It was the day of the summer solstice. The two of them stood on the once magnificent boulevard and watched the sun sink between the houses. The remains of tall buildings lined the street to the right and left. Weathered signs stood here and there in the sand.

"Come on, let's go home. The sun has almost set." He held out his hand to his mate.
“I want to see it through to the end.” She withdrew from him and took a few steps towards the setting sun.
"You are unruly!"
“I am not your subject.” Defiantly, she took a few steps further.
Angry, he screwed up his eyes and grabbed her arm.
"But in the book it says,the woman is subject to the man! Or do you want us to end likeher?" He made a sweeping gesture in the direction of the dilapidated houses .
"So, and so you can read this, yeah. And how do you even know that this is women's fault?", she poisoned him.
"My father taught me that. And besides, my brain is bigger than yours." He pulled her away with him. "It has always been like this," he continued, "you womenbrought ruin to our ancestors!"

The strange couple's home was in a destroyed skyscraper at the top of the roof. There was a small garden there in which all sorts of plants grew and flourished. They lived in a half-collapsed stone house with a flat roof.
Now and then rain also fell; for this reasonhehad chosen this high-rise as a refuge.

* ~ * ~ *

"Lilith! Come to bed!"
Lilith sat on the stone wall that bordered the garden. It was all crooked and crooked. Their dwelling was a few meters above the parched earth. The wind whistled under their bare feet. Her waist-length hair blew around her, wrapping her up like a cloak.
Today, she decided, she would ignore him. This ..., this animal that she took night after night.Weren't they equal? There was only the two of them left.
She was so lost in thought that she didn't hear him coming. He grabbed her red hair and pulled her upstairs.
"You should come when I call you, woman!"
"Adam! Let go of me!" She tried to break free, but he was stronger than her.
Adam actually let go of her. Then he raised his right hand and lowered it. There was a clap. A searing pain ran through Lilith's cheek.
"So that you never forget where your place is. And now come!" He said sternly when Lilith looked at him with big brown eyes and held her left cheek.
As always, she fought down her anger and tears.

Just wait, one day I'll get rid of you.

He grabbed her wrist roughly and dragged her to the crumbling hut in the back of the roof terrace where they lived.
Adam dragged her to the separate sleeping area. There Lilith threw herself on the common bed and lay down on her with all his weight.He fixed her wrists over her head. She shook her head in helpless anger and kicked in fear of death. Tears of anger, anger and fear ran down her flushed cheeks as she tried to throw it off. But the petite Lilith was inferior to her blond tormentor.
"You should be grateful to me that I saved you from death. Remember, woman, your place is below me!"
That night Adam just took what he thought was his due.

* ~ * ~ *

Day followed day, week after week. And every night he proved his superiority to her. But Lilith wasn't willing to give up so easily. Oh yes, I am sure she was grateful to him. Adam had found her; half-dead of thirst and completely malnourished, she had been lying in the dry river bed, which only carried water for a very short time once a year. But that didn't mean he could treat her like his own.

She remembered her parents faintly. Her father never raised his hand to her or her mother.After the death of her parents, she wandered the arid land like a nomad for years until she found a home with Adam.

That fateful morning, Adam sent them to the gnarled bushes that they used as firewood. Exactly in the river bed in which he had found her back then. Grumbling, she climbed down the steep slope. The river used to be very deep.

The wind drove circular bushes in front of it. Yellow sand danced in the air, the sun made it glitter like diamond dust.

She paused and looked into space. Suddenly she wished she was like the wind that drove the sand before her, like a shepherd his flock. To dance and be free to go wherever she wanted.

