Date: Tue, 4 Jun 2019 16:54:33 +0000 From: Al Peres Subject: The Island That Never Was Chapter 1 Dear reader, This is a lovely story entirely product of my imagination, where egoism and selfishness are banned. I am sure you will like and enjoy it. It depicts sex contacts between minors: boy/boy, boy/girl and occasionally boy/girl/man; therefore, if you are a minor or do not like this type of writting, please leave it. English is not my mother language, so, please, be acquiecent with the syntax. Any comment sent to "al.peres@hotmail.com" will be welcomed an answered. The story comes to you thru Nifty org. so we ask for you to cooperate with them by sending some donations. THE ISLAND THAT NEVER WAS ========================= by Al Peres PART 1 --------- Chapter 1 ------------ The old woman and the 10 y/o boy were sat on the large ragged couch; they hugged and kissed tenderly a family peck on the lips. After some moments the boy stood, as his old aunty caressed his smooth cheeks. He was making a great effort to keep his tears back; after all, she was his only family and near a disabled woman. He loved her because she had been his mother from the moment his progenitors passed away during the pest epidemic. She could not stop some tears as she said: "Jeremy, be a good and honest boy in that ship. The priest has strongly recommended you to the captain in that letter that you are holding in your pocket. Please don't disappoint us." "Don't worry Aunty; as usual, I'll do my best to please you." He paused; he did not want to prolong the sad moment. "I must go, aunty, I don't want to miss the carter or make him wait for me." Both knew it was too early because still was dark and the carter had agreed to pick the boy up at dawn at the shed in the Ripon road, not far from their farm. He placed his bag on his little shoulders and left the farmhouse. His mind was whirl thinking about his new adventure as a cabin boy in a large whaler ship. He did not turn his head. He had said goodbye to everybody, except to his best friend Joe MacLean. They had been best friends as far as he could remember. Joe was not a pretty boy but he deeply loved him, though he had never told him. He sat down on the bench in the shed to wait for the carter; it was a warm June morning and the sky was full of stars. Suddenly he spotted a figure approaching the shed that he immediately recognized it was Joe; he knew he would come to say him goodbye, his heart accelerated into his chest. They looked at each other eyes with sadness. Joe then approached. "So... you are leaving. I would like to accompany you; however, I must continue going to school and singing in that fucking church." Jeremy grinned for his friend's gross words; he rarely spoke like that, except when he was very upset. "I know, but after all, you are very lucky. You have all your family behind you and I have none." They had talked many times about each other's situation and there was not any point now to start again. Joe was trembling because he did not know how to say goodbye to his best friend. Suddenly they could not hold their tears anymore and both went into a very tight embrace and wetted each other neck with their sobs. Still hugging, Joe whispered: "I love you very much, Jeri. I'll never forget you." Jeremy was astounded, as Joe never talked like this. He then responded: "I love you, too, Joe; though I never told you; I do heaps." They separated a little and instinctively both boys joined their lips in a genuine, pure and angelical kiss of love that lasted what seemed for them an eternity, though in reality took a few seconds. They broke the kiss and Joe ran as fast as his legs could take him. He entered the stable of his farm and lay between two straw bales sobbing. His elder brother Benjamin that was feeding the cows could watch the convulsions of his little brother as he cried inconsolably. He approached the little boy and rubbed his short red hair tenderly. "It was hard, wasn't it brother?" Joe did not answer but increased his weeping as Benjamin murmured for himself while he returned to the cows: "It is nothing compared with what is waiting for you, my little angel, just because you are very intelligent and sing very well. It isn't fair to make suffer a little boy..." He sighed because he adored his younger brother and could not bear his sobs. Jeremy was elated as he watched how Joe disappeared from his sight in the empty road. He touched his lips reverently as he heard the carter approaching and calling him. He climbed into the cart among the baskets of groceries and sat in a corner still thinking on Joe. When they arrived at the large town, the boy jumped out of the cart; yet he could not forget the goodbye from his best friend, the words, and the tender kiss they had exchanged. He sighed as his heart bled remembering him. He felt alone but not sad, that kiss had raised his low spirit a lot of degrees, nevertheless, tears rolled along his white smooth cheeks. He could not forget his best friend's intense blue eyes, his red lips, and his freckled face; and how he fought bravely to keep his tears back, without success, before they hugged and kissed in the middle of the lonely and empty road, just a few hours back. The boy wiped his face with the back of his left hand, cleaned his nose and decidedly walked into the port of Southampton; a place that he knew very well. It was late June 1788. He carried a small leather sack as a backpack with the scarce belongings he had. He looked around the forest of masts and immediately spotted the large vessel: the whaler "Seagull" brilliantly painted and with great activity on the upper deck. He decidedly walked up thru the gangway and stepped on the deck; he looked around, everybody was very busy and no one seemed to pay attention to him. Suddenly he heard on his back: "What can I do for you, little one?" He spun and met a tall and strong man dressed in a blue trench coat with shining brass buttons and long grey trousers. He had his hat under his right armpit; for a second their sights crossed and he could see that his eyes were the same as his, dark blue, almost brown. He had abundant brown hair that fell to his neck. The little boy took off his hat and extracted an envelope from his blue new jacket. "I'm Jeremy Mall, sir; I've come to work as a cabin-boy in this ship." He handed out an open envelope addressed to the Captain. "I'll give your letter to the Captain; he is not here at this the moment." He called out to a busy man, the boatswain. "Mr Clark, this is the new cabin-boy." The man grunted because he was disturbed in his task. He shouted to a boy of about thirteen y/o that quickly came to his order. "John Smith, take this new cabin-boy to your quarters in the aftercastle, show him the boat