Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2013 05:22:29 -0400
From: Chris Johns <chris-johns@hotmail.com>
Subject: Earthquake Heaven Chs. 2 &3

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			     EARTHQUAKE HEAVEN
				 Chapter 2

Hashi went back to school at the end of the summer with his head still full
of his new friend.

"He promised he would come back, but he didn't say when. I'll wait for
however long it is."

The thoughts of this little boy were already forming his life's path. Gay,
homosexual, boy/boy sex weren't even thoughts at seven years old, this boy
just knew that Marco was going to be in his life.

The orphanage was a depressing place for a seven year old, but Hashi became
a driven student as the years unfolded. He made no close friends and spent
all of his free time reading and studying. By the time he was eleven his
theoretical English was as good as his American counterparts. The spoken
word was more hesitant because he so seldom had anyone to practice on. The
beach was his best bet during school holidays talking to the odd English
speaking tourist, and of course, he needed to be here in case Marco
returned. He wrote long letters to Marco, telling him what he was doing,
and how much he missed his friend. `I'm working hard so that one day, if
you don't come back to me I will come to America and find you', was a
recurring sentence in many of the letters. Of course he had nowhere to send
them so they sat in a private drawer at the orphanage. His collection of
unusual shells and fossilised remains of sea creatures grew and was the
source of much condemnation from the other boys whose private space he
appeared to invade with them.

"They are for my friend when he comes back to Japan."

After a few years that comment was ridiculed.

"He is never coming back, you'll have to find another boyfriend."

Hashi didn't care what they said, he knew in his heart that Marco would
come back one day, or he would go to Marco.

There were lots of scholarships to American colleges, but not from little
schools on almost forgotten islands, and certainly not from
orphanages. Scholarships went to rich kids from the big schools in the
cities, but he would try.

Puberty came late for him as did his growth spurt, but at fifteen he got
both and with the burgeoning figure another asset to be developed. He had
always been a water baby, but now he took it seriously and became a
competitive swimmer. This was one more string for his bow when time came
for him to try for a college. Academically he was top of his class, now as
a swimmer he became the best in his school winning more and more
competitions.

With puberty came the raging hormones and the wonderful thrill of his first
orgasm. It all started with him stroking his cock through his sleep
shorts. The tingle was amazing, and his cock got so hard it hurt. One of
the bigger boys came to his rescue when he saw Hashi sporting a very hard
cock in the shower one morning.

"Don't you know how to get rid of that," he said, pointing at Hashi's
embarrassment.

Hashi shook his head.

"Well, come to my room after your shower and I'll show you."

The older boy was still naked when Hashi knocked on his door. Hashi's towel
came off and the older boy sat on his bed and told Hashi to sit next to
him.

"Now just do the same as me," was the instruction to Hashi.

The older boy started jacking off and Hashi followed suit.

"Ooh, I'm getting a tingle, and it feels like I want to pee."

"Mmm, good isn't it. Keep going, the next feeling will amaze you, it's
called an orgasm and your cock will spurt loads of white stuff."

Hashi blushed, he had woken several mornings with the sticky stuff on his
chest, he knew it was cum, the stuff that made babies, but he had no idea
how to make it happen. Now he knew and a few minutes later he had his first
awake orgasm and saw the cum spurt from his cock.

"You can do that as often as you like, isn't it amazing?"

Hashi agreed and ran off to get dressed and breakfasted. Hand jobs now got
carried out two or three times a day and the thought in his mind was always
that he was doing it with Marco.

`I knew I would love him forever, and now I know why,' was the thought that
developed in Hashi's mind, finishing when he heard about
homosexuality. Frowned upon of course in his society but he didn't care. It
was a huge weight off his mind knowing why he loved Marco so much.

Swimming competitions brought him into contact with boys from the big
island and with that came the invitations to indulge in gay sex acts. Hashi
heard about blowjobs and butt fucking, but he never indulged. Boys talked
about all these acts and Hashi learnt. He wanted to know what to do when
the time came. It never occurred to him that Marco wouldn't be gay as well,
as far as he was concerned it was a given because they were going to be
best friends forever when they met again.

