Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 17:02:01 -0800 (PST)
From: 33rhT <33rhT@poem.org>
Subject: The Sacrifice (chapter 1)

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This is a story about the love and relationship between two young men.  If
you are not supposed to read this type of material, exit now, or else
forever hold you peace, and for those of you interested in grabbing your
"piece", I'm sorry, this will be an involving story and may not include
sexual content until later.  To the rest of you, enjoy...

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Upon Olympus, high and bright
Cascading down the mountainside,
The gods of bitter confrontation
Choose one's death or suicide

Alas, these petty deities
Can change a heart with high to low,
For human life flows ebbless through
The River Lethe's undertow

So run, with fear, when caught inside
Though high, with low they interfere,
And mortal pain can soon invade
The interests of the godly sphere.


	Apollo drove the horses high above, as Aphrodite sat and pondered,
bored.  As she passed a wayward eye down to the earth, her son, Cupid, flew
still beside her, faithful to her words.  Picking through the mortal lives
and snaking past the pathetic pains, she stopped her eyes upon a boy,
developing into manhood.  He stunned her, standing tall, and strong, his
curls of gold dancing with the breezes, and pools of blue inside his eyes
reflecting back the sky above; dear Aphrodite fell in love.  Still, deep
inside of Vulcan's side, she heard the chains that bound her high, and
knowing not to cause a fight, she flew down to his side to know the better
of this boy.  And floating past, as if she were the breeze, she stroked his
hair. She wanted deeply just to grant this boy the happiness he desired.
	Alexis ran his fingers through his hair, tickled by the wind, and
waited for his girlfriend to come.  His stomach hurt with anxiety, and he
knew that he had to break up with her today; he could never love her.
Still, Libra's hold was strong on him, and being wishy-washy, he did not
know if he could stand to break her heart.  He waited patiently, something
to which he had grown accustomed.  As he browsed above the heads of the
mass of teenagers scurrying from their short-term prison, he could not see
her exiting the school.  He also failed to see as a young man was passing,
cradling his books close to his heart.  As Alexis stepped behind him, there
stepped the young man, who crashed immediately down unto the ground.
       The young man's eyes darted angrily upwards to see a glowing face
soft with surprise.  Alexis felt his heart hold tightly as he had knocked
this boy upon the ground.  He felt unsure as he stared upon his beautiful
face.  He had short black hair, gelled and spiked with purposeful
misdirection.  His skin glowed in olive, and contrasted deeply with his
light brown eyes that reflected the sun.  Although he was thrown across the
ground, he had this radiance to him that made it seem completely natural,
and he showed no embarrassment.  Alexis grabbed at the arrow he could not
see that Cupid had shot into his heart.
	"I'm so sorry!" he managed to force out of his gaping mouth,
feeling very self- conscious.
 	"Don't worry about it," purred the fallen idol.  Then he added,
grinning, "Well, are you just going to stand there, staring at me, or are
you going to help me up?"
	Alexis snapped back to attention, mortified that he had been caught
looking at him, and unsure why he had been staring.
	"I'm sorry," he replied as he offered his hand, "My name is Alex."
	"Jesu.  You can call me Jay."
	He reached up with three fingers and accepted Alex's assistance.
They quickly collected the scattered books and papers.
	"Can I offer you a ride home?" asked Alex, the hope in his voice
surprising him and slightly apparent.
	Jay smiled, "That would be great."
	With that the Alex opened the door for Jay and got in on the other
side.  As the two drove, they talked and began to feel almost a strange
connection.  Soon, they were talking and joking around.  They talked a
little about their lives and interests and began to get to know each other.
Jay was well liked around school and had many friends.  He ran track but
was much more interested in pursuing his love, the violin.  He was the
saludatorian of his class--a senior like Alex.
	Alex began to tell Jay a little about himself.  He was, but hated
to admit it, a jock, and lettered in all of his varsity teams.  He was very
popular, but didn't consider himself to have too many friends.  He attended
church regularly and helped out in a nursing home a few times a week.  He
was very close to his family.
	"Speaking of family, what time are you supposed to be getting
home?" asked Alex
	"No time in particular," Jay paused.  "It doesn't really matter."