and explain to him his tasks. I don't expect to repeat you the order twice. Come on, hurry up!" "Yes, sir. Please, come with me, boy." He said impolitely. Jeremy took his small bag and followed the boy up. They went thru the different decks, stores, galley and finally to the area where the Captain and the officers had their quarters. "I have sailed with them twice and this will be my third voyage." The elder boy explained with pride. "Probably we have one of the best crew of all the whalers and, what is more important, the third officer, and the gentleman that you have just met; besides of being an excellent seaman, he is a real physician. I don't think any other ship has one. We are sailing off tomorrow at dawn with the first high-tide, so tonight we will know any change in our tasks. This is our place to sleep. James will arrive before dinner, he is 15 and next year will be promoted to a sailor, as Ted has been. He looked at the number of hammocks stored and saw only two. He pointed out to the rack "There are only two, which is mine?" Jeremy asked. The elder boy grinned with superiority. "None. Since one of us must be on guard only two can sleep at the same time. The same rule is for everybody, except tonight. You can sleep on your blanket. Fortunately, the weather is not cold." He smiled wickedly. "You better change your beautiful dress." Jeremy was wearing short trousers and new boots. It has been a present from his parish's priest. He rummaged into his bag and extracted a pair of ragged trousers and an old but clean jacket. Like most of the working class boys in those times, he did not have underwear, so he dragged down his new ones and turned to the wooden wall for privacy and to keep his privates out of sight. The elder boy looked at the rounded and white butt cheeks and extended his hand to touch them. "I must fuck this beautiful bum as soon as we are in the high sea." Jeremy quickly pulled up his trousers and turned around; trying to close his fly with his right hand, on the left showed a sharp medium size collapsible knife that quickly placed on the other boy's neck. The boy got white, as he did not expect that quick reaction from such a little boy. "Try to touch me and I'll stab this knife in your fucking belly." As he heard a noise outside, he kept the knife into the bag. "I don't need your presence to change my clothes, please leave me alone." The other boy reacted and started moving out, but telling Jeremy: "I... I only wanted to make you a favour. You have a pretty face, and that's very bad for a cabin-boy; as soon as we are several days in the high sea, the men will want to fuck you and you can't do anything to stop it. They did it to me and to any cabin boy of this ship. And, as far as I know, the adult sailors do the same in all ships." "That's a deadly sin and I know it is forbidden." Now the older boy more amicably answered: "Jeremy, I want to be your friend, but believe me, that is the way as it is. Yes, you are right, it is forbidden and our captain would leave the man who commits sodomy, as they call it, in an isolated island if discovered doing it. In the War Fleet, he would be hanged. The problem is that, if you don't accept it, your life will be hell in the ship." Jeremy finished changing without saying a single word. He was a bright boy and thought that he would better start having a friend rather than an enemy "That must hurt a lot..." The other boy grinned. "Do you mean the hanging or the fucking?" Jeremy smiled. "The fucking, of course. I don't think that any hanged man could say if it hurts or not..." They laughed. "Yes, you are right. To be honest, yes it hurts a lot, especially the first times with an adult, because of that, John and James did it to me a few times before a boatswain did. With a little butter, it goes well." Jeremy extracted a small poems book and placed it on the floor while he arranged his bag. The older boy watched it. "What's that? Can you read?" "Yes, I can read, write and make fair calculations, I learnt in the parish school; the priest taught me and to some other boys." The little boy said without giving it much importance. "Your family must be rich because that costs much money." "I'm not rich, probably poorer than you are. I'm an orphan." The older boy more experienced and after having had many conversations with the sailors, he commented. "Probably it is a consequence of your pretty face." He immediately added: "Please don't be mad at me and keep that knife where nobody can see it; weapons are absolutely prohibited onboard. "Why should my pretty face be the origin of my education? There are thousands of boys prettier than me and they are in the streets, begging or making robberies." "Well I'm not sure; but I have a friend of my age that was an altar-boy and since he was ten, the priest sucked his cock and jacked him off. I'm sure he also fucked him. He learnt to read and write, but I think he is not half as clever as you are. "Thanks; but how do you know all that?" "He told and showed me the money that the priest regularly gave him. He could afford things that I couldn't." "You should have asked the priest to do it to you, too." The teenager looked at the younger boy with interest; yes he was sure this little boy was very smart, not like the other cabin boys. He then answered: "Well...I thought about it. I wouldn't have minded he sucked my dick, but I didn't like he fucked me. That was before I came to the ship; should I have known what was going on in a vessel I would have taken that advantage." They chuckled. "Would you teach me how to read, Jeremy?" "I don't know John." For the first time, they talked as friends. "Whenever we have free time I can do it, but we would need some paper and pencil; I haven't got any. A notebook would be best." "Don't worry; I'll try to pinch some from the store. By the way, you should say that you know how to make calculations; except the officers and midshipmen, there are not many that can do it here; sure that the store boatswain will take you. He has a bad temper and most likely he will hit you if you don't do things properly, but he had the key for all foods." "I don't know. I brought a letter from the priest for the Captain; I suppose he will do the best he thinks about me." "Oh yes. He's very strict and wants a high discipline from all members of the crew, but he is a very good man. In case a man kills another while we are sailing, he is entitled to judge him and hang him if found guilty. Two years ago, he made a trial that lasted one week. He found the man guilty, but didn't chain him, where would he go?" The boys smiled. "Later he delivered him to the authorities on our first call in Cape Town." The bell rang and both boys jumped from their seats. "Come on, it is time