Maturity brought with it Hashi's first doubts. It had been eight years and
Marco had not come back. `There must be a good reason, he promised.' Hashi
hung on to that thought, his heart couldn't have lied to him, it mustn't
have, he was only ever going to have one love and that was Marco.

Into his last year at school with a first class academic record and the
same in his swimming and Hashi was poised for the final push. He held area
and national swimming records, and he had been noticed. He was big for a
Japanese and that was reflected in the power he brought to his chosen
sport, but no scholarship offers were on the table. Then came the
earthquake and his world collapsed. It would take forever to rebuild his
hometown, his education would be disrupted and his dreams of a scholarship
dashed.

"You will all be seconded to work gangs to help restore our home. American
volunteers are pouring in and you will work under them to show how
determined we are to help ourselves."

Hashi knew then that his dream would slide even further away, would he ever
finish his education now?

	       *********************************************

				 Chapter 3

My life had been full back in my hometown. Family and friends had occupied
my mind and my life. My commitment to my little friend had slid into the
recesses of my memory.

Looking back, I wonder if I was really the right person to be taking a
degree that would qualify me to counsel people about human relations. I had
taken a commitment from a seven-year-old boy totally enamoured with me and
I realised, at his age, in love with me as a special friend, and I had
hardly thought about him at all in the ten years since that holiday.

All of that paled into insignificance when Hashi's island was subjected to
a severe earthquake that devastated large areas of it.

"We are going to extend your degree courses by one year and you are going
to take a gap year to go to Rishiri To, to help the local population for a
year. This earthquake has devastated the island. Marco, you are coming as
my deputy. We have a large pot of money and you and I are going to make
certain every cent of it goes to the local population to help them recover
from this disaster. We will almost certainly be accommodated in tents but I
understand they are placed on a beautiful beach."

We were given details so that we could tell our family.

"Oh, Darling, that is the beach where we went when you were ten. We never
did go back, I'm so sorry."

I remembered my promise to Hashi and hung my head in shame.

"Oh, Mama, I promised Hashi I would go back and I never have."

"Oh, Darling, you were only a little boy, I expect he has forgotten your
promise as well."

I didn't feel that easy about it. I remembered this little boy who more
than anyone else had helped me come out of my shell again after a year of
grieving for my father's loss. I had never had an Asian friend before, and
none since, but we had gelled so well, so completely, that holiday. In
other circumstances I could have seen him being my best friend,
forever. Wasn't that how long he had said he would wait for me?

We landed amidst the most awful devastation. We were taken directly to a
tented village set in a clear area. I was shocked. Our tented camp
straddled the beautiful road that I still remembered so well. The trees
were gone, as were the pretty cottages.

"Marco, we are going to be responsible for returning this area to its
original state. Erecting new homes is easy, they are all wood framed and we
can erect those quickly, before that though we have to oversee the
replacement of the infrastructure."

I knew that was a massive task. Sewer, electrical and plumbing services
were all going to require massive works before we attempted to replace the
cottages.

The next morning ensconced with the civil engineers we were told what was
required of us.

"Marco your professor believes you are the man to head the team sorting the
sewage system. This is the single most important job before we start to
re-build. Your team is waiting outside, and here is your work programme."

He handed me a sheaf of papers that were the drawings I needed to work
to. I can't pretend, it was a daunting task, but I was determined to do my
best. I grieved for these peoples loss, and thought frequently about
Hashi. I exited the meeting, got my bearings and then looked at my work
crew. They were mostly young men similar age to myself.

I spoke to the head boy.

"Why have I only got young men in my crew?"

"All of the experienced men are in work teams in the principal town."

That made sense, but it would have been good to have a few experienced
workers in my troop. We started. Digging trenches for all the new sewage
pipes was the start, there was, as yet no heavy machinery to help us with
our task. Once I had confirmed with the civil engineer that we had it right
I joined the local lads digging. I ended up working alongside a boy who
kept looking at me oddly.

"Is there something wrong with me?" I said, looking at him directly.

"I'm not sure, you look familiar, but that's stupid."

