Message in a Bottle

Dionysus is known the world over for one of his greatest gifts to the
world. A gift that has made poor men rich and rich men poor. A true
magical potion with such potency that it can drive away all fear and
morality in men turning them into giants willing to cast down the
gods themselves. Or into weeping children who can no longer hear the
Gods call. It has destroyed just as many lives as it has inspired and
no mortal ever gets to choose which effect it will have on him or
her.
It comes in many different colors and textures, some of it is simple
and sweet and some of it is a complex bouquet of the most
illuminating of scents and tastes. And down deep, on many dusty
cellar doors, Dionysus himself watches over the many bottles from
years gone by. Each with a story to tell of the year and of the times
in which it was created like liquid history in a bottle.
Dionysus is normally a joyful fellow with many comical stories to
tell for those who take the time to listen. He has little care for
titles or boast, just stories, especially the one that make him and
everyone else around laugh as heartily and burgundy.
It was after such an occasion that our bellies hurt so bad from
laughter that we couldn't help but keep giggling that his face took
on a more somber and distant look. An __expression that was only
counter by the tiny tear in his left eye that was thrown out by his
last round of chuckles.
He gazed into his half empty goblet as if searching for words and
after a moment of silence he asked if I would like more wine. I
simply nodded since he was already topping off my own goblet.
"Seems like I have been drinking this bottle forever." He said
absently.
"It's odd, I responded with half a smile, I sat here with you today
drinking and listening to the most unbelievable stories, but I never
feel the wine."
"Feel it?"
"Lad one does not feel wine. They experience it." He stated in a
matter of fact tone that he couldn't hold. He started to giggle again
but continued on through the bouts.
"Ah…I never made this stuff to make men act the way they sometimes
do. That was in fact, he said raising a finger, an unfortunate but
funny side effect. And it serves them right for not listening to me
in the first place." He chuckled and sipped from his goblet and then
looked at me as if waiting for me to take in what he just said before
he continued.
"You know the __expression you all have "if I could put time in a
bottle…", well…long before mortal lips ever spoke those words I did,"
he said while patting his own chest with pride. He sniffed in a
moment of boastfulness, "Yep, I was the very first one."
"I pulled it off too!" He winked.
"Wine you see, is time in a bottle. And the whole purpose behind the
original idea came from some odd conversation I had with someone or
other"…. he paused…."I can't quite recall…anyway…the conversation
ended in a joke about what memory must taste like. And we figured
that good memories should be light and sweet and bad memories should
by heavy and bitter. Which is that exact same reason why not too many
good memories come out of that dreadful beer stuff." He cringed.

"The first mortal who repeated my very own words was a young lad who
had fallen so in love with a woman that he wanted Zeus himself to
stop time on earth. As if the old man was actually going to do it. If
he stopped time everything would stop and people would just stand
right there where time stopped forever. Which would be rather
pointless and dull. But the idea was a romantic one in the abstract
and it got my attention. So I whipped up a bottle of wine and took it
down to the lad and gently explained to him that time could not be
stopped but it could be captured. The bottle of wine that I gifted
him and his bride to be was made on the very day that he spoke those
words. So in a way he got his wish." Dionysus drifted off in thought
again for a moment then sighed and continued on with his story.
"Seems I started a trend that day. Mortals have been sentimental
about wine since the story got around about that small gift to two
lovers."
"A few years later the lads wife took ill. Times where hard then and
there was not much that could be done about it. We have a few issues
about setting things right that mortals do wrong to themselves. Even
though we oddly enough get blamed for well over half of it." He
huffed.
"Anyway, the lad called out to me in the most heartbroken voice I
have ever heard and pleaded for me to aid his ailing wife. Once I had
captured time in a bottle for their love, he wanted me to do the same
again but this time it was not to capture time but to give them more
of it."
"So I bent a few rules and told him to add water to the wine."
Dionysus chuckled, "The Fates had their tale feathers in a bunch that
day I can tell you." He laughed.
"Oh well, serves them right for wanting such a serious job."
(At this point Dionysus had to stop in telling his tale because he
started laughing so hard that he fell off the tree stump he was
lounging on and fell right into the river. Which he didn't seem to
mind because when everyone saw him go in they all followed and
started splashing and playing around. When he finally returned his
face was a bit flushed from swimming and laughing but he continued on
right where he left off while wiping his face off with a rather handy
towel that came right out of nowhere.)
"When you go home read up on the Greeks." He blew his nose on the
towel.
"You'll see how it was back a few years ago when that little trend
caught on too. Many of the Greeks and Romans added water to their
wine because they didn't drink it to feel its full but still comical
side effects. That drank it to experience it lad. And adding water
made the experience last much longer."
"Now, if you will please excuse me I believe that little nymph over
there just winked at me. And if she didn't, she will in the morning!"
He broke out into laughter and slapped me on the back with one good
crack that woke me right up.

Angel Snowden - 2006