for counting and naming." They went on the upper deck and found all crewmembers standing in silence. Then the Captain came out from his cabin followed by his three officers. One of the boatswains named each one, according to an alphabetic order as they answered: "Yes", to confirm his presence. He finished with all names and then added: "Cabin-boy Jeremy Mall is being attached to the officer Mr Bernard Northfield, our physician, as his assistant. Tonight, after the first guard, he has to report to him." He paused. "The Captain has ordered to postpone our departure 24 hours. Every crewmember must go to the port bathhouse and have a bath if he needs it; hair cut short and shaved. Upon his return, our physician will make a medical checking on all of us; it is compulsory." A murmur was heard amongst the sailors. The physician had convinced the Captain about this measure; they wanted a healthy crew. John touched his new friend's hand, and this time he didn't reject the boy. "Let's go for dinner." You have been very, very lucky. Mr Northfield, like the Captain, is very severe and disciplined; however, he is the most educated amongst all of them. You'll never hear an unpleasant word or a shout from him. He belongs to an old and high aristocratic family; I wonder why he is in this ship. I think the other officers are jealous of him because the Captain prefers him to play chess or to discuss cultural things. However, only on vessel or navigation matters, the Captain has no preferences. He always discusses his decisions with the first officer or the one on guard." They went to the galley to collect their dinner. While he was sat with a pot of stew and a slice of brown bread, Jeremy overheard a discussion between two sailors about some whores that they knew. That reminded him of another conversation that he overheard, it matched with what John had told him. It took place in the sacristy of his church between the priest and his wife, at the moment the woman was furious: "You must forget about that boy; otherwise, you will go directly into the hell's flames for the eternity!" "I can't do it. He is very intelligent and deserves to be well educated; it would be a pity to spoil such intelligence..." The woman bluntly interrupted him. "Yes, and beautiful. You are in love with him and soon you will take him into your bed, as you have done many times with other pretty boys. Do you think I'm blind and I don't see what you do with the altar boys? But this time I won't accept it. He is the son of my best friend, fortunately, she is dead; otherwise, I would have been very ashamed." "Sorry, Caroline. Some times I feel ashamed, too; but with this little angel..." She stopped him with a muffled shout. "You are condemning him and I will not allow it." She emphasised her words. The man then argued: "But he needs to continue his education. Sure he will be a great man if he keeps studying. The Church will be more than anxious to have and maintain his education. We need persons like this boy in the Church." "You'll throw his soul into the hell." The woman kept silence for a couple of minutes, and then she threatened her husband. "If you don't separate from him I'll tell the bishop, so you would lose him and the other boys." He heard as she closed the door banging it and went out. He quietly left the church and returned the next day for his lessons. A few weeks later the priest talked to the boy's old aunty about Jeremy going into a vessel as a cabin-boy. He told him in her presence that this was a good future for him. In fact, what the priest wanted was not to have the minimum chance to see the boy that he adored; yet he did not know that the boy liked the sea. The last time he attended his math lessons the priest placed his right hand on the boy's naked thigh and sighed. Jeremy did not understand the meaning of the priest's tender caresses, but now everything was clear to him. Nevertheless, he did not hate that man, he had been very good to him; he rubbed his thigh from time to time and kissed his hair, but he thought it was because he, as a priest, cared for boys. That evening, after dinner, most of the crewmembers went in a procession to the bathhouse and to the barber; many were annoyed because they thought that was what they called "interference" in their private lives, but they knew that was an excellent measure without any precedent in the merchant or war Navy. Jeremy had had a hot bath that morning and his hair was short, so after dinner, he went to the third officer and physician's quarters and knocked on the door. "Come in!" The boy entered and faced his new boss. The man was sat behind a neat large wooden desk reading a book. He marked the page with a little piece of paper and placed it back on a shelf that was provided with a long iron bar to prevent books falling during navigation. He extracted a sheet from a drawer and looked at Jeremy. "Sit down, Jeremy." That treatment of calling him by his name instead of "boy", confirmed him what John had said. "This letter states that you can read, write, and make calculations. Is that correct?" "Yes, sir. It is true, sir." The man grinned. "Relax Jeremy, I'm only a man, not a wolf; I won't bite you." The boy smiled satisfied. "No sir, you aren't; I mean... you are a gentleman, sir." That showed to Bernard Northfield the injustice of sending that educated little boy to live amongst predators, as most of the sailors were, instead of being in a good school learning to be useful to their country. The man grinned. "And besides these, do you have... let's say... any other art?" The man asked; the boy doubted and Bernard helped him. "Do you have any other skill?" The physician knew that at an early age, many boys and girls of the low classes were obliged to learn different tasks to survive. "Well... Sir, I know some cooking, to look after the farm's cattle, and the priest of my parish says that I'm good on drawing." The man pointed out to the secured shelf: "Please, take one of those books, any of them, open it and start reading a paragraph; it doesn't matter which one." Jeremy stood and took a big brown book and opened right from the centre. He was surprised because he saw the drawing of a naked man showing what seemed to be a bump over his dick. He doubted for a moment embarrassed. Bernard guessed what the little boy had in front of him and grinned. The boy started reading: "Inguinal hernia: In some men, apparently due to efforts that they have made or to weakness, a rupture is produced in the low abdominal wall. Then a portion of the intestine goes thru it; the problem is solved by..." Bernard rose his hand interrupting the boy's reading. "It is enough; now you know more about inguinal hernia than anybody in this ship." Jeremy watched the image on