 I looked at him as well. I scoped him out, and then took a huge breath. I
could see the little iron shaped birthmark on his torso, just before the
top of his shorts. I started to tear up. I hung my head.

"Oh no, Hashi, I'm so sorry. I promised I would come back. I'm sorry,
please forgive me."

Would you believe, he laughed.

"But you have come back, Marco, you are here again."

I looked up into a pair of eyes almost swimming with happiness. I couldn't
do anything else. I lunged at him and kissed him on both cheeks. I was
laughing and crying at the same time.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry it took me so long."

"I don't care, it doesn't matter. I told you I would wait for you forever."

This was stupid, and I'm sure, judging by the looks on their faces, that
the remainder of my crew would have agreed if they could understand what we
were saying.

We worked together all day, frequently looking at each other and
grinning. All finished and we trudged off to the communal baths to
shower. I couldn't resist, I had to scope him out when he was naked in the
shower next to me. I whispered so that no one else would hear.

"You are more beautiful than you were ten years ago."

"Did you think of me as beautiful then?"

I coloured up, and nodded.

"Yes, you brought me so much joy, your beauty radiated from every pore. I
had hardly any human contact for a year before I met you. I never wanted to
leave you, but my life took over and we never came back."

"I always thought you were beautiful as well, and wanted to spend the rest
of my life with you. I think I cried every day for months after you left."

It was like bedlam in the food tent. There had to be nearly a thousand
people eating or queuing for meals. Hashi and I grabbed our meals and
walked down to the beach to eat them.

It was a night for lovers, almost a full moon glistening on the water
lighting up the beach. We sat on beach beds and ate, spending more time
looking at each other than we did at our food.

"Do you have a girlfriend Marco?"

"No, do you?"

"No, I think I only have enough room in my heart for one love, and I found
that at seven years old."

He held my stare as his statement gelled in my brain.

"You can't possibly have known then."

"Really? In that case, why have I not loved anyone else for ten years."

His look shouted apprehension, at me. I wasn't stupid. This boy at seven
knew that he would love a man, and that man was me. I hadn't realised until
I was sixteen that I wanted a boyfriend not a girlfriend. My brain was
running at supersonic speed. Would this boy have remained celibate forever
if I hadn't returned.

"But what if I had never returned?"

"It wouldn't have mattered. I have worked so hard at school to make sure I
would get a scholarship to an American college and I was angling to get the
one closest to where you live. I would have found you, Marco, my life
dictated that."

I looked round to make sure no one else was close, and then I leant forward
to kiss him, just a gentle touch of the lips before I pulled back to look
in his eyes again.

"I love what we had all those years ago. You are a beautiful man who I know
I could love again, but it has been so long. I need time Hashi."

He smiled a shy smile.

"I don't mind, I can wait, I have already waited ten years."

I looked at the sincerity in the eyes, and the longing to be loved.

"I don't think it would be difficult to love you."

I think what I meant to say was, `I already love you, I just need time to
get it sorted in my brain.' I was beginning to realise why I couldn't love
John Paul in a romantic sense

Hashi's smile was a wonder to behold.

We walked back to the main camp together and parted for the night. It was
quite obvious to both of us that this was not what we wanted. I would need
to work on it.

The next morning I couldn't wait to get started working with my gang again,
well, not really, just Hashi. We greeted each other quite formally, but our
eyes told us what we really wanted to do. I wanted to kiss him and never
stop. Later that day he told me he had wanted the same.

Our routine didn't change very much for weeks, weeks of frustration. Every
evening we grabbed our meal and took it along the beach away from prying
eyes. Then came the part of the day I craved for. We would lay on a beach
bed and kiss and cuddle while we talked about our plans for the future. We
would both be monstrously hard, indicating our desire to do much more, but
not daring to.

Hashi had to go back to school after a few weeks and my days became
empty. We achieved so much, but I felt no real satisfaction in it. I wanted
my friend with me all the time, not just a couple of snatched hours of
contact every evening. I would love to have helped him with his studies,
but everything was in Japanese, of course.

"What are you going to study in America, Hashi?"

"Oh, English, of course, and business management."

