Myth
There once was a goddess named Abbey; she was the goddess of all leaves in Greece. She covered each forest with her many shades of green and she was so proud of it too. All the gods would come down just to see her lovely leaves, even the most beautiful goddess Aphrodite would be taken away by the beauty of Abbey's leafy forests. One day a mortal child was walking through the forest, unlike most mortals who were roaming the forest this child was unhappy at his surroundings. Abbey voice whispered into the Childs ears.
"What is wrong young one? Are you not pleased with my beautiful green leaves?" The goddess asked.
"No! I hate them; every day when I wake up all I see is the green forest surrounding our town. It's boring, it never changes. It would be so nice if I could wake up to some other colors for a change." The child whined unaware he was addressing a goddess. She stormed off back into the town with a large pout on his face. Abbey being a gentle goddess did not smite the family of that child. Instead she ignored the selfish child's comments. She continued to grow her marvelous green leaves for years on end. Villagers still continued to visit her luscious forests, but Abbey could not forget that that one child did not like her. Night fall came and Abbey decided that she would try and please that little child. She spent the whole night using her godly power to turn a quarter of her leaves red. When the sun raised all the villagers around Greece woke and was excited to see a new color of their tree branches. The young child now a handsome man raised into the forest with glee.
"Young man, are you happy now?" asked Abbey. "Oh yes! This was such a surprise the combination of red and green leaves are very beautiful, everyone in the town loves it!" the man exclaimed. Abbey glowed with content "what is your name mortal?" "My name..? It's Finickious, who are you?" Abbey plopped down from a tree behind the man; she shrunk so that he would not be scared. "I am Abbey, goddess of the leaves." The young man, taken by the goddess' beauty, was speechless. He walked to her and plucked a single leaf from her head that made her hair. He turned back and walk to his village.
A week passed with Abbeys new red forest, every day Finickious would visit and marvel and the red and green trees, and the two fell in love. After a week had passed the man came back to the forest. The goddess noticed that Finickious was unhappy again. "What is the matter darling?" She asked gently. "It's the leaves!" Finickious pointed to the tree tops. "Every day I wake up to see the same green leaves around us. The green is losing its color and it's still boring to look at!" the man yelled angrily. "Change it Abbey, change it or I'm never returning to this forest!" Finickious stormed off back to town.
Abbey was hit with anger and sadness, if she did not change Finickious would leave and if she punished him for being rude to her, he would never speak to her again. That night Abbey put all her effort into getting rid of her green leaves. She turned every bit of green either yellow or orange. Abbey though what she did was beautiful and she made sure that every last bit of green was gone and that other gods and goddesses liked what she had done. When Finickious had woke the next morning he was in outrage. He stormed into the forest yet again. "Abbey! What did you do? You made it look as if the forest was on fire. I was about to run out my house with a bucket of water! What do you have to say for yourself? Abbey? Answer me!" He turned around to see the goddess, her once radiant skin had grown pale and her were grey and tired. "I'm sorry, Finickious. It was the best I could do with my remaining power." She said with a weak voice. Finickious sigh with enragement. "Your Remaining power? You are a goddess you have no limits! I want you to get rid of this fiery monstrosity by tomorrow morning!" He once again stormed off. That day and night Abbey tried to make her leaves every color imaginable except for green. With every leaf she changed Abbey lost more power, by the end of the night she had no power left. The morning Abbey waited for Finickious to return and see her beautiful forest, but he was late. It was around noon and Abbey was feeling tired. The color started to drip off her leaves making them and ugly brown color as well some leave began to fall off the ground. That was when Finickious showed up, Abbey quickly hid in the trees.
"I give you and extra morning to impresses me and this is what I get? Ugly brow rotting leaves on the ground? Is this how you show your love to me? You have disappointed me for the last time Abbey! Show you're self!" He yelled to the tree tops. Abbey quickly dropped down behind him "I'm her Finickious…" she whimpered in a raspy voice. When the handsome man turned around he gave a large shriek, he quickly ran back to his town. Abbey tried to run after him but she tripped by a pool of water. She gazed down into her reflection and scream. What once was a beautiful goddess was now a gray, wrinkled, decrepit old lady. Abbey cried as her leaves wilted around her. Eventually she fell asleep, for three months she slept. When she awoke, her beauty had returned only now she had both green leave and colorful flowers. Beside her was a small baby boy covered in flowers, he looked like Finickious. Abbey decided to name him Anchusa, she took the young baby to the village to show him to his father. When Abbey saw Finickious' face he was kissing a young woman. Abbey, furious, made a rain of green leaves fall on top of the man; she then threw the child at him.
"You are to care for this baby until the day you die and when you do your body will become an ever green tree! Your color will never change and your leaves will be pointy and unapproachable!" She cursed the man and left to her forest. Hera later then cursed Abbey for abandoning her child with such a terrible man. He cursed Abbey to change her colors the same months every year in the same pattern she did to impresses Finickious.
After many years Anchusa grew and left Finickious, now a lonely old man. Finickious one day slowly walked back to Abbey's green forest, it was beginning to turn red again. Finickious lay on the forest floor. His eyes closed and breathing slowed until he died. He body turned into a tall evergreen, just like Abbey told him to. No one approached the odd prickly tree until the tree eventually died as well and was used for fire wood. At the same Time Abbey continually used up all her power during fall to turn the colors of the leaves, slept during winter to regain her power to sprout flowers in the spring and become green during summer. Every year she remembers the pain that one mortal man put her through as she continues her never ending cycle.