Icarus and the Sun

II.

I would've never noticed him, hadn't he been approaching me at such a rapid speed. But as quickly as he'd come up, he retreated. The heat radiating off of my being was enough to turn everyone to the shadows, and no one from the Earth could look up at me without tears in their eyes. Perhaps that's why I was alone, too.

With a careful eye and a curious furrow of my brows, I watched the male silhouette fly back down towards the ground. I couldn't catch even a mere glimpse of the details of his face or body, but I was so intrigued by him. Who was he? Why did he fly towards me, of all things?

I needed to find him.

☼ ☼ ☼

Nightfall couldn't have come sooner even if she tried. I had waited a few hours after my return home to ensure my father had no idea of my plans for the evening, and once he was tucked away in his bedroom I made my escape.

I took a form much duller than my usual appearance to conceal myself more-- A bright Sun walking around was bound to catch the attention of anybody nearby, and that would completely ruin my night. Furthermore, I wore a cloak to disguise myself. No one had recognised me as I stalked through the corridors of my father's home, down to the garden, and through my father's exit of Mt. Olympus which lead directly to his altar on Earth.

It was much darker than I had expected, which took me by surprise. There weren't any mortals around to worship Apollo, so I gathered that it must've been very late into the night on Earth. Maybe the man I'd seen would be asleep, too? Was this already a lost cause?

Slowly, I stepped onto the cold stone ground of the altar and continued on until I felt the dirt and grass in between my toes. Such a simple sensation was so foreign to me-- This is what the Earth felt like... And as I drew nearer to the ground to observe, I could smell the tang of it and smiled. How could my father keep me from this?

☼ ☼ ☼

After a couple hours of mindless wondering and observing of the most mundane objects, I found him. It wasn't planned, and originally I had no idea how I expected to find him. This whole thing was far-fetched, but I somehow knew I'd be drawn to him like a magnet to metal.

I'd stumbled across a pond, blue and serene in the early hours of the morning before I was supposed to rise and disturb the calm mood. As I sat on the edge of the water, I used a stick I found nearby to disturb it's smoothness and cause small ripples. It distorted the mirrored image of myself, but I didn't mind. I didn't want to think of myself anymore, anyway.

Lost in my own little world meant hearing nothing but the quiet sounds coming from the water and the natural night. That's why my head snapped when I heard the crunching of a leaf all the way across the pond, and that's when I saw him. He was already staring right at me.