My Atlantis We Fall

Did you turn greedy, Atlas?

≪ °❈° ≫

To lug the world on one shoulder I would,

but to lose sight of you, I'd fall.

≪ °❈° ≫

"How did the Atlantis sink?" he asked Porter.

"I don't know, you tell me," he says, concerned.

"Because they grew selfish, petty, and morally bankrupt and enraged the gods because the people had lost their path and succumbed to immoral pursuits," he explained as clouds began to obscure the sky, permitting the sun rays to shine its way.

"They claim to have given a horrific night of fire and earthquakes that forced Atlantis to collapse into the sea as punishment," he said, staring blankly out at the sea as the waves slammed against the shoreline, forming ruffles of froth that faded.

"Did you turn greedy, Atlas?" Atlas's eyes widened, and he looked at Porter, shocked.

"I wish I were, and she would have been mine to greed. Mine to own. In the end, her life was something I was bound never to own. If only the Gods punished me, I would accept it, to carry the weight of the world on one's shoulders, the weight of her heart, and her life. I would've done that," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks for his lost beloved.

"If you really wanted to do it, that wouldn't be punishment" Porter picked a heart-shaped piece of shell and held it up to the light, captivating the rays.

"That would be love, Porter, that would be love," he said as he returned his gaze to the sea, stood up, and began walking towards it. The wind blowing, the waves hitting his bare feet, the chilly water he feels.

"Isn't it odd that I own everything she had, namely her work, home, body, and heart, but not her life?" Porter slowly walks behind him. "You have always been unpredictable, Atlas."

"I should have been one of those whose hearts drowned beneath the ocean, those people on Atlantis," Atlas spoke, his voice lost for a moment.

"Instead, I was one of the titans who were unstable and threatening the Gods, slowly destroying but swallowing up life like the erratic moon, uncontrollable yet eternal light at night."

"Shouldn't you be glad the Gods spared you? But in return, the punishment you face is the life of your beloved." The ocean, whose tides respond, whose surface rafts may sail but whose depths are where sailors die and creatures hide. The ocean is an eternal mystery with infinite beauty.

Atlas remained silent, peace and quiet he felt.

≪ °❈° ≫

Atlas extended his arms on his side as the wind blew through his shirt, ruffled his golden-brown hair, his eyes closed, mouth shut, caressing his swollen lips that stung as the salty water splashed across his face. Losing her left a bitter taste in his mouth, with all the medicines he always took before, never felt the same way she left, so bitter that whenever he tried to wash the taste away, the thought of the lingering sweetness of their time together kept him from doing it. So instead, he would put up with any bitterness only to taste the sweetness that had once overpowered him.

The enchanting noise he heard along the waves was hers, and as the meaning of whisper, it was only predictable for the soft waves that lured out in the caves that echo. Tears soon welled up in his eyes, trickling down and wetting his lips. It tasted salty, lonely, and mournful, like the sea. Isn't that where we come from, to turn into a foam of sea that dances along with the wind?

Suddenly a soothing voice called out.

"Atlas"

Then, without thinking, his feet began to go forward. The tremendous surge of waves that tries to keep him back collides with his body. The voice became louder and clearer with each step he took. His body began to feel heavy, as if it felt like the world pressed upon him. His body yearned, desired, and demanded every word spoken by the voice. He longs to hear it again, to be wanted and accepted, to be himself, and lastly, to be a part of her.

"Atlas, my Atlas, has the world been harsh on you?"

"Aethra," he spoke as he opened his eyes to find himself in the midst of the water, drowning and striking his head high to regain his air. He realized that her voice had drawn him to the sea. Forcing him to drown and suffocate till his final breath as the water consumes every inch of his body, drowning and strangling him.

Losing someone is difficult, as is attempting to accept that they have passed on. You'll constantly look and remind them in the same manner around you. The significant mark they left in our hearts will be a part where we never forget the legacies they made.

Sometimes, they make us do foolish things, things we never want but driven by the thought of hopelessness, the thought of the world against you, drifting through the fading mist of memory in the corner of our head.

"Atlas," Porter yelled, unsure of what to do. Porter was a young boy whose heart was innocent and pure, and his intention of going to the bottom of the ocean was an insane thought of a wild man driven by love.

He attempted to interact with Atlas, but he was unresponsive. Dark heavy clouds soon covered the sky, and the torrent of the sea grew and grew. Atlas was now drowning in the sea, charmed, lost, and shattered. Porter looked about, hoping to find someone who could save him, but Atlas had already vanished from sight.

"Atlas," Porter screams, devastated.

The phase of losing a loved one does not occur predictably. Instead, it occurs in bits and pieces, gently but steadily it slowly sneaks up on you. Only when the void of loss overwhelms can you completely realize the dreadful finality of losing someone to death's clutches. As the once said, distance warms the heart. The more Atlas missed her, the more he wanted her, and the more he loved her.

"Atlas"

"Aethra?"

A/N:
Will be updating every 2-3 days for new chapters to come, thank you and God bless you all.