	"Is there a story there?"  Alex felt a little ashamed of his
prying.  "I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."
	"No, it's alright, it's not a secret.  I'll tell you about my home
later.  As of right now, though, I'm kinda hungry,"
	"Yeah, I agree," said Alex, accepting the postponement.
	"We'll talk about it over a late lunch."
	"Sounds good to me."
	Alex had completely forgotten about his girlfriend.  They went to
grab a quick bite to eat at a Diner down the road, with Alex treating Jay,
after much objection.
	The entire time at the Diner, Alex was clowning around.  They tried
to cool it when Jay's soda came out of his nose after a joke!  Deciding to
heed the dirty looks of the other patrons, they quieted their laughs and
between bites talked about their ideals, arguing over politics, something
Alex had never been able to do with anyone else.  As they sat eating
desert, the conversation got a little more mellow and serious, and Alex
decided to ask Jay about his family.
	"So tell me more about your home and where you live," inquired
Alex.
	Jay first looked to the window, and then directly at him.  In a
whimsical voice laced in a soft, lightly humorous sarcasm he bagan to
describe his home
	"It's in a place you have never seen.  It's a happy place, with
kids running around and green and purple walls, that are fuzzy and soft.
It is surrounded by acres of grass and wild flowers.  There, the birds fly
undisturbed, and as white as snow, they land on our arms as we feed them.
But then I look up and it's a small rundown bungalow on the edge of a big
road with no lights on it.  The shingles slide to the ground, and momma's
not home yeet.  The only noise I hear is my step-father guffawing at the
television, as I read in my room."
	"Well, if you don't have a family, to whom do you talk?  Where do
you go for advice?"
	"I have a lot of friends, and I try to be as good a person as
possible.  As for advice, I don't really ask for it; I usually give it.  I
just figure things as best as I can and hope for the best."
	"How is it to be home then?"
	"I avoid it.  It'd be nice to have some company, though, maybe a
cat or something," he smiled and then looked back to his coffee.  "One gets
used to things, that's all.  It wasn't always like this, but it is now.
Things change, and if it can't get worse, it will eventually get better.  I
hate to be so depressing, come on, let's lighten up."
	Alexis understood, and they started talking about some of the
things he did.  He was talking about playing on the football team, and
tearing up the racquetball and tennis courts.
	"You can't be better than me in racquetball," challenged Jesu,
grinning mischievously.
	"You?  Ha, I'd like to see you try!"
	"Oh, yeah, I'm sure Mr. Perfect is more than just talk!"
	"Ok, that's a challenge then, bud.  I'll pick you up tomorrow at
12."
	Jay had a look of surprise, and even Alex was impressed at how
easily he trapped Jay into hanging out with him tomorrow.  He was enjoying
himself, and he could still act like a guy with him, even when they were
talking seriously.  He had never met anyone like that.
	"Challenge accepted," stated Jay holding out his hand, but as Alex
reached out to accept the handshake, he quickly withdrew it and punched his
side, rolling over in hysterics.
	"Real cute, dude," Alex retorted.  As he shifted his weight, his
leg accidentally leaned against Jay's, but Jay quietly withdrew his.
	"I just hope you're willing to teach me how to play!" smirked Jay,
and it was Alex's turn to look surprised.  He laughed and rolled his eyes.
	"No problem, I'd be happy to."
	"Should we get going?" Jay suggested.
	"Yeah, I'll drop you off.  Where is this dream castle?"
	"It's on Route 5 right by the shore line."
	"Oh really?  That's right on the way to Carolyn, my girlfriend's
hous-oh shit!"
	"What?"
	"I was waiting for her before I bumped into you.  I was supposed to
give her a ride!"
	"There's an empty doghouse by my place if you need it."
	"Yeah, get a good laugh.  I stood up my girlfriend to take you out
to lunch!"
	"I can't blame you, really.  But I'll have to disappoint you, I
don't put out on the first date.  I like to get a little mileage on the
wallet, first."
	"Yeah, I'm sure you don't put out!  Come on."
	The two young men gathered their belongings and walked off to the
car as they mock argued all the way to Alex's car.  Alex didn't really mind
abandoning Carolyn for Jay.  He couldn't remember laughing as much as they
had in a long time.  The sun was going down, and shadows were starting to
dance and dart away from the advancing headlights.  They were driving past
an alien world, as if Hades himself were painting the roadside, and as
autumn progressed, Persephone would be forced into her annual descent into
the underworld.  The sorrow of the aging flowers was beyond their minds as