the book and blushed. The man handled a piece of paper and a pencil for the boy. "Now quickly copy that paragraph." He did and showed to him. The man looked at the clear and rounded child writing. "Very well. Please explain to me your math level." "I can make all normal calculations to solve some difficult arithmetic problems, and even first algebra equations." Bernard then handed him a large notebook with thick sheets for drawing, a rubber and a carbon pencil. "You told me that you can draw, please make a sketch of anything of this room." Jeremy separated from the desk, took the large notebook and the pencil, looked at the man and started moving quickly his left hand. From time to time he stared at the officer sat in front of him; after about fifteen minutes he handled his artwork to the man. "I can improve it if you want it, sir." Bernard opened his eyes in disbelief; he was amazed by the ability of the young boy. He looked at him shocked. "You are an artist, Jeremy!" The boy felt embarrassed and blushed again. "Do you really like it, sir? If you do, I can improve it, it is only a rough sketch." "Yes, I like it very much, but I prefer to keep it as you have done." They grinned to each other and an invisible connexion had dawned between them. Bernard gave him a list of his daily chores and added: "Tomorrow morning we will make a medical check to the crew; you must write down the name of each person, underline it and underneath you will write what I tell you. They are keywords that you may not understand now, but you will in the future. You'll sleep on one of the bunks of the infirmary, except when we have sick persons in it; then you will sleep here. Now bring your blanket and your belongings and accommodate yourself in the next room. Tomorrow, after we finish checking the crewmembers, I want you to clean perfectly that room. If you need help I'll provide it, but I want it neat and bright. It is very important that the infirmary is clean to prevent infections." "Yes, sir. I'll do it myself. I don't think I'll need any help." "Good, carry on." The boy stood and went under the deck to fetch his backpack with his belongings. The following morning he was surprised how clean the men were. Most of them had shaved their faces and some the head, too; but all have their hair cut short, including the officers and the Captain. The physician carefully examined them one by one, making a record with some questions and answers that Jeremy wrote down on a large squared book, using a page for each man. Apparently, the ship had a very healthy crew, except a young man that was dismissed; his name was Jack Nicholson and he had a very severe sex disease that had to be treated in the hospital. The ship sailed off at dawn the following morning with the first high tide. Bernard and the rest of the crew still had to receive new surprises about Jeremy. After a few days of sailing, they found rough sea. It was not a storm, but waves were fairly high and the ship moved her bow up and down spreading foam and water in the air. Jeremy seemed to have been born in a boat. He enjoyed the ship jumps and screamed in pleasure; it was like riding a big horse. He did his guards at the top of the foremast together with John, since children have better vision than adults, so after some days, they became good friends. The ship was lightly loaded with water, food and materials needed for replacement and she was doing a fair speed with good winds from the northeast. They sighted land and called at the Azores Islands, but only for the necessary time to load food, especially fresh fruits and water. No one was allowed to disembark, except the first officer and a few sailors to help him. One of those days during navigation and during their guard, John told his new friend. "Jeremy, I'm glad you are in this ship; you look much happier than when you came in. How old are you? I'm thirteen." "Thanks, John, you are a good friend. I'm ten; I will be eleven in November." "You look older, well... I mean... you are very tall for your age." He paused. "Jeremy, can I make you a personal question?" "Of course, you can, though I wonder if I'll be able to answer it or not." "It is about my health record." He paused before asking his new friend. "Did Mr Northfield say anything when he examined me?" "I can't remember he commented anything special about your health; but even if I could, I wouldn't be able to tell you. His records are secret; only the Captain and he know about them. They are written with technical words and abbreviations that even I don't much understand. Don't you feel well?" "Oh no, I feel fine; but... but... I'm worried about something." Jeremy looked at his friend trying to find out about his worries. John guessed his thoughts. "I know I could ask your boss, but officers are busy and I don't want to disturb him, perhaps it is a silly thing." "It might not be a silly thing, either," Jeremy answered. "Do you promise not to tell anybody? You are my best friend and..." The younger boy interrupted him encouraging the elder boy to tell him about his uncertainties. "You have my word. Go ahead, John, if you want it, of course." The boy looked into the sea, his sight lost. They were sailing at a good speed pushed by the trade winds and nothing was at sight, except a few birds jumping into the blue waters. "Do you remember Jack, Jack Nicholson? He was dismissed because he was seriously ill. It wasn't a secret; most of us know whore-women around the harbour; some of them aren't what Mr Northfield would call "healthy". They had infected him the sickness; because of that, he didn't argue about it and confirmed what your boss said." Jeremy thought for a moment, he did not know those circumstances; even he ignored the nature and origin of Jack's bad health. He turned a moment his head and saw that John was crying in silence, tears rolling down his brown cheeks. They could only hear the sound of the wind on the jibs; then John added: "Perhaps I... I'm infected, too." Once he pronounced the sentence started sobbing loudly. Jeremy placed his left hand on his new friend's thigh and pressed it. "John, you aren't infected; otherwise the physician would have noted it as he did with Mr Nicholson. I don't know what he had because Mr Northfield told me to write an "S" on his record, but he's gone, anyway." John kept silence as Jeremy continued: "John, are you suggesting that you have been with one of those women, too?" Still sobbing, he moved his head denying it. They remained in silence again engrossed in their mutual thoughts. Jeremy guessed his friend was suffering, but he did not know what to do to console him. After a few minutes John looked calmed and he continued. "Mr Northfield asked me if had been in contact with women and I