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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.