex call. I immediately closed the book, pushed my thoughts aside, and walked to the big table where everyone else was already waiting for me.
I quickly slipped into the chair next to Chris, who was gazing with a happy smile at the Jewish Scriptures, the Torah.
"We were looking if the story of Adam and Eve differed in any way in the various Bibles," my fiancé reported, sliding a sheet of paper with notes into the center of the tabletop.
"So, did you discover anything?" asked Chris, bending curiously over the document. "Are there differences from Bible to Bible?"
"No," Edward regretted. "The story is always the same, except for a different choice of words here and there. Adam is formed by God from the Earth, is given the breath of life, and names the animals, but remains lonely, after which God creates Eve from his rib. Both are allowed to live in Paradise, where the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are growing. Adam and Eve should not eat from the second one. Otherwise, they would die. But the cunning serpent persuades Eve to take a fruit from the tree, and she also gives it to Adam. Both become aware of their nakedness, are ashamed, and are ultimately driven out of Paradise by God to bear children in pain and have to work hard in the fields. Eve is guilty. She bears the original sin and becomes a sinner. Exactly what the Brotherhood always preaches."
"Here in the Torah of Judaism, it's not much different than in the Christian version, with the only difference being that man's act is not considered an original sin in the end. God forgives Adam and Eve," Chris quickly added, gazing in love at the book in his hands. Hopefully, he would be able to part with it later when Edward wrapped it up again.
"In the Koran as well," I hastily informed everyone, giving my brother a few last quiet moments with the Torah. "Original sin doesn't exist there, and God is merciful. He forgives them for their mistake. And it is important to note here that the Koran does not make Eve the sinner but that both man and woman are seduced. In their creation story, it is not a serpent but a being made of fire, a so-called Ginn, Satan, who persuades them to approach the forbidden tree. They, too, are banished from Paradise."
"And not Eve is the sinner?" asked Alex in surprise.
"No, they both took equal blame in the Koran," I answered.
"This Ginn? Was he also punished? Like the snake in Christianity?" Edward wanted to know.
"Satan actually seduced Adam and Eve in the first place only because he was punished by God, Allah. Namely, he refused to kneel before human beings together with the other angels. He fell out of favor with his Creator and then vowed to lead Allah's other creation astray."
"This is interesting. The woman is not to blame, and Satan, who did not want to bow down to human beings, makes them disobey God's commandment out of revenge. Moreover, this creation story mentions the angels."
Chris ran his hand through his hair thoughtfully. "But what does this mean for the Knights of the Seals? Do they believe only in the creation story of Christianity? Or does the persecution of women have a different background than that of Eve's sin after all?"
"Assuming the Brotherhood may have been founded before the Bible existed as such, then we should definitely look into what deviates from the known story," Edward reasoned aloud.
"You're right," Aspasia, who had listened in silence until now, spoke up. "But how do we find out whether the Bible story, the Koran story, or the Torah story is the one that comes closest to the truth?"
"By immersing ourselves tomorrow in the world of legends and myths of the ancient realms," Edward explained, grinning from ear to ear. Forgotten for that moment was sadness, and excitement was in the gleam of his eyes. "That's where I'm sure we'll find the answers. I'll take care of the literature we need."
Reluctantly, Chris and I returned the old copies of the scriptures to Edward a little later. As I followed Aspasia, who walked disconcertingly silently ahead of me through the tunnels, I pondered the creation stories. One question wouldn't leave me: What role did the angels play?
CHAPTER 28
Myrina, are you all right? You've been so pale, tired, and withdrawn lately." My father looked at me worriedly from across the table.
“No, Dad. Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” I quickly replied as I avoided his gaze. Hastily, I took a bite of my omelet, hoping he would end the subject.
"I'm sure she's just sleeping a little fitfully at the moment. After all, the wedding is getting closer and closer, and Myrina is facing many changes," Chris came to my rescue. Father had invited him and my other two brothers to Sunday brunch. He, too, could hardly hold himself upright because he was tired.
