The Boy who loved the Sun ✓

| Play me like a piano |

The way his slender fingers touched the keys of the piano . He pressed down the ivory and bended and manipulated each note . The old piano had been an antic in a corner of the grandiose house for over five decades . This old piano had been a living witness of singing and dancing till wee hours in the morning .

It had all started when he was a child , sitting under the old piano , in the boom of the tingling strings and pressing the small , poised feet of his mother who smiled as he sang . The instrument reminded him of simpler times , his innocence and his childhood .

Everybody else in the room seemed to enjoy the piece he was playing . His father closed his eyes and gently swayed his head side to side . There was an evident smile on his mother's face . He played another song on the dusty piano in the pastel walled room . The light of the candle fell on the sharp features of his face , the light fell on his hazel eyes . The acoustic he played on the wooden instrument was so melodious that everyone wish he could keep playing more . The way his creased skin flowed over the piano , the way the tune sounded like a silent clamour demanding for a piece of freedom . That's all he has ever wanted .

When he withdrew he fingers , there was a brief pause . And then there was an applause . A very loud applause .

" that was brilliant Apollo . That was fantastic . " explaimed his father .

" thank you " he replied , rubbing the back of his neck shyly .

Artemis was smiling at him .

" you did a great job " she whispered to him when he came and sat beside her .

Everybody including his parents and ( half ) siblings looked impressed so therefore maybe his sister was right . It's true that Apollo loved playing the piano . But he would mostly do it when no one was around . He played for himself .

" it was very good Apollo , you should play this piece more often " Athena told them .
Apollo nodded approvingly .
" I agree . You're extraordinarily talented " added a very excited Aphrodite .
" that was magical , brother . Just magical " said a delighted Artemis .
" You think whatever your brother does is magic " retorted Ares .

Artemis decided not to reply . The situation remains under control only when you don't talk back to Ares . It was pointless anyway . She decided to focus on the wonderful evening they just had .

" I don't play that well too , you can stop with the compliments " he said as he got up to pick up his favourite book . He opened the first page and cherished the smell of new books . He flipped through the pages and loved the way his fingertips brushed against the paper . Then he sat cross legged on his bed , and started reading the poem he loved most .

I would trade all the creativity
in my soul
for her
blind confidence
for what good are wings
without the courage to fly

Apollo loved poetry that portrayed melancholy and agony. And he loved the smell of new books and damp grass . He loved the benevolent rain . He loved playing the piano while it rained outside and how it poured against the window pane and trickled down . Apollo also loved the stars .

Athena , Ares , Aphrodite and Artemis carried their discussions further on . Apollo , on the other hand , was lost in thought . He drifted away in his own self made world , where he gained both comfort and security . His own world where he wouldn't let anyone else in .

" That was so wonderful " said Helen once the sound of piano had ceased . Achilles and Patroclus were too mesmerised to say anything . They had previously stopped at Zeus' window many a times but never before had a heard such a beautiful tune , a flawless melody . Needless to say Icarus was speechless . He probably didn't have surfeit vocabulary to describe how he felt about the piano . It had touched him in the abyss of his heart . It had played him like a piano .

Poem credits : A T T I C U S

Word count : 680