Date: Mon, 06 Apr 1998 23:35:05 PDT
From: tchaikovsky@hotmail.com
Subject: Eric's Gift

I've really worked hard on this story..... I hope you like it. This is the
second story that I have written for this archive, the other one being
listed at the bottom. There isn't all that much sex in this story. But I
think it's a good love story. E-mail me back with your response,
tchaikovsky@hotmail.com

				Eric's Gift
			      By Jade Falcon
                                                
				 Chapter 1
			      I First Realize

	 I lay in my bed watching a talk show. I think to myself how
pitiful these people are, not being able to work out their problems in
private. That involving the entire world in their problems would make them
better somehow.

	As I lay there, I think to myself; 'what is going to happen to me?'
It is a question that has plaqued me since I first realised that I was gay.
Not a conclusion I came to easily, mind you. I told myself for years that I
was not gay. 'It's just a phase', I would say. Only when I realised who I
was did I say; 'I am gay. I am gay, I am ga--. Holy shit, what the hell am I
gonna tell my mom'. Honestly, that was the first sentence to appear in my
head when I truly realised it.

	Ok, here is the part where I say 'Perhaps I should describe
myself--' Heh, I read that alot in stories like this. Ok, here goes; My
name is John, I'm 17 years old, brown hair, ice blue eyes, last time I
weighed in, I was 201. That's not that much, considering I am 6'6" and most
of it is muscle anyway. I have an Australian accent because my father was
Australian. And I lived in Sydney for three years before he died and I came
here. Ahh crap, there I go again. Blabbering on. Well, back to the
story. Where was I? Oh yes, now I remember;

	After I told myself this. My whole look on life began to change. I
fealt, I dunno, better about myself. I fealt free from the bonds that had
previously held me down. I would look openly (although not too openly. Hey,
you can get a black eye for that ya know) at other guys in the locker room,
instead of hiding myself behind a stack of lockers. Make no mistake, I was
no where near coming out to anyone. I knew that if I did it would be a
mistake.

	Whenever I thought about this, coming out I mean, I remembered a
guy, his names was Stuart, Stu, Steve, something like that. Anyway, he
decided to tell the entire school that he was gay. And I do mean the entire
school. We were having an assembly that day in the main audotorium (is that
how it's spelled?). He was being nominated for student body president. And
he fealt it was his duty to inform the entire student body, and half the
faculty, that he was a raving homo. I about pissed in my bloody pants!
Well, the room suddenly became very quiet. The principal heard this while
he was munching on a piece of donut, and choked on it, literaly. The
teacher next to him had to give him the heimlich maneuver. As soon as he
recovered, he stormed out of the auditorium (there's that word again) and
phoned the boy's mother. She came and picked him up. That was the last time
I saw him. Suffice it to say, I wasn't about to tell the entire known
universe, that *I* was a raving homo.


				 Chapter 2
				 The Crush

Well, since I started to explore these feelings, I started to notice how
good looking the guys in my class were. There was this one kid in
particular that would get my home fires burning. His name was Eric. He was
in almost all the same classes as I was, so I got to see him alot. He was
about 6'1, I would say roughly 170 pounds. Not as much muscle as I have,
but enough that he doesn't look like a walking string bean. He had blond
hair, and the lovliest pair of hazel eyes on God's green earth. He was
cute. The bad thing: as far as I knew at the time, he was as strait as an
arrow. It was hard having a major crush on him. Not being able to tell him
how I felt, without fear of rejection. Or more then that, fear that he
would go and blab it all over the school. And the next thing you know, I
would be known as the town faggot. I couldn't bare to live with that
image. So I was content with just getting to be his friend.

I was sitting in Algebra one day, about six months after I realized about
myself, scribbling some calculations on to a notepad that I used for
scratch paper. He walked into the room and I caught him out of the corner
of my eye. I instantly snapped my head up and waved a hello to him. He
waved back and I motioned for him to take an empty seat in front of me. He
smiled and walked over. OH GOD!! That smile!!. He came up to me and,
putting his books down said, "Hey John. What's doin?"

"Nuthin. Just scribblin out some practice answers to this morning's
test. What you doin'?", I queried in return.

"Nuthin here either. I hate tests. They're a drag, man."

"Nahh, come on. They can't be that bad", I replied. He just shook his head
and smiled that gorgeous smile at me,
	
	"Well 'course they're easier for you John. Your one big walkin'
brain cell, man". I took that as a compliment and laughed with him. An idea
began to form in my head. If I could talk him into studying with me, I
could get closer to him. Yeah, that's it. This whole plan formed in my head
in like, two seconds.

