Endymion

Long ago, the earth was a vast field of fertile soil.  
The sky was dark and the moon empty.
And the sun did not shine upon the fields.
On a day like any other, the soil came to life and figures in the shape of human beings
began to rise and fall out of the soil.  
Most would only rise for a moment and then turn to dust and fall back to earth.
Very few reached their full stature.
They would rise with the most beautiful and dramatic poses,
some with arms extended out to the sky.  
Some would rise with hands covering their faces
and others would reach out for other figures around them.

One day two figures rose close enough together
that they were able to conceive a child between them, a child of unsurpassing beauty.
And after having given birth to him, they fell back into the soil and immediately turned into dust.
When this child first opened his eyes, he saw the rising and falling figures around him
and expected to expire as quickly as they did.
However, after a moment he realized that he was unlike the others.
He suddenly became aware of his immortality and with this knowledge, joy filled his heart.

He began to walk the earth while admiring the wonder and beauty behind these strange creatures, constantly rising and falling.
And after delighting for a time in his immortality,
loneliness fell upon his heart and he desired a companion.
He began to wander the earth in search of another like himself.
However, he could find none.

His joy turned into sorrow and his immortality,
which at one time he thought to be his finest strength, was now his greatest weakness.
At last he accepted the fact that a miracle such as himself
occurs only every thousand thousand years.
He sat by the roadside weeping and longing for death.

Now the earth heard the cries of this immortal child and felt his tears upon her breast.
She had pity on him and came to comfort him with a wish.
The child's face began to glow as he asked for an eternal companion.
The earth shook her head sadly and explained that his wish was beyond her power.
He then asked for mortality, that he too may turn to dust and be no more.
Again the earth shook her head and informed him
that she could not provide him with a companion
nor cause him to die because she had no control over her children's destiny.

Now a calming look came upon the child's face and he asked the earth
if he could sleep forevermore upon her breast.

The earth stood for a moment and agreed to grant his wish.
The child lay down upon the soil and the earth closed his eyes.
Soon, he fell into a deep eternal sleep in the midst of the rising and falling figures.

Today, millions of years after, all mortal figures from all nations come to see this beautiful child
and lay their ears upon his breast and listen to his strong heartbeat.
And for millions of years to come, many will visit this place and gaze upon this eternal sleeper, lover called Endymion.