Mythology is bound by the rules of society as well. Here’s a mythological fiction, an original story built around real characters from Greek mythology.
“Why does it rain?
Well, there once was a princess named Calandra. Her dad was the god of the Underworld, Hades. Calandra was a cheerful girl and always happy. She was known for her kindness and beauty. She was divine, elegant, rich and resplendent. One day, she was looking out of the window and she saw a handsome prince riding on a horse towards her palace in the underworld. The guards opened the gate for the prince. Calandra saw the prince walk up to Hades.
“May I have your daughter’s hand in marriage?” The charming prince asked.
Hades got up. He looked at the prince in the eye, “Who are you? Who is your father?”
“I am Orestes. Zeus is my father. I love your daughter more than anything in the world.”
“Excuse me? I shall not give my daughter to you. Guards – take him away.”
“WAIT! STOP! Let go of him!” Calandra exclaimed. She ran towards the prince. “I like him! Please father! Give him a chance. You never ask me whom I like! He came all the way to the Underworld to ask for me.”
“I said no. Guards, please take Calandra to her room. The rest of you escort the prince out.” He ordered. The guards escorted the prince and locked Calandra in her room. Calandra looked out the window. She saw the prince riding away.
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A few moments later, Calandra heard a voice.
“PSST! PSST!”
“Huh?” Calandra looked up. It was the prince. He had some how entered the palace and was now standing right in front of her.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I can’t leave without you. You mean a lot to me!” he said.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We are going to Mt. Olympus to ask my father, Zeus if we could get married. May be he will agree.” Orestes jumped on the back of the horse, lifted Calandra up and rode to Mt. Olympus.
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They reached Mt.Olympus.
“This place is beautiful! I have never been outdoors before. I was always locked up in that rotten palace.” Calandra and Orestes walked up the stairs and into the palace. There, all the gods and goddesses were sitting and chatting. Orestes walked up to Zeus.
“Excuse me, Father, I love Calandra and would like to marry her.” he said.
“Is she HUMAN? Who is her father?” Zeus asked curiously.
“Um, her father is . . . Lord Ha-Hades.”
“WHAT? What were you thinking? From now onwards you are not allowed to see her. Forget her. If you disobey, I will do something very horrible to her!” Zeus threatened.
“But she is nothing like her father! She is beautiful. She is standing right over there.” Zeus looked at Calandra and frowned even more.
“Get her out of here! SHE IS NOT WELCOME ON MOUNT OLYMPUS!” Zeus boomed. The sky started to growl and lightning struck. Orestes rushed towards the horse and rode off with Calandra; taking her back to the underworld.
Calandra started to cry, “We can’t be together!”
“Yes, we can. You know what? We are going to spend the rest of our lives together even if we can’t. I will do anything to keep us together. I promise.” Orestes said. He thought of a plan. How can we get married if our parents don’t approve of it? I got it! We shall run away, far far away. They will never find us! Orestes made a doll that looked exactly like Calandra and placed it on her bed to trick Hades into thinking it was her sleeping. Then they both traveled far away from Mount Olympus and the underworld, sailing the seas and passing the lands.
But, Orestes’s tricks weren’t good enough to outsmart Hades, the trickster. Hades found out immediately that Calandra was missing and informed Zeus via Iris messaging. Zeus was very angry. Zeus told Poseidon to watch them and that if they were ever sailing the sea Poseidon would have to form a huge wave to wash them away. Zeus would make thunder and lightning so that he could scare them.
When Calandra and Orestes were sailing the sea, thunder roared louder than ever and bright lightning struck. The waves were moving rapidly and soon formed a hurricane in the sea.
“Ahhh!” Calandra screamed. She was about to fall, but Orestes caught her hand. The sea started to pull her inside.
“My father has found out about our escape!” Orestes exclaimed. Orestes used all his strength and tried to pull her up, but the wave was too strong. Calandra’s hand slipped and she fell into the sea.
“AHHHH!” Calandra screamed. Orestes started to cry as he saw his ‘wife’ get pulled away by the sea. Little did he know that she wasn’t dead.
“I hate you Zeus! I HATE YOU!” Orestes yelled into the never-ending sea. Then suddenly the sea stopped moving rapidly. It just froze. No more lightning and thunder struck.
Zeus sent the skies to go fetch Orestes. Orestes was shocked when he realized that he was being carried back to Mt. Olympus by the clouds and the skies. What is he doing now?
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Orestes reached Mt. Olympus. Zeus and Hades were standing there looking at both of him in anger. Then Calandra comes out from behind Zeus. She was soaking wet and freezing cold.
“Calandra!” Orestes exclaimed and tried to run and hug her. But Zeus just zapped him with lightning. The lightning wasn’t that strong, but it hurt him.
“Orestes, you are no longer my son. You disobeyed me and you shall pay for it.” Zeus said. He lifted his hand up and struck Orestes with a lightning bolt. Orestes shrieked and then slowly disintegrated into thin ash.
“Orestes!” Calandra screamed. She burst into tears.
“Why did you do this? We-we ju-just wanted to-to be together and live happily.” Calandra cried. All the anger flowed through her.
“It is for your own good.” Hades said to his daughter. Then Zeus pointed his finger to Calandra and lifted her up in the air.
“You shall be locked up in the skies. The Gods of heaven will be watching you and guarding you. You shall mourn for Orestes for the rest of your days!” Zeus said. Calandra looked at Hades and begged for forgiveness. But Hades only looked at Calandra distastefully. Zeus put Calandra high up in the sky where no one could see her. Whenever she cried her tears was the rain for the humans. She mourned for her ‘husband’ whenever she cried. Remembering how he promised that they would always be together and how he sacrificed his life for her. Watching the world from above was Calandra the goddess of rain.
So remember, whenever it rains, it is actually Calandra, the Goddess of Rain crying.”
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Read more Stories by Kids here.
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Recommended Reading: Mythology – Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes
