username:
Thoma
kalon name:
Apollo
prompt:
A soft breeze trickled along Apollo’s head as he and his mother sat on a swing, slowly rocking back and forth. His mother brushed her fingers softly through his hair as the sky darkened and thunder began to roar–only to leave as quickly as it had come. Apollo looked to his mother to see her staring directly at him, before she uttered a barely audible, “Save him.” And just like that, he woke up in a cold sweat.
Apollo walked to the bathroom slowly and splashed water in his face, then looked himself over in the mirror. He stood there for a good few minutes before repeating “save him.” He didn’t know the meaning, nor who she could be talking about, but a terrible feeling washed over him. He left the bathroom and made his way to his friend’s home, something felt wrong.
When Apollo arrives his friend seems alright if not a little off, they talk and joke before Apollo decides he can leave. As Apollo closes the door and begins to walk away, he hears a loud thud.
Apollo bursts through the front door, seeing his friend on the ground. He freezes, his mother’s voice washing over him once again, bellowing thunderously: “SAVE HIM,” she howls only to disappear. Directly after. Apollo lifts his friend up and sets them on the bed, before thinking of a way to save his friend. The friend looked at Apollo “I'm sorry I didn't know how to tell you. It’s incurable. ” they said weakly. Apollo shook his head, brushing them off. He sat for a moment before deciding what to do. Apollo looked towards his friend, who had seemingly fallen asleep right after talking. He decided he would go on a journey to get an old spell book that could cure his friend of whatever they could have.
Apollo set a wet washcloth on his friend’s head, in hopes it would somehow help. Then, Apollo left. to retrieve the book, it could take days, but he had to be quick. The days that would follow were difficult, he was beaten and bruised but he refused to stop. As he got to the final resting room of the spell book, he paused wondering if he would actually be able to just take it. Apollo approached carefully, running hand along the old book before slowly opening it. He skimmed through the pages, before finding the spell he needed. As Apollo read the page he froze “Those who wish for immortality also wish for endless sorrow and loneliness. Life force is sacred, are you truly willing to steal it?” Apollo sucked in his breath sharply before his mother’s voice once again echoed in his mind, and he remembered how desperate she had sounded the second time. Apollo took another sharp inhale before shutting the book and grabbing it. He would save his friend, no matter what it would take. The entire way back he prepared himself for the upcoming end.
Apollo stumbles into his friend’s house, a loud crash as he falls. He was tired and beaten down but he still offered his friend a soft smile. They looked towards Apollo and offered a weak grin, before slowly sitting up. “What’re we going to do, Apollo?” they said through a trembling voice, Apollo froze and his smile dropped instantly. He sighed softly “I uh, I’m gonna do this spell that should help but- I’ll die during it, but you’ll be fine!” he said with false excitement. His friend looked at him in shock before attempting to stand up, only to be pushed back down by Apollo.
“Are you crazy!” they yelled at him “I don’t want you to die just to save me!”
Apollo grabbed his friend’s hand softly and smiled again. “It’s fine, I promise. I’m happy to do this for you, I really am.”
His friend eventually just sighed softly and nodded, too tired to speak anymore. Apollo sits next to them, once again grabbing their hand before beginning the spell. As the spell went on he realized he felt fine, he didn’t feel any pain from what he assumed was his lifeforce being stolen. Apollo figured it just meant it would be painless or it would all happen towards the end. As he came to the end of the spell, he prepared to die; each word coming out slower and slower.
Once the spell finished, however, Apollo knew that instant something was wrong. He was alive and something felt off about the room he was in. He looked towards his friend and noticed they were dying. Apollo in horror threw the spellbook, and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. Minutes passed and they had passed with a soft smile in Apollo’s arms, almost as if they had forgiven him for some mistake he had made. Apollo set them down softly, shakingly standing up and grabbing the book once again, he read more slowly, realizing his awful mistake. The friend is the one that had to read the spell out, not Apollo.
Apollo sat on the ground, realizing he was destined to be alone. An angry presence covered him; his mother, he knew he had failed her. His intentions didn’t matter anymore, no matter the sacrifice he was so willing to make. Apollo looked towards his friend one more time with sorrow, numerous apologies leaving his mouth as he cried.
The following day, Apollo disappeared from his hometown, knowing what he had done–no matter the intention–would cause him to be hated. He was never heard from in his town again, traveling from place to place for many years to come.
[937 words]