That started my mind working. My college, in my hometown did courses for
overseas students so I talked to my professor. I told him briefly about my
friend and his desire to earn a scholarship to an American college.

"It will be easier for him than most students, Marco. Because of the
devastation here we have an allocation for students to come to the
States. Ones that can find accommodation with an American family will
probably get a higher priority."

The next step for me was to ask mother if Hashi could stay with us if he
got his scholarship. I had, of course, told mother that I had met up again
with my boyhood friend. We were reasonably comfortable for money so mother
said yes. That was the first hurdle, and the professor surmounted the next
one. Recommendations from the local high school had Hashi on the list. When
I told him we were both so excited. My friend was going to live with me for
years while he did his degree. It wasn't until then that I thought about
Hashi's family, I know, very shallow of me. He was an orphan. This boy that
was all sweetness and light carried the burden of living without a
family. No wonder his love for a friend, me, ran so deep, he was probably
completely starved of affection. I determined that for the remainder of my
life with him I was going to swamp him with love and affection. We had
gotten off to a good start, our couple of hours every evening were filled
with kisses and gentle caresses. both of us wanted more. We talked about
sleeping together and both wanted to do it naked. Curling up in each
other's arms with no clothing between us was the stuff of many wet dreams
during my time in Japan, and Hashi admitted that he was the same.

"I'm sure that if I am in bed with you and we are both naked, I shall find
it almost impossible not to make love to you."

Hashi laughed then and replied, "I should hope so, I dream about you doing
that to me every night."

After a few months we did start to risk some sex. We would open our
trousers and give each other hand jobs, but it was far too risky to get
undressed for proper sex. Frustration to the nth. degree ruled our lives
but our love for each other grew. One Sunday, when there was no work, Hashi
brought all of his letters to me. We sat on the beach and I read them while
Hashi carried out his swimming practice. When he came back he could see I
was crying. He had poured out his heart to me over the years, I felt as
though I had dug deep into his soul. Despite it being broad daylight and
there being many people about, he took me in his arms and worriedly
enquired why I was crying. I found it so difficult to explain that it was a
mixture of things. The terrible guilt I felt, having hardly thought of him
during the past ten years, and the obvious opening of his heart to me.

He understood my feelings though and quite patently felt no animosity
towards me for my thoughtlessness, the reverse in fact. He became very
attentive to my moods quite obviously intending to be an exceptional mate
bending to my every mood change.

The earthquake was a catastrophe for his community but for me it was the
best thing that had happened to me after that first holiday with Hashi. The
reality was that he would not have got a scholarship without this
earthquake and I would almost certainly not have returned to Japan either.

With the infrastructure in place we now started building the houses
again. A factory on the main island was producing housing kits. They were
amazing, and we were able to erect a house in a just a few days, building
it on the foundations of the old ones. The fitting out took much longer but
was still very quick compared to standard building practice. It was
wonderful to see families returning and moving into their old locations but
in to new houses. It did take a year but so much of that was clearing out
the old and making ready for the new. Hashi had studied hard to ensure he
kept his place at the top of the academics board for the island, and also
continued with his swimming. Time for me to go home came but I was adamant
with my professor that I had no intentions of leaving Hashi behind.

"I'm sorry, Sir, I lost him for ten years, I have no intentions of losing
him again. We have his passport it just needs you to confirm his
scholarship and have a student visa entered into it. He can come to live
with me so we don't have to wait for halls to open for the new semester."

The professor looked at me and with a surprised expression on his face told
me.

"I never had you pegged as a gay man, Marco."

"I never showed it, Sir, because there was no one special in my life. When
we arrived here I understood why. Subconsciously I must have fallen in love
with my little Japanese friend ten years ago. That love came to the for
almost immediately we arrived here. Hashi felt the same way and that love
has been his driving force for his academic excellence."

"Well, in that case I suppose I had better have the formal offer made and
his passport sent down to Tokyo for his visa to be entered. He should then
be able to travel home with us."

There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said that and it still didn't occur
to me that the reason for his support was because he was gay as well. It
was well into the next semester that I found that out.

	    ***************************************************