told him "No" "In that case, you don't need to care about; nobody will tell him if you have been. Probably you are not the only one who was a little bit of a liar that day; it is embarrassing to talk about the matter." He tried to cheer him up. John looked into Jeremy's eyes for some seconds and then turned again to look at the sea. "I wasn't a liar." "Then, how could you have been infected?" Jeremy innocently asked. John again kept silence, and after a few minutes, he made a tremendous effort. He assumed Jeremy would reject him right from that moment and he could not bear that. He had started to love deeply that beautiful boy, not only because he was so pretty, but also mostly because he was a real friend, and he had not had many friends, especially like him. "Because... because Jack fucked my butt repeatedly last year. I don't care if I'm infected and die within a couple of years abandoned in one of those dreadful hospitals, but what I can't bear is that I..." He did not dare to continue, but Jeremy kept silence and that encouraged him. "I... could have infected you." His sobs increased and between sobs he murmured: "You have been so good to me... better than anybody before; and besides, I think... I think I love you." Those words took the little boy aback; he could not understand how a 13 y/o strong boy could love him. Now he was the one to keep silence. His brains were working fast processing that new information. "John, I'm not infected or anything, how could I? Only by shaking hands, staying together during our guards or sat reading and laughing during our classes? I don't think so. In that case, almost the entire crew would have been infected. You should realise that Jack remained nine months on board and no one of the other crewmembers has shown any sign of infection; otherwise, Mr Northfield would have detected it." John started feeling better; he thought that Jeremy could be right after all. His eyes sparkled for a moment; he looked into his beautiful friend's blue eyes and immediately turned to watch the blue sea. He would have liked to kiss and hug that pretty angel, yet he asked: "Are you sure, Jeremy? I would kill myself jumping from the mast if I knew I have harmed you." John stopped sobbing; now that John was calmer Jeremy asked. "John, you told me that you loved me, but I don't understand that. I'm not a girl; I'm a guy like you..." "I don't know Jeremy. I have made that question hundreds of times to me, but I enjoy being near you, touch you, laugh with you... I'd kill anyone who might hurt you. I would like to be with you the whole time if I could." Hearing this, Jeremy thought about the feelings he had started to have in his tender heart about Bernard Northfield; but it was different. Yes, he liked him as he would have liked his father; he would like to sleep in his bed and cuddled into his strong arms. Was that love? He could not understand. Perhaps he thought like that because he missed a father. He was so confused... He did not dare to look at John because he thought he might discover his most intimate and deep feelings. "John, we better continue being like we are now. I would suggest you speak to Mr Northfield; probably he has the key to end with your worries." John turned to face his friend. "Jeremy, are you annoyed on me?" "Why? Because you have said you love me? No, I'm not. We are friends and friends love each other. I'm sure of this; at least that was what I felt about my best friend Joe. When we return after this trip, you probably will date a beautiful girl, kiss her and forget everything." "Right now, Jeremy, I'm not interested in girls, but you are right. I'll see to that." He felt better and sighed. "Would you intercede before Mr Northfield for me?" "I'll try." They smiled and at that instant, the bell rang announcing the change of guard, two older boys were climbing as two cats the rigging to relieve them. Chapter 2 ------------- Bernard Northfield had started teaching the boy, not only about medicinal but also about general matters, such as physic, biology, geography, and especially about medicinal plants. The officer thought it was a pity to spoil the boy's intelligence. That evening after he had cleared and washed all dishes, they started their daily lesson and Jeremy was even more attentive, answering the man's questions and solving math problems. He wanted to ask him about his friend but he didn't know how to start. Mr Northfield looked happy watching Jeremy how he progressed and smiled at him. When they finished, the boy saw the opportunity to talk about John. "Sir, I would like to ask you for a favour." The man stared at him a little bit puzzled, but Jeremy promptly added: "It is not for me, but... but for John Smith." Before the man could argue he bent his little head. "John is confused and worried because he told me he was a liar when we checked him up. He doesn't dare to say it to you because you are an officer and..." He stopped because he knew very well he should not speak to an officer if he was not called or asked before. The man noticed it. "Jeremy, look at me." The boy thought he had gone too far speaking to a superior, therefore trespassing a point that could not be done; he could reprimand him for his lack of discipline. The man placed his hand under the boy's fine and rounded chin accentuating the view of his pretty dimple that parted lightly his chin. He raised the boy's head and added: "I'm not a demon and your action is even better because you are trying to do something for a friend and not for yourself. Besides being a good student, you have a great soul." Jeremy sighed and blushed; he thought how he could not love that man as he heard: "Now, tell me about John's problem." Jeremy started with some difficulty but after a minute he could fluently tell him the truth, except about John's love declaration. When he finished, the physician kept silence for a short moment and then said: "Most likely you are right and he is not infected, but we'll lose nothing checking him. If he's off duties now, call him to come; he can tell the boatswain I have ordered it." He ruffled the boy's short hair and patted him on his butt. The boy sighed and quickly ran to see his friend. Ten minutes later they were back. John had his wool cap on his hand. He murmured: "Sorry sir, I dare to annoy you..." The man looked to the frightened boy. "It's alright, John. Jeremy has told me everything about you. You have done what is correct and honest. That's a way of serving this ship and your colleagues." These words made the boy feels more relaxed. "Now take your trousers off and lay on that small stretcher. Jeremy, please, shut the door and wait outside; if anyone comes, tell him I'm with a patient." The little boy obeyed. John lay on his back