	"Hey, why don't you come over to my house tonight and we can
study. You can even stay the night". I surprised myself by just blurting
this out. He thought for a moment and then nodded his head
entheusiasticaly, "Yeah man, that would be great! Maybe I could start
getting better grades. Get my old man off my back for once."


				 Chapter 3
				I Find Love

	So, it was decided that Friday would be our 'study day'. And now,
it was Wedensday. I was so nervous, althout I shouldn't have been. He has
slept over many times. But this time it seemed -- different somehow. At
any rate, I couldn't wait. I wanted to take him home right now and lick
ever inch of his stud body. But, I had to wait. The only thing that I
looked forward to was new episodes of Star Trek that were on that
night. Man, I thought, Friday is never gonna come.

	Well, Friday came. I was a nervous wreck throught the whole day of
school. Eric and I went to classes, ate together at lunch. You know, same
ol' stuff. I couldn't hardly look him in the eye. All those erotic thoughts
prevented me from seeking out those lucious hazel eyes of his. Soon, the
last bell rang and we went out the double doors to the student parking
lot. I was filled with pride as I looked at my new 97 Dodge Ram. Cherry red
with a black pinstripe down the side. I tossed him the keys and he unlocked
the passenger side door. Since mine had a combination lock on it, I just
punched in the combo, and climbed into the cab. Soon, we were on our way.

	We arrived at my house to find my mom still at work. She worked for
a big law firm here in Mt. Vernon. One of the biggest this side of the
mountains. She really raked in the bucks. Her bosses always had her working
on the really big cases. Hence, the reason I had my truck. I stopped by the
answering machine and hit the button on my way into the kitchen. Eric said
he had to take a leak so he walked to the bathroom and shut the door. I
opened the 'fridge to see if there was anything to grub on.  Nothin.  Damn.
Oh well, I thought. I just turned and walked out of the kitchen and
finished listening to the answering machine chirp as it called up the next
message. I figured they were all for my mom, so I went ahead into my room.
I fired up my 300 MhZ computer and proceded to log on to the net.  'Hmmm,
Eric isnt' out of the bathroom yet', I thought, 'Oh well.  Maybe he's takin
a crap'

	Upon getting on to the net I opened up my mIRC program. I figured I
better stay away from the gay channels that I had just discovered a couple
of months ago. If Eric walked in here and caught me. I'd be dead meat for
sure. So, I got into one of the Star Trek channels I frequent. Finding
nothing to do there, I just closed the computer down, and went over to my
stereo and put in Savage Garden's Truly, Maddly, Deeply. My favorite song by
the way *smile*.

	I heard Eric open the bathroom door and walk into the living
room. He called from downstairs, "John, where are you dude?"

"Up hear Eric!" I called back down to him. I heard him clamor up the stairs
and then he opened the door to my room. "Hey man, thought you left me", he
said with a grin.

"Nahh, just hanging up here". I walked over and turned the stereo down a
little, and then walked back to my bed.

	Now, I wanted you to realize, me and Eric had become really good
friends these past months. We did alot together, went to concerts, to
movies, and generaly got into trouble *grin*. We even confided in each
other. It was like we were meant to be friends or something. I realized
this. I also realized that my attraction to him was not just sexual. But
emotional. Even though he wasn't good in school, which I really didn't care
about, he was funny, easy-going, and just seemed to 'shoot from the hip' as
it were. Everything I was not. I spent alot of my free time on the computer
chatting with friends in Costa Rica and Chile. Some would call me a
cyber-hermit. *shrugs* Anyway, I'm rambling again, so I'll just shut up
now.

	I layed back on my bed and he walked over to my desk and pulled out
the chair to sit on it. We chatted about stuff. About girls he wanted to
'boff', and about how bad his parents treated him (he got almost everything
he asked for heh, so I knew he wasn't bad off). He scooted over to my bed
and I sat up next to him. He got this really serious look on his face.
Like, something was really bothering him. I noticed this and told him so.

"I dunno. It's just that -- something -- someone -- ahh, shit. I dunno," he
replied after I asked him what was wrong.

I put my arm around his shoulders and said, "Eric. Man, something is
wrong. I can tell your really bothered by it. Come on. It will help to get
it out." I smiled reassuringly.

