Many years ago one night in Sparta, Apollo, the beautiful god of the sun danced down on the last rays of sunlight onto Earth from Mount Olympus and slithered into the home of Kalabos, a young married man who always opened his bed to the god that he had prayed to ever since he was a child.
They had been seeing each other for many moons and bedded each night before Kalabos' wife came home from the market, they got to see each other two times a week, unless Apollo managed to get his human lover to sneak off from work to bed with him.
There was something different this night, the window was blowing harshly and the air threatened Sparta, Poseidon had decided to play a practical joke on his nephew and created a storm to make Kalabos' wife, Aella, come home early from her evening shopping.
The nine month pregnant woman walked into her home without much thought, thinking the strange sounds she heard were just the wind, so she went onto her usual procedure of putting the fruit and bread away before she walked down the hallway.
Meanwhile, her husband was in their bedroom making love with the most beautiful male god in the whole world, making soft sounds as Apollo made his way with him.
Aella heard sounds from the bedroom and swiftly opened the door before she gasped in surprise; her mouth fell open as she stared at horror at her husband and Apollo, "Kalabos!" She exclaimed in horror.
He looked up from under the god and quickly sat up, "Aella!" He said his eyes wide as he loosened his grip on the god's shoulders.
Apollo looked to the man's wife with a grin on his lips, "Oh, hello there," he said, "I hope you don't mind that I decided to borrow your husband from you for a few hours." He acted as if nothing was wrong with the scene and pressed a kiss against the man's lips before he moved away from him and his clothing appeared on his skin in a soft shimmering light.
"How dare you!" The woman shouted, in her rage, she did not care that the man was a god, he had slept with her husband and she wanted revenge, "You had no right to touch what belongs not to you."
"Aella!" Her husband said as he stood with a slight groan before he quickly pulled on his clothing, "Aella, do not speak to a god like that, surely you know that this is Apollo."
"Oh! I know who he is," she sneered, "Hera help me!" She called to the goddess that was to protect all the women on Earth before she doubled over when a great pain came over her and water dripped from her, the shock of the events sent her into labor.
The goddess of marriage had been watching her husband's son from Mount Olympus and came down to the poor woman and set a hand on her back, "Worry not, Aella, come with me and I shall make sure your child is born without problem." She said calmingly and led her out of the bedroom and to the small living room area and set her down on the couch.
"Hera will kill me," Kalabos said and turned to his lover, "Apollo, we must end this now, I'm going to be a father, my wife will need me by her side and I cannot be by yours while I'm helping her with our child. Name him or her for us, please, my love."
Apollo's golden eyes looked down at his mortal and his mouth fell open, "You dare to leave me?" He demanded, "A god! Not any god but the god of all things good to men, I will not accept this, please, Kalabos, run away with me, my step-mother will stay and help your wife raise the child." He, the god of the sun, got on his knees begging, for he loved all of his lovers and was willing to get rid of them all for one last night with the mortal man that he had fallen in love with.
The man stared longingly into those beautiful immortal eyes before he slowly nodded, "Yes, yes, I will go away with you," he said in a soft voice, "I'll miss my wife, but you're right, it would be foolish to leave a god, a beautiful god like you that I love so much."
The god smiled widely at him before he took his hand and the two men climbed out of the window of the small house and raced across the darkened lawn, Apollo's skin shined in a soft golden light and Kalabos thought for just a moment that Hera might have been hot on their trail.
The mortal and the immortal man both stayed in hiding for three days, Apollo only left long enough to ride his chariot across the sky to let the sun rise and the sun to fall, but on the third day of their hiding when he returned to their secret cave; his lover was gone.
The god searched for him for hours in the areas around the cave before he went to Mount Olympus, "Has anyone heard of Kalabos?" He demanded, looking at the other gods as he passed them.
His twin's head dropped and she gave him a guilty look before she hurried on her way to go hunt without a word, she did not want to be the one to tell her brother the news of his lover.
Apollo stormed through Olympus before he stopped before Hera, flames in his golden eyes, "What did you do with him?" He demanded of her and she smiled wickedly.
"I did to him what all cheaters should go through," she said before she leaned back against a pillar, "You can search for him all you want but you will never see him, I have made him invisible to your eyes."
Fury found the god's face, "You will pay for this!" He shouted and his voice ran through Olympus before he went back down to earth and sat in the cave where he had left his sweet Kalabos.
"Can you hear me?" He called, begging his love to return but the man was not there nor was he even on earth anymore.
Apollo sat for three days and for three nights and sobbed, the sun stayed down and he didn't once get up to even try to put it up, he was heartbroken and ignoring his godly duties. The sun didn't rise; there was no medicine or music either the whole while.
Zeus was angered by his son's behavior and went down to visit him in the cave, his blue eyes wide with fury, "Apollo!" He said and walked up to his son, pulling him up by his shirt, "You have been ignoring your duties, Demeter is furious, because there has been no sun, plants cannot grow."
The younger god shrugged, "I do not care," he said, "Not at all, the world can rot just like my heart is, your wife took my Kalabos from me, so I shall take the sun from the world!" He shouted to the heavens.
"If I return to you, this Kalabos mortal, will you make the sun rise and fall once more?" His father asked, "And let music play and medicine advance?"
"Yes! Bring me, Kalabos and then I will do as you wish."
The king of the gods left Apollo to go in search of his lover, the sun god sat in silence, smiling as he waited for his lover to return to his arms, he leaned against the wall of the cave and closed his eyes and slept for a few hours.
When he woke, Zeus stood over him, a limp figure in his long arms.
Apollo stood at once, his smile fading ever so slightly as he walked closer to him, "Kalabos?" He asked, reaching out to touch the cold flesh of his lover.
"I am sorry, Apollo, but he is dead, I talked your uncle into letting me bring him up here long enough for you to see him one last time." His father said.
Tears sprung to the son's eyes and he gripped his lover's hand, "Your wife did this!" He shouted at his father and kissed Kalabos' cold dead lips, "I want him back, bring him back. I cannot heal what is dead."
The mortal's eyes flickered open weakly and he smiled at his god, "Apollo, do not weep," he whispered, he was alive for the most part, "You must continue your duties, do not blame the rest of the world because my life has came to an end, but never forget me."
"I would never forget you," Apollo promised and they passed a soft kiss before Zeus had to return his Kalabos to Hades, "I love you." He whispered into the wind that Hera allowed to be carried.
That day two things happened, Apollo learned to never mess with anyone who was married and the second thing that happened was whenever Apollo missed his dead mortal lover, he allowed the sun to stay up long enough for the moon to pass over the sun and stay in place; creating the solar eclipse.
