Cassius’s back arched gracefully as the first drops of icy water touched his skin. He felt as if the cold, clear water would wash away all of the dirt and grime of the world from both his body and mind. The ashen moon reflected off the translucent waters, in glinting light it danced upon his regal features revealing the near perfection of his form. His delicately sculpted hands floated idly beside him, betraying the noble blood pulsing through his veins. His dark eyelashes fluttered slightly, he wanted this moment. Desperately, He wanted to fade, to forget, and to be forgotten. As he drifted upon the dreaming waves he caught himself wishing that he would drown in this silence, that the waters would suddenly overcome him and drag him down to their bottomless depths. But a wish is merely a wish, and wish as he might the tranquil waves refused to accept him as their victim.
A fountain of spring rain from the clouds above loosened his dreaming mind and forced his thoughts back to reality. Reluctantly he forced his body through the cresting waves. The stones leading out of the kind waters were slick and cool beneath his feet. As though with each step he tread upon the scales of a great snake. A chilling wind wrapped around his flesh, its tempered embrace mimicking the seas waves. The stars shyly watched him, peeking through the clouds the moon envied his beauty.
The trees around him where silent, their painted faces hidden in the leaves. They did not dare permit a single scurrying creature to disturb the sacredness of guiltless, fearless humanity. If only Eve had not fell, they whispered amongst themselves. If only, if only, the wind mimic their song, as it rushed through the leaves. The flowers bloomed recklessly, bending and twisting themselves to be closer to him, fluttering their colors in a manner that if it had been sound, the angels would have weep for its beauty.
Poor Cassius was unaware of his beauty. When the wind embraced him he fled into the forest. Frighten by the motionless trees, he ran into the meadow. Where the vines and flowers terrified him with their brilliant displays. As Cassius was fleeing the meadow, he found where the trees had hidden his clothing. As quickly as he could Cassius hide his ivory skin beneath coarse fabric. He covered his elegant feet with clumsy shoes that could never compare with their splendor. The wind swore bitterly when he concealed his luminous hair and glorious eyes beneath a featureless hood. Cassius, Cassius, the trees wept longingly. The flowers sealed themselves inside their petals, refusing to open lest Cassius see their tears, and his own hidden beauty be dimmed by their sorrows.
The rain bored down from the clouds, clinging to him, searching for an entrance to grace his skin again. The wind ravaged the land and sea, seeking at least one stray hair to remember him by. The moon and the stars hid themselves behind the clouds, content to keep their sorrows with themselves. The ocean strained against it’s confines cursing and swearing the moment that it had let Cassius go.
All night the storm raged. The clouds wept lightning bolts until dawn. The next day the wind and the ocean had not been calmed by the passing time. The waves continued to strain against the beaches, and beat against the cliffs. Fishermen dared not to set sail until weeks after the great storm had pasted. The flowers in the meadow never opened again, even the sun could not coax them out. The trees whisper softly to the wind, calming it’s rage with their ever repeating chants of, If only, If only, and their sad weeping melodies of, Cassius, Cassius.