"Well, I was at this concert the other day. And someone -- a guy -- asked
me--ummm--he asked me out. I was totaly blown away", he looked at the floor
in shame. "I--I want to tell you something John. Uhhhhmmm--" he started to
get jittery. And did alot of the 'Ahhh's' and 'Ummms' that he does when he
is nervous. I patted his back reassuringly. "Eric, what is it, mate? Come
on. You can tell me".

He stood up and began to pace. Then he sat down over at the desk. He finaly
got the courage to talk. "I don't know--uhhhm--exactly how to tell you
this. The only reason I wanted to tell you is cause--ahhhh--uhhhmmm--well,
you are my best friend and I think you should know. I'm--uhhh--John. I'm
gay." The whole time he was telling me this he was looking down at the
floor. I just sat there for a minute absorbing what I had just heard.
Without thinking I stood up and walks over to Eric. He saw me get up and
walk over to him and shrunk back like I was going to hit him.

"Eric. I'm not going to hit you." I walked back over to the bed and sat
down. Patting beside me I motioned for him to come over and sit by me. He
hesitated until I reassured him that I wasn't going to hit him. Then he
meekly walked over and sat beside me. I could see the tears welling up in
his eyes. My eyes decided to turn on the waterworks, and soon my eyes were
filled with tears. Without saying anything more I pulled him to me. I lay
his head on my chest and we both cried. I stroked his hair and neck.
Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be. We cried together for about 20
minutes, me holding him.

	After we both had a good cry, he sat up and looked at me curiously.
His eyes were all puffy and red. I imagined I looked the same. He sat
there, in what only could be described as puzzled silence. I looked into
his eyes. He looked at the bed. I tried to speak, only to find a lump in my
throat. I tried hard to croak out a few words. But nothing came. Finally, I
reached over to him. He moved back ever so slightly. I put my hand on top
of his head, and ran it around the back of his neck, and finaly under his
chin. I slightly pulled up so that he was looking into my eyes as well. I
leaned over and tentitivly put my lips to his. It seemed to take a while to
register in his mind what I was doing, but as soon as he did, he started to
kiss me back. His tongue probed my mouth, and mine did likewise. I moved my
hand from under his chin to the back of his neck. I ever so gently pulled
him with me as I lay down the rest of the way on my bed. He lay all the way
on top of me now, grinding his crotch into mine.

	I could feel his hot tears of joy landing on my chest as we made
love.  We were both very gentle with each other. Always checking with each
other to make sure we were giving the best amount of pleasure possible. I
moaned loudly as I entered him. He groaned and moaned along with me. There
were occasionaly time where our words were coherent. And only then, tell
each other how good we made the other feel. I continued to plunge into his
tight hole until I reached orgasm. He jerked his penis once more, and it
spewed it's molten contents unto my chest. As soon as I finished, I pulled
out gently. He lay on my chest, squishing his love juices between us. We
kissed each other again.

	I woke up to find Eric sleeping beside me. His head was rested on
my chest, and his legs were intertwined with mine. I looked at his sleeping
form, the rise of his chest when he breathed, the way he moved his lips. I
could only imagine what he was dreaming. I didn't dare wake him, for fear
of losing this moment of time to look at my sleeping adonis. I don't know
how, but I knew that I would have many more opportunities. But this was the
first time. It was sacred. I moved my head slightly to look at the alarm
clock on my night stand. It read 10:56. We had been asleep for about 5
hours. I had looked at the clock when I dozed off, at it had read 4:49. All
of a sudden, fear gripped my chest. What if mom came in here? What if she
saw me like this? I wasn't ready for her to know yet. I was so afraid of
her catching me -- catching me in this beutiful boy's arms -- holding me --
loving me.  All of a sudden, it didn't matter anymore. All I cared about
was laying in these arms. Feeling his soft, smooth skin on my own.

	I must have moved, because he stirred. I thought he had gone back
to sleep until he looked up at me. I looked down at him and smiled. The
puffiness from all the crying we had done had long since vanished. he sat
up slightly and kissed my neck. I kissed his forehead in return as he
untangled his legs from mine. I broke the silence when he kissed me again,
this time on my lips.

