One: Falling

Icarus

Black. empty. nothing.

Now its heavy. Now its dark. Blurry.

Before it was all so bright and clear and warm - hot - scalding -

Laughing with me. Laughing at me.

Why'd you change?

It hurts.

Not my body. That's numb.

That's dead.

Or at least it feels dead.

Where did my wings go?

You took them away... why?

Why'd you...

Narcissus

Water blinds my eyes.

He's gone.

And all those tears do is take me further from my love –

Gone, gone.

They ripple upon the water, almost peacefully – but the pain ripping apart my chest tells me otherwise. The ocean; my hope is lost in it, and it's too big. With that I'm in the water myself, the salt water my own or not? And there, a body, sinking, almost flying through the ether. Peaceful, dead.

That's where he'd gone- my love, my perfection. See I told them all, told them my love was real; and the evidence is here beneath my burning eyes and almost within my grasp-

Icarus

A skin. Another skin. Warmer than the ice hug of the empty. A bit of the light, the warmth, the brightness. It came back for me.

You came back.

You sent my wings back to me. You must have because I'm lifting, not doing anything just being broken yet still I'm flying, I don't know how but it feels so right.

Before was nothing. I had to push, work, so hard so desperate to reach you and you gave nothing back just laughing at me but now you've changed. You're finally giving back. You made me fall just to catch me again. Why? Why-

Heavy dark void gone

– light and noise - - and wind -

- and bright bright even under my eyes its bright –

you're so harsh can't see can't think and it hurts, everything hurts,

In the heavy I was light but now in the light I'm so heavy, I'm sinking and air and sinking and breathe and wet and –

Narcissus

He's not moving, not doing anything and I don't know what to do.

Part of me wants to push him back in, be gone with him, but…

I can't.

He's not who I thought he was. He's not beautiful, or not as beautiful as the one I love. But he's very much here. Skin singed as if he'd flown into the sun but he's so cold. As if the blackness of the ocean had swallowed any heat and breath.

Choking, he can't breathe. I slam my hands into his gut and water, a waterfall comes spewing out of his mouth.

He breathes.

Icarus

Flat hard against my back my bruised and breaking back splinters of my broken wings wedged into its blades -

A punch –

crushes –

Heavy.

– pushes my insides lungs collapse and the heavy inside me is suddenly out shooting up and it hurts and I'm coughing and wet and everything's so dizzy and bright and breezy...

And then it all stops.

I try to pull myself up, but I can't even lift my neck.

Broken arms.

Twisted legs.

They won't move alone –

But now again, I'm being lifted and I'm sitting up and –

It hurts –

hurts...

Everything hurts but I want to see, have to see the one, the part of you who came back to catch me, nymph, spirit, angel of the sun –

Eyes open.

I can only see shapes at first, then in the brightness a darker face swims into view. Eyes, orbs, blue green like the sea, not like the sky, that's strange for an angel of the sun...

But the rest of his face jumps out from the shadow. Thick wavy hair dark and slimy from the water, droplets rolling off his perfect straight nose and more rolling down past high cheekbones, past flawless olive skin and dripping into my face.

This isn't a heliad. All this beautiful, but there's no brightness, no light. His face looks down at me with a frown. Confused. Scornful.

Narcissus

His limbs are at odd angles, mangled and unnatural. It's as if some god tired of him and thrust him out of heaven, as a spoilt child does with his toys.

Tears blur from my eyes landing on his charred skin. I think it burns him, for he whimpers and almost tries to move. Almost- I'm just surprised he's alive.

It's his own fault –

No. I try and shut off my thoughts –

It is though, it's his own fault. Zeus strikes anyone down who climbs too high, and this big headed, self-worshipping boy could have only been asking for it.

He's not beautiful, not like the one he made me lose. Even if he wasn't near dead he couldn't be like, like –

I'll take him to shore – the people there can decide what to do with him. I just want, no, need to be rid of him. He reminds me of everything I've lost.

Icarus

The surface I'm on sways, rises, falls, bobbing up and down like the wind is carrying it... but heavier. I'm not on the wind anymore I'm on the sea. For the first time in years I'm on a boat. I haven't been on one since that thing brought me and Dad to our prison...

Dad.

Dad.

Oh gods.

He told me –

– he warned me.

Is that what happened?

No, it couldn't have.

No no no…

I was flying. I was invincible. I...

'D... '

I try to speak, but my lips, tongue, throat, it all feels the same. Dry like ash. Raw from screaming.

I need to find him. Where did he go? Did he fall too? Or is he still flying, soaring to freedom whilst I'm stranded on the sea...

'The king may control the land and the sea, but he'll never have the sky.'

The sea.

…the sea!

I've got to get off the sea - I've got to - it's where Minos is - he controls it - he'll find me and then I'll be trapped in that tower again like a dead bird -

That's who the fake angel is, he's really an imp from the sea, he's gonna take me back to Minos, to prison – no! No no no no –

'Dad... dad! DADDY!'