afraid and trembling. Being naked reminded him of the times he spent with Jack, and his dick involuntarily started to grow. Then the physician took his penis between his thumb and forefinger and dragged its foreskin down; he examined it with a lens. John made a tremendous effort to prevent a moan. "Raise your legs to your chest so I can watch your anus." The physician called Jeremy as John obeyed his orders. "Jeremy, please, hand me that bottle with white cream, then you can return to your place." The little boy smiled watching his friend in that awkward position; John felt terribly embarrassed and blushed. The man spread some cream on his middle finger and introduced it thru the boy's hole: "Tell me if it hurts." "Yes, sir." He murmured. Bernard inspected his bowels and touched the boy's prostate; John jerked involuntarily as his penis was even harder than before. He could not be more uncomfortable and felt the warmth of his face as he went redder than a beetroot. "Does it hurt?" the physician asked. John could not speak, so he moved the head negatively. He retrieved his finger and started washing his hands carefully in a washbasin. "Get dressed young man." The boy dragged up his trousers and waited until he finished; the physician stared at the scared boy and smiled. "You are as healthy as Jeremy or me; however, I would suggest you be very careful with the persons that you allow to sleep in your bed. Don't forget this, unless you like to find yourself in trouble." He blushed, but he was so happy that he could not remain quiet. "Oh, thank you very much indeed, sir! It... it... it is the best news I ever received..." He stammered. "Alright, go to your duties and don't forget what I have told you." "I won't sir. Thank you again." As he came out he was so happy that took Jeremy in his arms and hugged him very tightly. He was weeping, but this time of happiness. The boatswain watched them and smiled. "Boys!" he commented. They were now on latitude S and in spite it was near summer there, it was cold. The Captain had ordered to get ready the boats, harpoons, etc; since they were not far from their destination: the Antarctic Sea, and from that moment a whale could be spotted. However, they still were far from the icebergs and the great masses of the small fish, krill and herring that fed the whales. The following day the ship was smoothly sailing southeast with good wind, John and Jeremy were at the foremast maintop, watching the sea carefully; the sea was a little bit rough but not too much. John looked exultant of happiness. Jeremy thought it was the time to explore more of John's recent life. "John, would you bother if I make you some personal questions?" He turned his head and looked at his adored friend." "Jeremy, I'll never get mad on you. I told you I love you and that's in my heart." The older boy sighed and watched his friend intensely. Then Jeremy continued; he was used to those tender stares and manifestations from his friend. "You told me that Jack... you know, he did it to you...in some occasions." The little boy flushed as he made the statement. "Yes, Jeremy, he fucked me on my butt many times last year; if that's what you are trying to say. I have not any secret with you." They kept silence for a few moments. "Why didn't you stop him? You could have told it to your boatswain or to an officer..." John turned again to look at his beautiful friend and sighed. "That would have meant a severe punishment to him, perhaps the death, and I couldn't do that. The entire contrary, I loved him, especially when he did it to me." "But he was hurting you..." Jeremy argued a little bit confused. "Yes, he hurt me a little the first few times, though he was very tender; but after that I enjoyed it, I wanted it. I never felt happier than when I was in his arms and he was kissing me. I felt warm and protected. No one dared to argue to him; he was handsome and the strongest man of the crew. I loved and I miss him. When you love someone it doesn't matter what he does to you; besides he never was rough, but otherwise. He always was very gentle and loving to me; I know he worshipped me." Jeremy turned his head in surprise; he observed his friend's eyes were blurred and was making great efforts to keep his tears back. He did not know how to argue; John then continued: "When we returned from the last voyage, we had fresh money; I kept it for my mom, but Jack invited me to spend a week of holidays. We hired a room in a countryside Inn, not far from my village; he called it our honeymoon; it truly was a sweet time. We registered as brothers, walked thru the fields hands entwined like two lovers; we kissed, hugged and made out every night until we were spent." John paused, as Jeremy was astonished hearing his friend's story. He then continued. "During the day, at any chance we had, we sucked one another, kissed and rubbed." He paused again for a moment and smiled while he looked at the sea; Jeremy glanced at him thru the corner of his eyes perplexed. "I swallowed his white seed, but sometimes it was so abundant that some dribbled thru the corners of my mouth; then he lapped my chin until nothing was left. I adored those moments. He told me many times that we should not have done what we did, but he felt happy and glad because he loved me. We enjoyed each other contacts, and nights were very short." John sighed. "We expected to renew our old friendship and I was eagerly looking forward to seeing him, until I saw you when you were talking to the officer." For Jeremy, educated in the countryside and by a priest, all this was entirely new; he did not know such a relationship could exist between a boy and a man; he did not want to discover his ignorance but everything was in his mind for later processing. "But the honeymoon is for a girl and a man when they get married." Jeremy finally argued. "I didn't mind. We both enjoyed it and it was the happiest time of my life because we liked each other. We would have done anything to please one another." He paused. "What would you do if Mr Northfield did it to you as tender as Jack did to me? Would you tell the Captain? I don't think so, because I know you love him." Jeremy deeply flushed as he thought his most intimate feelings had been discovered. How could his friend have guessed them? He had never talked to anyone about this. That was deep into his soul; he had not told and would not tell anybody. Then he answered his friend. "How do you...? Well... I think he would never ask me that. He is so good and so great..." John remained in silence; he murmured something in disagreement with himself. "Don't worry my friend, nobody has told me anything; besides, he deserves being loved. He is one of the best men I ever met. Jack isn't any longer with us. I