they talked about their lives and the youthful ideas they were exploring.
Alexis scratched his left ear as unseen eyes peered kindly at his luminous
face, and Aphrodite gave her blessing to him as she placed her hand upon
his muscular and heaving chest and felt his heart beating unbeknownst to
his brain in time with the boy beside him.  Inside his mind, he was
confused at how he was feeling, and as to why he had taken to Jay so
quickly.  He had never gone out so haphazardly with someone who was almost
a stranger.  He decided to slow things down, a bit.  He didn't know much
about Jay, and just because they could keep a conversation, did not mean
that they would necessarily become friends.
	"That's it," pointed Jay as they approached a shabby rundown house
surrounded by dark trees.
	"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, unless you changed your mind," pried
Alex with uncertainty.
	Jay smiled and stared at the sky for a brief second.  His figure
seemed out of place in front of the dreary house, and the dark prison that
would soon trap him did justice to neither the glow that emanated from his
skin nor his soft grin.
	"Of course you will."
	And with that, he turned around and meandered towards the door,
giving a wave before the house consumed him.  Alex drove off.  He felt a
mixture of butterflies in his stomach and confusion and shame in his mind.
He felt almost attracted to Jay, and he had talked to him as if he were a
girl whom he liked and whom he wanted to get to know.  He had always
noticed when a guy was handsome, but this felt different to him, and he was
frightened.  He decided that maybe Jay just had a great personality, and
that he was just enjoying his company.  He thought that he was just
misreading his own signals.  He kept pondering it as he passed the road
that led to his girlfriend's house, but he had no intention of going back
to her.
	Aphrodite rose back to Olympus and smiled at the stars above.  As
Hera stood agonizing the infidelity of the world, she eyed the youthful
goddess suspiciously.  More pain was caused in the name of love than even
hate.  Aphrodite paid no attention to her and wondered what she would do
tomorrow to help the two learn to love each other.  Athena came and found
the goddess deep in thought.
	"Pray tell what runs in your mind, dear Aphrodite."
	"I told Cupid to shoot an arrow at the heart of a young man."
	"Well, what is so strange about that?"
	"This boy was special, Athena, he was beautiful.  If one could ever
find a sweeter person, I would not believe them.  He had such a pureness in
his heart."
	"With whom did he fall in love?"
	"That is about what I am thinking.  I made him fall in love with
another young man."
	"I see." Athena saw where this might lead.
	"The other boy, Jesu-"
	"Wait, isn't that Zeus's son?"
	"Ssshhh.  I think we are being observed by 'Hera the Horrible'."
	"Oh you're terrible!"
	"Well," continued Aphrodite, "Jesu seemed so tired, the poor boy.
I don't think he should be punished for his father's fornications.  He is
so kind and true; he is a wonderful person."
	"He will learn to live that way.  You know you shouldn't mess with
Hera's decisions."
	"Please come with me tomorrow to see them.  It is so wonderful to
watch them grow towards each other."
	"But you know well how society will reject them and the pain they
might suffer."
	"That is where you come in, Athena."
	"I don't want to be involved."
	"Oh, please, Athena, you have to help me.  I wanted them to be the
bringers of acceptance to love.  I'm sick of being used and denied, Athena.
This is our true chance to better the world.  I know that in your just
mind, you cannot let the world attack people who feel love however or with
whomever they may feel it.  Please, Athena, this is a chance we may never
get again.  Say you will help me.  I'm getting tired, Athena.  There is too
little love in this world to deny any of it.  Many people believe this love
is not right, that it is against God.  If we show them, maybe, well..."
	"If only they knew half the things their God, Zeus, did, they would
change their minds!"
	"Exactly.  Say you will help me make them examples for the world of
how things could be."
	"I will help you, but we must be careful."
	"Oh, thank you, Athena, you won't regret it.  Come we must make
plans," whispered Aphrodite as she carried Athena off, talking in
excitement.  Hera watched them in distrust and decided that she would
follow Aphrodite the next day to see what exactly was going on.  High
above, from the moon, Artemis observed with a worried look at what was
going to happen soon.

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That's all for now, I will write the next chapter soon.  Feedback would be
very appreciated.  I hope to hear from you soon, it would really inspire me
to write this story.

Thank you,
Sean Malave
33rhT@poem.org