Lilith liked to spend time fantasizing and imagining things while she was alone. Very slowly she walked on to the thorn bushes and dangled her bundle back and forth. Because of her, Adam could wait until night fell.The bushes came closer and closer.
As a punishment, he hadn't even given her protective clothing for her hands. Just a long string with which she could fix the rice and a small knife to cut the wood.
Sullenly, she pulled the knife out of her belt. She would come home today with bloody hands.
Lilith got to work. Branch by branch she took it in hand and cut it off from the plant. The long, sharp thorns dug deep into her flesh.
"You will atone for your wicked behavior. Every day, until the great rain", these were his words on the morning afterwards.
He gave her the basest jobs and just enough food and water to keep her strong enough to work. She sincerely hoped that the rain would start soon.
The pain brought tears to her eyes. But she wouldn't cry. She gritted her teeth grimly. There was no way she was going to face Adam with red-crying eyes.She laid branch by branch on the earth. Now and then she wiped her forehead with her arm. The sun beat down on her relentlessly, and her long red hair was already clinging to her body. Lilith looked at the thin rope that had been rolled up next to her until now. She took her knife and severed a short piece from it. This she wrapped around her hair a few times and knotted it tight.

A few hours passed and Lilith was just about to harvest the fourth bush when she looked up at the sky. The sun was at its zenith and the young woman looked for a shady place by one of the larger bushes for her break.
She reached for her bundle and pulled out a dented object that had a dull sheen. In some places there were scratches and the screw cap was no longer completely tight. Again she wiped her forehead with her arm. Then she opened the cap, lifted the jar to her lips, and took a long swig.The water was very warm due to the sun's rays, but warm water was better than nothing.

Lilith sat in the sparse shade of the thorn for a while when something on the other side of the river bed caught her interest. At first she couldn't see what was there. After a moment's hesitation, she finally decided to look. After she put the water bottle back and tied her bundle, she got up and ran to where the thing was.
The hot sand burned under her bare feet, but she didn't mind at the moment. It was more important to her to find out what it was that she had seen.
In the dry river bed there was actually ...

A human! Lilith was amazed. She couldn't believe it. Until now she thought she and Adam were the last survivors of the human race. She went a little closer. To her great surprise she found that the person lying there in the hot sand was a woman.Lilith had not seen another woman since her mother's death. This one was tall and slim, just like Adam. The complete opposite of her. Her long blonde hair was stuck to her body, soaked with sweat. She wore nothing more than a thin, knee-length dress made of torn natural linen.

Curious, Lilith went closer. Was she dead yet? Timidly she touched the strangers' skin. It felt very soft. Much softer than hers.
The strange woman moved her fingers. Very briefly, but it was enough to show Lilith that there was still life in her. Lilith quickly turned the blonde woman onto her back, took out her bottle and opened it. Then she lifted her head and carefully placed the bottle on the stranger's lips.
"Drink it slowly."
The blonde woman coughed.
"Thanks." Her voice was scratchy, nothing more than a low rattle.
She tried to sit up.
"Wait, I'll help you."
With Lilith's help, she finally managed to straighten up."Can ... can I have another sip?" Her blue eyes looked pleadingly at Lilith.
She just nodded and gave her the bottle, whereupon she took a long swig.
"Thank you. I haven't had a drink in days." The fine-cut face relaxed a little. And the beautiful full mouth smiled.

'It's just like back then', Lilith thought. Aloud she said: "Are you hungry?"
The other woman nodded. Lilith opened her bundle and took out a shriveled apple, which she parted with her knife. Then she gave her half of it.
"I'm Lilith," she said after the stranger had finished eating.
“My name is Eva.” The way she spoke showed a very good upbringing.
"Come on, you have to get out of the sun. Are you strong enough to walk alone? Or should I support you?"
“I think it will work.” Eva tried to get up.
“Wait, it won't work that way.” Lilith grabbed Eva under her arms and helped her stand up. Then she put an arm around Eva and went with her back to the thorn bushes.She helped her to sit down in the shade and said: “Stay here, I'll be right back.” She left her bundle with Eva.

Lilith went back to where she had left the branches. There she tied everything into a package and even forgot the sharp thorns. She was glad not to be the only woman anymore.

She went back to Eva with the sticks.
“Do you live here?” She looked around. It seemed like she was getting better.
"Yes. Do you see the ruined city over there?" Lilith pointed to the steel skeletons of the skyscrapers.
Eva nodded.
"On the roof of the tallest building. Together with my ..." She broke off. The wordcompanionjust wouldn't come out of her lips.
“Yes?” Eva looked at her curiously.
"With a friend."
“Are there more people?” She was pleased. Her blue eyes shone.
How naive she was. By the first night at the latest, Adam would show his true colors. Lilith sighed.
"Are we going there