"Hi, Eric. Did you sleep well?" I asked lovingly

"Yeah, like a log", he replied with a grin, "But I gotta take a major piss,
man". He threw the sheet off, exposing his adonis body. Covered in cum and
sweat. I heard him go to my private bathroom and relieve himself. I figured
I had better get up and take a look downstairs to see if mom was there.
When I opened the door, I immediately knew there was no one home. All the
lights were off, from what I could see. I didn't hear the fermiliar sounds
of the television. I walked, naked to the edge of the stairs. Mom's bedroom
door has remained just the way it was when I came upstairs. I continued to
walk downstairs and was unpleasantly shocked by the coldness of the
linolium on my bare feet. I walks over to the rug to warm them up, before
continuing on into the kitchen. I could see from where I was standing, that
the bright green light of the answering machine was blinking, indicating a
new message. I walked over to the device and clicked the Play button.


*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP* John, this is mom. Sorry for not calling earlier. I have
been really preoccupied with a case. And now Stan wants me to fly over to
Spokane to interview some witnesses. I won't be home until tommorow. There
is money in my top drawer in case you need it. Oh, I got the other
messages, Mr. Kerlar wants you to come into work tommorow. Something about
some major hard drive upgrades to the hospital. Anyway, you can have a
friend over for the weekend. Don't Forg--*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP*

	The rest of the message was cut off. Then I saw that it had another
message still to play:

*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP* Sorry John. What I was saying is; don't forget to do
your homework. And keep the house clean. And absolutely, positivly, no
parties. Love you hon', I will be home probably Sunday. Stan is having a
taxi meet us at SeaTac, so don't worry about picking me up. Ok, I really
gotta go. Love you. Bye! *click* *BEEEEEEEEEEP*

	The machine informed me that there were no more messages, so I
walked over to the 'fridge. I was about to open it, when I realized that
there was nothing in it to eat. I figured that I would put some of that
money mom left to good use. I ran upstairs to find Eric in the
shower. Since I was naked, I just sauntered over and pulled the curtain
aside and climbed in. He was in the process of washing under his arms. I
smiled at him and gently took the soap and began to lather his soft skin. I
washed every part of him, exploring along the way. Then, I handed him the
soap, and he did the same to me. All the dried cum seemed to melt away
under the warm water. He finished soaping me up and I rinsed off and
climbed out, he came out after me. We dried each other off lovingly and
then walked back out to my room. He didn't have any clothes, so I lent him
some of mine. And I must say, he looked damn hot in my DS9 t-shirt!

	We climbed into my truck and I started it up. The Cummins Diesel
engine roared to life and I backed out of the driveway. He scooted over
beside me and put his arm around me. I smiled at him. I had forgotten all
about my hunger, but my stomach hadn't. It growled it's protest at being
empty.

"Eric, I have a wad of cash. Where do you want to go for dinner?"

"I dunno. Someplace that is open late. It's like, 12:00", he said checking
his watch.

"Hmmmm," I thought for a moment, "About the only place that is open is that
Espresso and Sandwich Shop. You in the mood for a big turkey sandwich?"

He thought this over for a minute. "Sure, yeah, that sounds good," he
replied back. So I pulled on to the main strip and headed South. The shop
lay to the west. Right accross from a Fred Meyer. I pulled on to the side
street. The brightly lit sign of the sandwich shop, more then canceled out
the large shadow produced by the Les Shwab accross the street. We parked
and went into the small dining area.

"Eric! Hey bro, how's it goin?" came a voice I immediately recognized as
Eric's older sister. I had heard her many time while talking to Eric over
the phone, but had never met her.

Eric looked behind me to see who had called him. His eyes lit up and he
called, "Hey sis. When did you start workin here? I thought you were
working over at Thrifty's still."

	She walked out from behind a counter carrying two small square pads
that looked like post it notes. She got a chair from a neighboring table
and brought it over to sit with us. "Naw, I quit working there. One of the
guys kept drooling all over me, and besides, the hours were skank. So who's
this?" She asked nodding her head over to me. She grinned and before Eric
could answer her she said, "Your boyfriend? Wooooo, Eric, he's cute. You
picked a re--" She stopped dead when Eric gave her a 'shut the fuck up now,
before I gouge out your eyes with a spoon' look. I just sat there staring
at her like she had grown a second head, or third boob. She looked over at
me and laughed. Eric put his hand on mine and said, "It's okay, John. She
knows I'm gay. She's cool with it." His hands held mine now. I snapped out
of whatever I was in and looked over at him. He had that infectious smile
on. I smiled back and chuckled.

"I guess I don't have to worry about sneaking around around you, eh?" I
said with a grin.

