Centuries of silence suddenly fell away, as he listened to the plea from down below. He had to find her. Apollo had been asleep since the last time a mortal's faith had fueled his power. Eons, he had been waiting for somebody to utter a prayer, for a passing shadow of belief to grace his heart. She had given him life once more. The time had come, now, for the god to reawaken. Grasping his bow and lyre,a touch still familiar after so long, he descended among the rays of the dying evening sunlight, his feet touching down on the hallowed ground of Mount Olympus.
Frustrated, Elizabeth slammed her book shut. An exasperated sigh passed her lips. She had been studying all day for an exam the following morning, but she was none the wiser on the subject. I just don't get this, she thought sadly. I should give up on archaeology, and just go back home to England.
She had always dreamt of being an archaeologist, thrilled by tales of ancient civilisations. She had settled on attending university in Athens, Greek mythology being her passion, but little over a week into her first term, she was struggling to find the drive to study. She soon found that the words in her textbooks in no way reflected the mythology that she had come to love so dearly. Her lecturer had decided that he'd surprise his less-than-interested class with an exam during their second week, to give them a harsh reminder that earning a degree was about more than silly attempts to absorb information by osmosis.
It was this desperation, that drove Elizabeth to cry out to whatever divine being that may be listening. Looking down at her book, she laughed. The cover held an image of a carved relief of the sun god. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, and, Apollo, if you can help this atheist pass her exam, you'll have my eternal gratitude", she whispered.
Hearing her roommate's key turn in the door downstairs, she put aside her notes, and decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat.
Apollo smiled as he saw a crow fade into the growing darkness overhead. The wind gently caressed his chiton. It felt good to be alive again. The streets of Athens were narrower than he recalled, mainly due to the cars parked along the edges of the roads. He carried on walking, trusting that he'd know when he came to her house.
He did.
Coming to a particularly narrow street, he started towards a door with flaking green paint. There was a light in the upstairs window. He raised his hand to the shabby door, hesitating. He had no plan of action. Shaking his head, he knocked, deciding that he'd figure it out.
He waited.
Hearing a knock at the door, Elizabeth stopped rummaging in the cupboard. She turned to Samantha, her roommate.
"Who could that be?" she asked.
Samantha shrugged her shoulders, and continued flicking through a fashion magazine. Elizabeth sighed, and made her way to the door. Opening it, she was taken aback. Standing before her was the most handsome man she'd ever seen. His smooth olive skin and long dark hair seemed to glow, and his deep brown eyes appeared to hold an infinite amount of emotion. Tearing her eyes away from his, she looked down at his attire, a smile coming to her lips when she saw that he was dressed as though he was on his way to a fancy dress party.
"Can I help you?"
He smiled at her, his features lighting up with a pure expression of joy, and Elizabeth found herself smiling along with him, though she failed to understand the reason.
"I believe the question," he said, his English flawless, though heavily accented, "is how I can help you."
She frowned, thinking he was a door-to-door salesman, but unable to figure out what he may be trying to sell her. She shook her head, and stated that she wasn't interested in buying anything. Turning back towards the house, she reached out to close the door behind her, but paused at the feeling of his hand lightly grasping her sleeve. Facing him again, she saw that his smile had faded. Replaced, instead, by a pained expression.
"Please, Elizabeth, don't send me away again."
Her eyes wide, she tried to pull the sleeve of her shirt from his grasp. "How do you know my name?"
Seeing that she was becoming agitated, he quickly let go, but tried, instead, to hold her gaze, and gently whispered, "You called on me to help you, remember?"
Her brow furrowed for a moment as she tried to recall, and was hit with sudden realisation.
"G-God...?"
He laughed quietly, glad that she was growing less frantic. "Apollo, please, it's been a long time since I've done anything worthy of being called 'God'."
She looked up at him, seeing him for what he really was, and noting his handsome features. He stood a head taller than her, his frame strong but not thickset. She marveled at his beautifully sculpted cheekbones and jaw.
"Apollo, then... Would you like to come inside?" she asked, feebly.
It hadn't been difficult to sneak Apollo upstairs, telling Samantha that it was just a friend from her class wanting to swap notes. The lie earned her a reproachful glance from the god of truth, but it was soon replaced by another smile as he stepped into her bedroom.
Looking around, he nodded, muttering things in Greek under his breath. When he was satisfied that he'd inspected everything of interest, he picked up a stuffed wolf and held it to his chest as he sat on the edge of the bed. Seeing this, Elizabeth found herself laughing uncontrollably at the innocent look on the god's face.
"That's Joey", she said, when she finally caught her breath.
"Joey?" he gazed up at her expectantly. He smiled, when she pointed to the wolf in his arms.
Turning the desk chair around, she sat opposite Apollo. "I'm sorry."
He frowned at her, and shook his head. "Why on earth would you feel the need to apologize, Elizabeth?"
"I called you here for nothing. I... I didn't expect you to actually turn up."
Apollo's expression softened, and he reached out to take her hand in his. "Elizabeth, your head may insist that you don't believe in me, but your heart tells me otherwise. Don't be sorry. It was your cry for help that awoke me from my dormant state. You can't begin to comprehend what it feels like to reawaken after such a long time asleep."
She smiled at him. "Thank you."
They fell into a comfortable silence for several moments.
Elizabeth felt her cheeks redden at the feeling of Apollo gently running his fingers along the back of her hand. Suddenly he pulled back, dropping her hand and causing her to look up at him in surprise.
"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I've... been alone for a long time. I... I'm rather lonely."
She gazed deeply into his eyes, frowning at the sadness they held. "Apollo... I really don't mind... if you want to hold my hand..." she whispered.
Hesitating, he reached forward once more, taking her hand. He smiled to himself, and began to hum a melody. Elizabeth found herself mesmerised by the tune he was singing. She slowly moved to sit on the bed beside him. He stopped suddenly, somewhat unsure of the new seating arrangement.
"Please, continue" Elizabeth quietly pleaded.
Nodding, he picked up his lyre. Softly and slowly, he began to pluck the strings, his eyes closed as his lips formed the lyrics. His body gently swayed as it kept time to the music. Though she did not understand the words, tears found their way to Elizabeth's eyes, as she watched the god lose himself in the tune.
Before long, the music faded out, and Apollo placed his lyre carefully on the desk. He turned back to Elizabeth, and raised a hand to brush a tear from her cheek. Leaning towards her, he softly placed a kiss on her forehead. Hearing her sigh, he placed another, chaste kiss on her lips, and ran his hands up her arms, coming to rest at either side of her face.
Lifting her face towards him, he looked into her eyes.
"Thank you for giving me life."
