Mount Aenos was huge; so huge, the sun barely reached the top as it poked through the clouds. The mountain was plentiful with game, wild horses, which Procris would ride, and beautiful scrub pine trees. Kefalos loved to go out in the mornings, before Aurora, Goddess of the Dawn, appeared, to hunt with only his bare hands. Usually he returned before the sun rose, and he and Procris would embrace one another, discussing the hunt. They were newly married, and Keflos adored Procris. He could think of no other woman.
One morning, as Kefalos slipped through the scrub pines, he realized that the hunt had gone on longer than intended. As he looked at the sky -- instead of the inky black of the deep early-morning sky, it was tinged with red and dark blue. Kefalos hurried home, his hands empty, for his hunt had not been successful. As he reached the edge of the forest, close to the dark cover of the clouds, Aurora�s brilliant arrival was heralded by incandescent light; dawn had arrived.
Too late. Aurora had spotted Kefalos, and had immediately fallen in love with him. Over the next few days, she deliberately used all her wiles and charms, appearing earlier than expected over the horizon, in order to catch Kefalos, and to make him fall in love with her.
Jealously watching Procris and Kefalos� tender morning scenes, she plotted to separate the two.
One morning, not long after she�d first spotted Kefalos, Aurora confronted Kefalos, declaring her love, �O, my handsome Kefalos, come with me, and we will rule the winds and the dawn together.� Kefalos would not be moved. He responded back �My love, Procris is the only one who can move me. Her grace, faith, and beauty are unsurpassed.�
Aurora planted the seed of doubt in Kefalos� mind, leaving him with her parting words, �Go to her! And see if she is in fact, as faithful to you as you believe her to be.�
Kefalos left, filled with jealousy. He had been distracted by Aurora for many hours, and Procris was a beautiful woman. Who knew what had happened while he was gone? Wanting to prove Procris� faith, he disguised himself before returning home. Appearing on their doorstep, he sought to woo Procris, who remained unmoved for a long time. Grieving for her absent husband, she repeatedly told the stranger, �Only he and he alone can move my heart and soul. Wherever he is, goes my love.�
One day, however, after a long time had passed, Procris appeared to respond to the stranger�s wooing. Kefalos threw off his disguise in disgust, saying, �O shameless one, traitor, you have betrayed me and my love.� Procris then turned and left Kefalos, filled with hate for his having decieved her. She stayed on the mountain, and lived among the scrub pines, frolicking with the wild horses.
Kefalos was lost without his love. He searched for days and days, then remembered how Procris loved the horses. He found the small band of mares and nearby, at a rushing stream, was Procris. He begged forgiveness, which initially was resisted because her resentment over his deception ran deep into her soul. Eventually, she returned to the stone house in the clouds, and they were happy for many years.
One day as they hunted together, the two were separated by the same stream Kefalos had found Procris by, years before. Kefalos was using a javelin that Procris had lovingly made and had presented to him, telling him that it would strike unerringly at whatever he aimed at. As Kefalos neared the stream, he heard something rustle in the thicket across the stream bed, and instinctively threw the javelin. Procris was right. The javelin found its mark, piercing through the thicket, straight into her heart. She sank to the ground, calling as she fell "My love, I trusted you not. I am sorry..." her voice weakened and trailed off. Procris was dead, a victim of her love for her husband.
� 1995 Tamara Taylor -- All rights reserved under US intellectual property laws -- no reproduction or distribution without authors' permission
� 1997 [email protected]
ICQ# 11709671