"Nope. And I love the accent. It's soooo sexy." She giggled like a
California Valley girl, " Well, what do you too love birds want to eat?
Whatever it is, it's on me. I get free food and drinks." And with that she
dropped one of the small white pads of paper and a pencil in front of us.
"Oh, by the way, John was it?" I nodded, "My name's Stacy" she said
extending her hand.

"Nice to meet you Stacy." I said taking the proferred hand. With that, she
walked back into the area behind the counter. Soon I heard Sound Garden
playing through the speakers that I assumed were in the ceiling. I looked
into Eric's eyes and smiled. 'I could get lost in those eyes' I thought.
Still smiling, I looked down at the pad and pencil in front of me. On it
were selections for what I wanted on my sandwich. I chose a sourdoug turkey
with American and Cheddar cheese, Mayo, Mustard, and lettuce. Eric had the
same thing, except without the mustard. He then carried the two slips of
paper over to the counter and called out, "Sis!  Here's what we want! Get
your butt out of the bathroom and serve your customers you miserable
wench!" I laughed when he said that, he turned and winked at me. I heard a
muffled reply, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm comin', I'm comin'."

	After she was done making the sandwiches, which included one for
her, she put up the 'Back in 30 Minutes' sign and sat down with us. Four
hours, 6 mochas, and three sandwiches later, we noticed the sun starting to
peak over the Rockies. Me and Eric, who were wired for sound, figured that
we would go ahead and drive Stacy home, then back to my house to crash for
a coupla' hours. So, after quite a few ooh's and ahhh's from Stacy after
seeing my truck, we were off.

	After we had dropped Stacy off, we decided that we just weren't
tired. So I took us to the top of Burlington Hill. It was owned by this old
man who owned a mansion up there. I didn't know if it was legal for us to be
there or not, but it was a pretty secluded place, and it was excellent for
watching the sun rise. Soon, we were sitting at my favorite spot, laying in
the back bed.

"Hey, John", Eric started, "What's gonna happen to us now?"

I thought for a second then replied, "Eric, I don't know about the future,
and don't claim to. But right now I know one thing: and that is, that I
love with all my heart and soul. I have since I first met you."

He turned his head toward me. I fealt his hand take a hold of mine. I
squeezed his hand, and he squeezed mine back. "I do love you John. Your
everything I've always wanted in a--a boyfriend. I hope that you will
stay together with me always."

Upon hearing this, my eyes began to tear up. I turned my body toward him
and layed my head on his chest. He draped his arm across my back and rested
his chin on the top of my head. I listened to the air filling his lungs,
and it being expelled. I became entranced with the rise and fall of his
chest. Before I knew it, sleep took hold of me and I drifted off into the
land of nod.


				 Chapter 4
			      Tragedy Strikes
	
	It has been a month since me and Eric first found each other. We go
out together now. Not officialy as a couple. Even though no one has spoken
up, I'm sure that more then one person has seen that special gleam in our
eyes when we look at each other. Our parent's continued to be oblivious of
us. When we were at each other's house, and someone other then Stacy was
there, we would keep a respectable distance. It pained me to do so however.
I wanted to cuddle with my new love as much as I can. But when we get
together, if you could be there, you would know that we are truly, madly,
and deeply in love with each other. We officially made our song, no big
surprise, Sound Garden's Truly, Madly, Deeply. When we are alone in our
room, we would dance to it together. We had the perfect relationship, all
except one thing; We couldn't tell anybody about it. Other than Stacy, I
had no one to talk to about these feelings of happiness that I got from
being with Eric.

	Right now we are at Eric's house, watching a movie with Stacy.
Since no one else is around, me and Eric are cuddling together. We are
watching Speed 2, which by the way, is a pretty cool movie. It's my mom's
birthday today, so we are planning on taking her out. And this will be the
night that we tell her about us.

"Hey, hon?" Eric says, getting my attention.

"Yeah, babe?" I reply back

"I was thinking. Why don't we take her to Olive Garden in Bellingham? She
loves there food. And it will kinda soften the blow."

"Yeah, that does sound like a good idea." I snuggle up closer to
him. "Damn, I love you".

"I love you too babe" he says, kissing my forhead. We turn our attention
back to the movie.


	After picking up mom, telling her we have a surprise for her, I
head North on I-5 toward Bellingham. We talked and played the 'road kill'
game. That's where you try and guess what kind of poor creature had it's
intestines splattered all over the pavement by a truck going 70 miles an
hour. Needless to say, we were not that successful.