had planned that if we get good money, I would go to the hospital and pay the physician to cure him, and once he is again fit and healthy we'd resume our contacts. I didn't mind what others could tell if they find out, but I saw you... and... well, you know the rest." He grinned; Jeremy looked at him and could see the tent formed in John's fly, he was rubbing it softly. "You have a hard-on, John." The young boy pointed out the teenager fly giggling. "It always happens to me when I think about Jack. Do you jerk your dick off, Jeremy?" "Do you mean rubbing it up/down?" John nodded. "Well, some times." He lied because he had done it often with Joe. "But the priest always explained this was a deadly sin and God would punish me if I touched myself." John laughed loudly. "If that were true, surely the other cabin-boys, the midshipmen, most of the sailors and me were condemned to the hell because I do it almost every day." They laughed together. "Do you want to see mine?" John asked. "Why not?" Jeremy was not a shy boy and always was ready to learn. John unbuttoned his fly and immediately a great four and a half inches curved dick popped out; he had a little bush of hair at the base. Jeremy looked at it and asked. "John, did you do it to Jack, too?" "Oh yes, many times. We liked and I enjoyed it, especially sucking him in a sixty-nine position." John observed that Jeremy did not know much about this, he grinned and explained. "That is when I turn and my head is on his crotch and his on mine, so we can suck each other dick at the same time." The younger boy grinned excitedly and John continued. "But it was not as good as when he fucked me; his dick was over seven inches and, of course, thicker and larger than mine; it was a monster compared with mine. He alleged that it would be good fun when I'm sixteen, and we do it each other." While he was talking instinctively slowly masturbated himself; the near eleven y/o boy was thrilled, now his smaller dick tenting his trousers: "Can I see yours, Jeremy?" The older boy asked. The little boy looked down to the deck and assured nobody was watching them; he then opened his fly and a beautiful three and a half inches straight little cock appeared in all his glory. "As you can see it isn't very large, but I expect it will get big enough to fuck a girl when I grow up." "It is a beautiful one and larger than I expected." Jeremy grinned. "Can I touch it? John asked excitedly. Jeremy nodded and John wrapped his left thumb and four fingers around that lovely little boy's cock, starting moving up and down a few times. He had dreamed many times about this moment. Jeremy gasped and moaned in pleasure closing his eyes. John could not help, and bending his head, he put Jeremy's little dick into his mouth. The younger boy felt the warm sensation; he wanted to tell his friend to stop, but before he did, John moved away and started jacking Jeremy's meat off. The little boy closed his large eyes in ecstasy; he thought he should pay back his friend. He was left-handed and placing his fingers around the engorged cock started quickly moving it up and down as had made many times to his friend Joe. Both were excited and Jeremy could see the precum oozing from the elder boy's cock. He was astounded, very close to reaching that sweet sensation that he had experienced before, but not so intense: his dry orgasm. John more experienced guessed his younger friend's situation and increased the pace. Soon Jeremy's legs stretched out. He stopped breathing, gritted his teeth as that great warm sensation went thru his entire young body with a spasm. He moaned and stopped jerking John's dick. When he recovered looked at his friend that was moving fast up and down his own fist; his eyes closed. He groaned as he spurted his little load of clear semen. At that instant, everybody heard the clear pitchy voice of Jeremy: "It blows, it blows!!!." Someone on the deck asked. "Where?" "About three grades south-east, sir." Chapter 3 ------------ The bell chimed loudly, and like an automaton, the crew started its work; they were men with a large experience and trained. The captain ordered maximum sail and soon they were close to the whales. They launched two boats with twelve men each. The harpooners were standing at the bow ready to launch their deadly weapons. Suddenly the big animals emerged near them to breathe; four terrible harpoons crossed the air and reached their targets. The wounded animals started a mad run deep into the cold waters, leaving a trail of blood and dragging the two boats behind them at a great speed. The ship followed up the boats, but soon they were out of sight on the South. As the sunset approached, the wind died out and the ship's speed dropped close to a stop. The captain ordered to place a large lantern at the top of the mainmast, so the boat crews could see it. There was nothing they could do, except to wait for the dawn, when the wind would start blowing again. The crew had dinner and went to sleep, except those who were on guard; they needed to be fit and well for the coming day. It was cold outside in spite of being near the summer and still far from the ship's objective; even with the thick clothes that they wore felt the coldness of the night. Jeremy was excited with all the events of that day; first, how he enjoyed John's treatment to his hard dick, and second, the appearance of the gigantic whales and all that followed. He knew the next day would start with many things to do. He could not forget the image of the whale's tails on the air when the harpoons hit their large backs. He finished his chores, put on his long flannel sleeping-shirt and went to lie down under the blankets, but he felt cold and was shivering, his teeth gritting. Then he heard: "Jeremy, please come here." Bernard cabin was connected with the infirmary where the boy slept. He obeyed and watched how Bernard was lifting his soft merino-lamb-fur inviting him to go under the cover near him. "Come in, I don't want you to catch a cold. Wear off your nightshirt." The boy thought on all about what he had talked with John, because Bernard was in the nude under the cover and had ordered him to get naked, too. He doubted for a second, but immediately he did as was told. He knew what would come next and he was ready. Yes, he loved that man; he had been very good to him, better than even his own mother. Nobody had cared about him as his boss had, and he must pay him back: "The nude will help to warm you up." He did not say anything and laid on his side in front of the man with his back to him. He felt the warm body sticks to his; he noticed the man's flaccid cock and softballs on his butt. Bernard placed his arm around the boy and dragged his light body to his, cuddling Jeremy into