THE SUN THAT SET WITH YOU

The sun

You were a beautiful mortal man and he was a god filled with love, laughter, anger and despair, and you loved him. That is where your tragedy begins.

You were desired by everyone: your brown skin and brown eyes to match, your feet that struck the ground with purpose and confidence, your smile. I'm sure that's why you caught his eye. Why the god of sunlight, Apollo, turned his head towards you, why his gaze fell on you amongst all the other mortals, why you ensnared his aching heart and kissed life back into him.

You walked amongst lush fields and bathed in cool springs, unaware of his love, did you not realise the sun following you? His gaze upon you? How the sunlight hit you so precisely to enhance your natural glow? How the light got brighter when you smiled? You never noticed, I don't think he did either; he was too enraptured by you.

He loved you from afar, weary to come any closer, to have his light dimmed by a lost love again. But one day his desire for you was too great, the possibility of you falling for another was too much so he left his high throne where he was worshipped and adored, to find you.

He set down his lyre on his seat, and left his bow and arrow on the side and climbed down. Fret flowed through him as he walked to you, wondering if you would love him back, fretting that you would not fulfil his hopes in person. A cascade of worry flowed through him, rooting him to the ground, pushing for him to turn back. But as he lingered on the field before turning, you appeared. You came in all your glory, glory that rivalled Apollo's, and you saw him and you smiled, and the sun felt warmer on your brown skin and sunlight washed through his gold hair. Breeze whispered on your skin, his hair flowed past his face, and he smiled back.

You both would hold onto that moment for the rest of your lives. You would forget the heat and the breeze but you would always remember each other's smile because that was the start of it all. You drank each other's company like ambrosia, you relished it. You rarely spent time apart and when you did you missed each other's company, like you were Achilles crying out for Patroclus' presence after he was left alone in pointless existence without his lover. But it was always temporary. You always knew that soon you would be together again, bathing in streams, running your hands through each other's hair, laying together naked under lustrous moonlight, hands wandering, lips touching.

You laughed into his shoulder as he held you tight and he traced the lines of your face when you smiled. You were beautiful together. And he was so in love he wanted to go through life with you for the first time, he was the god of prophecy but he didn't want to know your fate. Maybe if he did  you wouldn't have met him that day, maybe if he saw your future he wouldn't be so competitive, so quick to make everything a game. But he didn't and now he blames himself.

That day, the spartan prince, beautiful Hyacinth, you felt the sun's glow as you went to play with your lover. The wind blew your hair as your dear Apollo ran forward and loosened your hand from his light grip. Your fingers parted and he ran away from you, grass tickling your ankles, you threw your head back and laughed into the wind. You didn't know that the sound would be carried into the ears of Zephyrus, that his agony over losing you would become fresh, that your joy filled him with hatred. But you didn't know then, did you Hyacinth?

Your beloved called your name and waved his arms, letting you know the game was starting. You were both laughing, longing still between you, you both pictured the life you would have together. The many more nights together keeping each other warm even though you didn't need to, the many more days in the summers glow, Apollo talking of Olympus and how he would rather spend all his days on earth with you then live a celestial life with the gods. You were so happy then. You never would be again.