Achilles Heel |h.s|

31. Astar - Body Count

The light slips through the curtains, making its way through the slightly parted blinds which creates thin lines against Harry's bareback. His arms are tucked under the pillow, clutching it against his face in a vice grip. In this light, he looks innocent in a way, untouchable. I let the pads of my fingers slowly run over his bare back, tracing over the indentations that were left by my nails. The welts were a red angry shade, lifted at the edges as I trace over them.

I can smell the morning air as it drifts through the slightly open window, the smell of rain brushing in as the wind blows. The orangeish lines on Harry's back soon turn into rainbows, covering the expanse of his back and even landing on the bed.

Every colour of the rainbow is there but the colour that stands out the most is green, the colour that I often associate with Harry. Harry is calm. Harry is a halcyon day, one full of calm and tranquillity.

Halcyon days appear in mid-January and normally last for around a week but the maximum is ten days. Halcyon is a goddess in Greek mythology, the daughter of Aeolus who was the ruler of the winds. Halcyon eventually went on to marry a mortal king, Ceyx of Tachis. Their love for each other was a whirlwind, the couple that everyone spoke of for how visual their love was for one another. Unfortunately, other gods didn't take a liking to some of the jokes they made to each other, however, the other gods shouldn't be nosy then.

The story goes that one day Ceyx was ordered to go to Delphi to consult the oracle of Apollo. The oracle of Apollo is where prophecies are made. The way it goes is that the oracle was originally held by Gaia, but Apollo came in and killed the dragon that Gaia placed to guard her oracle. This is how Apollo came into possession of the Delphi oracle. The Delphi Oracle is still there today, a place I have yet to mark off of my list of places to visit. A lot of them have to do with Greek mythology and astrology.

Back to Ceyx and Halcyon, Ceyx decided to sail to Delphi but Halcyon begged them not to sail as she was terrified of the sea. She had every right to be terrified though because unfortunately, Ceyx passed soon after he left the coast, his boat disappearing amongst the storm clouds and large waves. Ceyx knew he was to die, so he asked Poseidon to bring his body back to his wife while Halcyon herself was asking Hera to ensure her husband a safe trip--unbeknownst to her she was already far too late.

Instead of Hera doing as Halcyon asked, she sent for Hyonos who then sent instructions to Morpheus, the God of dreams, to visit Halcyon in her dreams to tell her of her husband's passing. The second Halcyon found her husband's body, she threw herself into the waves to once again be with her husband.

All of the other Gods were touched by the sheer devotion she had to continue to be with her husband that they all agreed to save her, which is how she became a seabird. Ceyx was then turned into a kingfisher bird so they could live out the rest of their lives together, happy and unbothered.

Unfortunately, though, Halcyon was ordered to only lay her eggs in the winter. Those were Zeus's orders, along with that she must have her nest near the shore, where she found Ceyx's body. This proved to be difficult because every time the water would rise, the waves came up to the shore and took her eggs with them. Halcyon's cries were heard for miles and eventually reached Zeus, who felt touched by her cries and gave Halcyon fourteen days of good and calm weather in the middle of the winter--the middle of January.

So for seven days before and seven days after the winter solstice, Halcyon was able to keep her eggs protected.

This is why Halcyon days remind me of Harry in a way, calm and prosperous.

Harry is green and Halcyon days.

I watch as Harry moves one of his hands from the pillow, curling it into a fist before he brings it up to his eyes to do what I can only assume is to wipe the sleep from them.