	I don't know what happened. I turned my head for a split second to
point out something to mom. The next thing I know, I am being thrown
forward. I heard metal screaching. The next thing I feel is the air bag
being deployed. Since I was laying on the steering wheel, it snapped me
back. I fealt blood drain into my eyes, then I lost conciousness.

	Eric walked toward me from the murky recesses of where ever I
was. I knew that I was dreaming. I don't know how, but I knew. Eric kept
beconing me to follow him. But the more I ran, the farther he got away. I
shouted his name 'EEEEEERRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCC' but he never seemed to
hear me. All of a sudden the silhouette of Eric is gone, replaced by a
bright light. I wince. Not in my dream. No, this is different.

	I open my eyes to find a nurse in a white coat standing in front of
me, shining a white pen light into my eyes. "Dammit, get that thing out of
my face". I growled. Immediately the light vanished. After a few seconds my
eyes adjusted to the light, but was not completely clear. My eyes were
still quite fuzzy. I could make out the moving shapes of people.

"Wha--?  Where am I?" I asked the moving blobs.

"Shhh, it's ok John. Your doing fine" came a voice. I knew instantly who is
was. It was Stacy. Her high sing song voice was replaced with a serious,
deeper, quieter voice.

"Stacy? Wha--?  We were driving to -- someplace. And I heard a loud bang.
My head snapped back and--and Eric.  Where is Eric? Mom, is she alright?
Are they okay?  Mom?!" I cried out.

"Shhhh, John. Your mom is fine. They are letting her go today," she
replied. My eyes had cleared now. And I could see her tear stained face. A
cold fear gripped my heart.

"What about Eric. Is he alright?" I pleaded.

"He's in the next room. You're in ICU. You've been here for three days,"
she answered. She heard a fermiliar voice outside of the room and said to
me, "I'll be right back John. My parents are here". And with that she
walked out of the room.

	I turned my head toward the window. The blinds were partially
closed so I didn't have the light in my eyes. Suddenly I heard a fermiliar
voice.

"John?" It was Eric! I turned my head back around toward the door. I saw
Eric standing there. He walked over slowly and sat on the corner of my
bed. He had a sad look on his face. Exactly like he did when he told me he
was gay. I was at a loss for words, but the tear rolling down my cheek
spoke volumes.

"John. Are you alright honny?" I nodded my head, "John. I have to go now.
I don't have much time. I just had to see you once more before I--I left.
But don't worry love, we will be together again. And listen to me. I want
you to live your life for all it's worth. I don't want you to be alone all
your life. It would hurt to much to see you like that. I love you John, my
sweet, sweet John. Never forget me. As I will never forget you. I have
loved every minute that I spent with you. As I know you have."  He stood
up. I finaly managed to croak out a few words.

"Eric. I love you"

He turned. "I know John. I know".

And then he was gone.

	I heard alarms blaring in the room next me, signaling Eric's final
departure. I cried myself to sleep that night. With Stacy holding me.


				 Chapter 5
			    My Life After Eric

	It's been ten years since Eric died. Soon after I got out of the
hospital, I told mom that I was gay, and that me and Eric were lovers. She
took it well, and she told me she had sort of known. Six years after I told
her, she died of cancer. Her last words to me were telling me that she
loved me, and was never disappointed in me. She fought until the very end.

	Stacy has gotten married to a construction worker, and we live next
door to each other. Every year we celebrate Eric's birthday. And every
year, we mourn him. I have yet to find someone like Eric. And I know I
never will.  For he was my soulmate. And therefore, irreplaceable.

	Whenever I am feeling lost, or alone. I go to Eric's grave, with a
tape recorder and a copy of our song. I play it for him and talk to him.
And I always go away feeling better. I have not seen him again like I did
in the hospital room. And I never will either. I try to hold up to my
promise to Eric. I live my life every day. And yet, I am alone. Something I
fear will never change. I feel that Eric has given me a wonderful gift. He
taught me about true love.


				  The End


Thanks for reading my story. I have another story published in this archive
in the high school section, named, Andy and Edgar. Read it. It's a good
one. And I would like to thank you all right now for your feedback on that
story. Both positive and negative.


All e-mail will be answered. Positive feed back, and contructive critisizm
is always welcome. Flames, cheerfully ignored. E-mail commends to
tchaikovsky@hotmail.com

Once again, thank you for reading this story.