The Story of the Three Lovers

Deep in the past, the sky and the earth and the sea were in love. They spent all of their time together, and spoke in their own ancient words of their love. They loved everything about the other, and that they were each so different from the other; they each saw all the world in their own way.

But after a time, the sky felt somewhat left out. It could not truly touch the sea or the earth the way others could. Its ghostly fingers brushed unfeeling over the surface of the ground, of the water. It was too intangible. It took an enormous effort to truly bring the sky to the sea or earth. It could whip a gale across the rippling surface of the oceans, stirring great waves that reached up and met with equal force the bellowing winds. It could send tornadoes over the earth but that only served to rip pieces of the ground from their beds and hurl them far and wide. It was too violent for the sky.
The sea and earth met at all the coasts and banks of rivers, and there they most loved to be. There was the constant gentle lapping of waves at the water’s edge that brought them tranquility. But the sky blew far overhead or whipped along the sand and felt apart from the other two. It was not jealous; the sea and the earth loved the sky no less for its untouchable self. But the sky longed to feel closer to its two lovers.
It was as the sky was sighing along a beach that it came up with a plan. It saw lying upon a rock a clam. Yes, thought the sky. A shell to hold me inside, protecting that which is too soft or intangible to hold itself.
The sky set about thinking of ways to make such a shell.
It first tried the sea. The sea was changeable, movable, and would allow the sky to bend and stretch and touch the others. The sky and the sea worked to shape the water, using the pulsing tides to bring into being a shape the sky could use. But the water was too changeable. It could not hold a form long enough for the sky to enter.
It then tried the earth. This was far easier to make a shape out of, though the stones and dirt were stiff beneath the guidance of sky and earth. But now there arose another problem. The dirt was too stiff. The sky could not move it, not without breaking pieces off. The earth did not move save for in great violence, changing rapidly its surface into something completely new.
The sky was distraught. All it wanted was something that would allow it to be with those it loved. It gazed down sadly from high above the ground, exhausted from so much effort spent shaping sea and earth.
The sea and the earth saw their lover in this state and knew they had to do something. They did not love it less for not being able to touch it, for that is not all love is, but they too felt distant at times and longed to be closer. So they together came up with a plan, whispered softly in the quiet hours when the tides are a low susurrus.
They made their own shell. They made it together. They hid beneath the branches of a willow to keep it secret. It was made of earth, but far more hollow than before. Running through the clay skin were tunnels like tree roots; some thick and some thin, weaving their way through every part of this shape. These tunnels were filled with water and pulsed in time with the lapping of the waves. Soon their shape was done and the earth and sea brought it to the beach. They called to the sky to come see.
It did so slowly. It was still sad at its many failures. But when it arrived and saw the shell its lovers had made for it, it was overjoyed! It breezed into the shell and filled it up, feeling the love that had gone into making it. The sturdy earth held the shape together, and the water woven within allowed for it to soften and bend.
The sky settled within the shape and ever so slowly began to move.
It moved the two legs that carried it forward. It felt through the bare feet the warm, gentle sand, something it had never known before. Sand had always been sharp and stinging in its winds; now the grains were a soft cocoon around it.
With tentative steps it carried the shell to the surf where sea met sand. The water was cold, as it knew, but not brutally so. It was… cool. Not cold. It was soft as a cloud as it lapped around the shell’s toes, and then its ankles. Soon the rippling waves were about its calves and bringing to the sky a joy it had scarce felt before.
Below it was the earth, that it so loved. Around it was the sea, that it so loved. It felt them now. It was with them.
The sky fell to its knees and buried its new hands in the sand, the cool water now almost completely covering it. The sky laughed and laughed as the sand shifted beneath it. It billowed up under the water and danced within it. It was now a dance that the sky understood. Water dripped down the sky’s face, falling to join the sea, mixing together and becoming one. Just as it always did when the sky brought its rains.
The sky scooped up handfuls of sand to bring them to its face, rubbing it against its cheek, feeling the grit against its new skin.
All around it, it heard the voices of the sea and the earth calling out in joy. They found themselves falling in love with the sky all over again as they watched it revel in the new sensations they themselves had always known.
The earth made the sand swirl and take new shapes. The sea made its waves gentle all through the day so the sky was not disturbed. Their own hands were gentle as they watched their lover play.
But the sky, of course, could not fit all of itself inside of the small shell. The vast majority remained apart, watching on through this small vessel. Over time it felt itself grow more and more distant from the shell. Where before it had felt almost one with the soft clay and watery veins, now it found great difficulty in moving it at all. Yet the shell did not fall idle.
Instead it moved with greater energy. It was moving of its own accord. The sky soon completely abandoned the shell, rather watching the thing from above. It danced in the surf and skipped in the grasses, jumping into the air and rolling on the ground when it landed. It contained all the love and joy the sky had felt in those moments but it was entirely apart.
The sky brought this finding to the sea and the earth. The other two were shocked; they had thought the sky was still inhabiting the shell all this time. The three of them watched the shell cavort around. No, not a shell, not anymore. Something else. Something entirely new.
The sky at first felt stranded again from the other two. It had tried so hard to be closer with them and instead it was back where it had started. Then it looked down at the new thing, now playing in the sand, and felt a swell of pride. It had made something. The sky had never… made anything before. It was too intangible to do so. But now it had, with the aid of its lovers. The three of them united had given this new thing form, movement, and life.
So the sky, the sea, and the earth watched over their new creation with great love and pride; for it was the first thing of its kind they three had done united.
From then on, whenever the sky longed to touch its lovers again, they simply made another one of these shells for the sky to fill with its breath. They would enjoy their time together in this way but knew it would soon end. The connection between them and their creation would quietly break and they would step back to watch it play on its own- or with the others they had made like it.
Eventually all things end. The strange new beings would tumble to the ground and they would return to where they came from.
The clay and dirt slowly broke apart and joined the rest of the earth. The trickles of water drained into the ground, wending their way over time back to a larger body of water. The last breath of the being- for they truly breathed now- was spent pushing the bit of sky it held inside back into the air. It was sad to watch, but in returning to its origins, the pieces of sea and earth and sky brought back to themselves new life. They brought memories, and experiences, and stories to share with the others.
The sky had never been so happy.

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