West Rock and East Rock Used to Kiss: A Love Story

East Rock and West Rock were always locked in a kiss. They kissed sunrise and sunset, bringing warmth and sweetness to otherwise lackluster winters. They celebrated the re-emergence of springtime chicories in an embrace. They basked in the summer sun, entangled in each other's boulders, twigs, and leaves. They kissed as autumn foliage rested on their bodies, each leaf admiring their deep and eternal love before melting into the lush soil nested at their feet. 

Their rocks grooved into each other, finding solace in a rapidly changing world. They heard Pangea's relationship was on thin ice, and a breakup was emerging. East Rock and West Rock saw molten rock bubbles between their tightly ripped arms. They felt developments around them and hoped it wouldn't come for their deep bond.

These new changes came in part from the glacier family. Tired of their icy stagnancy, glaciers wanted to shake things up. They set off on a mission to break up bonds and create new ones worldwide. Mountains and ranges and rivers took new shapes, including those surrounding East Rock and West Rock. 

One day, a large glacier named Abrasian ran around on the East Coast, rumbling up the land. It eyed East Rock and West Rock and identified them as a strong bond that would be a powerful one to break up and report back to his family. He drove toward the two in full force, digging himself through the soil, rocks flying in its wake. But then, he stopped in his tracks. He could more clearly see their love. Despite other glacier paths rumbling the land beneath it and lava gurgling between them, they stayed locked together in a deep embrace. He stared in awe.

Abrasian did not want to break up their love but understood that their family was counting on them to cross their path. East Rock and West Rock looked at Abrasian, watching them, and begged him not to destroy them.

Abrasian sighed. He said he had to go through their path one way or another, but the two could choose: he could cut through and destroy West Rock, do the same to East Rock, destroy them both, or cut through their kiss. Abrasian said he would return the next day to continue his mission. He returned to his family to report on the deep bond he would soon break. 

"He can take me!" said East Rock, ready to collapse into basalt shambles. 

"No, he will take me," said West Rock. "I can't imagine the seasons without you."

"I can't imagine anything without you!" said East Rock. "I won't be able to even stand without your love."

West Rock looked into the beautiful ridges of East Rock. "If we can't imagine life without one another, we may have to be physically separated. Although it will be a tragedy for me not to kiss you again, I will look on at you with intense love, knowing you're still here."

They returned into an embrace for their final kiss. 

Abrasian returned the next day, the two still intertwined. "We will allow you to pass through our bond," said East Rock. "But do not destroy us. Please allow both of us to survive."

Abrasian looked at the two, took a deep breath, and descended toward their kiss. The two began to cry, filling the ridge that Abrasian was eroding. Abrasian passed through their kiss, separating the two by miles, doing his best not to push them too far apart.

Now split, East Rock and West Rock looked toward each other. They could finally see how beautiful the other was in their whole form at their new distance. West Rock could see East Rock's flora-filled body, their tears filling the now river at their feet, soon to be called the Cappawonganick. East Rock looked at West Rock's sprawling cliffs, with the tear-filled Wintergreen Lake shimmering against their ridges. The two, although tragically unable to kiss, were able to bask in each other's glory. They began crying tears of joy, with new perspectives on why they loved each other so much.

Even today, the two continue admiring each other from afar, breeding love in the space between them. They look at the animals now at their feet and hope they experience the deep love they did for each other - and still do.