CAIN

by

Avital Gad-Cykman

The day I returned from the summer camp, my brother left home. He waved at me from the bus and shouted: “Jake, you’re the man of the house now!”

My crying father and dumbstruck mother measured me up.

“Hey, he’s eighteen and it’s time he lived on his own,” I said.

They went up to his empty room. I said, “He’ll return happier and healthier, perhaps engaged. Maybe he’ll have a mortgage of his own.”

“We miss him so much,” they said.

I slammed their plates on the table. I said, “I am trying hard.”

They tasted the soup I had made for dinner. “Is it good?” I asked.

They lowered their eyes.
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Originally from Israel, Avital Gad-Cykman has lived in Brazil for the past twelve years. She has published her stories in publications she still admires. When she doesn't write she sees it is almost springtime where she lives.

Avital can be reached via email at:avital_gc@yahoo.com. .

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