his arms; both bodies spooned as one. The boy's head was under the man's chin. Soon the warmness involved both bodies and Jeremy stopped shivering and his teeth gritting. "Is it better?" Bernard asked. "Yes sir, much better, thanks." The boy murmured. He was expectant and did not move; in fact, he was near asleep, but he heard that Bernard was not yet. Probably the quietness made the man believes that the boy had drifted to sleep, but he was not. He felt the man lips on his right cheek as he placed a tender kiss on it. He whispered. "Good nights, my son." Another peck. "Have happy dreams, my angel." Jeremy in such a way felt disappointed since he expected the man would start fucking his butt; however, he felt relieved. He was aware of what Bernard had made, and he felt the happiest boy in the world. He could not stop a couple of tears rolled down on his cheeks; however, his little dick was hard thinking about what John had told him and he expected from Bernard. When he wiped carefully the tears he noted that his adored man was hard asleep; he cuddled even more into his arms; the man's hand was near the boy's chin, he kissed it and as a pray murmured: "Good nights, dad." In seconds he was hard asleep, too. Jeremy heard the bell announcing the coming dawn and his turn to watch at the top of the mast. He jumped from the bed, got dressed and went to the galley to take his hot morning stew. After eating it, he placed on a tray Bernard's breakfast and left it in the cabin. He returned to the deck and climbed to the foremast. He watched how men were preparing the melting equipment and fire to heat the whale's fat; still, it was dark. "Light on two degrees on starboard!" He shouted with his pitchy voice. A light wind had started and the ship placed her bow to the direction where the light was showing. The large vessel soon arrived where one of the boats had captured a big whale, it was the male. Another light was detected further south; the ship put on tow the first animal and continued to meet the other boat. Soon all men and boys available were dragging up the large animals onto deck thru a large door and access ramp placed at the stern and over the large rudder. Once the whales were onboard they started cutting them in pieces with large curved knives attached to long wooden sticks, while others were throwing them into the burning bins to convert into liquid fat. One of the sailors had been injured and Jeremy went to his place near Bernard to attend him; fortunately, it was not serious. After attending the injured man, Bernard said to the boy: "Jeremy, the animal liver will be placed apart, most of it to be cooked. I want you to eat it uncooked; those are my instructions for the rest of the crew. However, they might not obey me and I can't force them to do so, that's up to them, but I want you to take that serious; I'll do it, too." "But... but it must taste horrible! Once I had to drink some cod-oil and I thought I would die." The boy argued. "This is different; but if you feel some revulsion stop smelling by pressing your nose and eat it." "I'll eat it, sir, but why?" "It is essential for your growing up and health; I want you to be strong and healthy." Jeremy recalled the previous night and deeply sighed. A feverish and disciplined work was established in the ship, leaving only a few hours to rest. The ship's sails were down during the night; during the day she continued her voyage to the South. At bedtime he directly went to Bernard's cabin; he was already in bed and motioned him to enter under the soft and warm covers. He did gladly, cuddled into the man's arms and sighed; he noticed again how his little cock started to get hard. He felt in his back Bernard's soft chest hair and the warm of his flaccid dick and balls against his butt. They were tired, however, Jeremy did not drift to sleep; he felt excited and happy, very happy indeed. He dared to say in a low voice: "Sir, I... I... would like you were my dad." Bernard sighed, and slowly caressed the boy's cheek. "Jeremy, please turn over." Jeremy did as ordered and now they were facing each other only a little bit separated. Bernard looked into the boy's blue eyes, now illuminated by the moonlight that entered thru the rounded porthole. "Jeremy, do you really mean that?" "Yes, sir; I mean that and... much more, because... because... I... love you." The man dragged tightly the boy to his chest and kissed his forehead. "Jeremy, my beautiful and good child, nothing would please me more than become your father. I loved you right from the moment you placed your foot into this ship." Jeremy could not believe what he had heard; he separated for a moment from Bernard, looked at him again with his blurred eyes as tears dribbled down his cheeks. Impulsively, he placed his red lips on Bernard's in a long and gentle kiss, as he had never done before. That was the way that a son or a father expressed love in his homeland and in his family. "I love you, dad." The boy scarcely could say. The man sighed and pulled the boy to his chest again; he noticed the boy's erected little penis against his navel and the tears wetting his haired chest. "I love you with all my heart, my son." The boy was excited; it was too much for a young boy after a very difficult life. Instinctively he started moving his hips up and down rubbing his hot dick against his new father's skin. Soon he was in other dimension and realm up in the stars. Bernard understood his son's moment, though it was new for him, he rubbed the boy's back and caressed tenderly his soft hair many times during the few minutes of the boy's excitement. Jeremy's body tensed, a muffled moan came thru his young throat as he returned to our world after having been in the seventh cloud during his dry orgasm. Bernard wanted to tell him many things and to prevent him from telling anybody, but the tired boy was hard asleep. He kissed him on the cheeks and turned him to his original position. He stayed awaked watching his new son. He then murmured: "Yes, I'll adopt you as soon as I can; you'll be a great man, and have a family; you'll never be alone and dejected again, my son; you deserve it. I'll take care of you, my little Jeremy. Have nice dreams." Bernard touched reverently the long brown hair in front of him. He recalled how the boy's excitement had turned into a sexual need and how pleased he looked. Sure his sexuality was awakening. That night Jeremy had beautiful dreams with his new father, he could not remember his real progenitor since he was too little when he died and that was a long time ago for him. He heard the bell announcing the start of his duties. He turned around facing Bernard and gave him a tender peck on the lips. "Good morning, dad." He jumped from the warm bed, dressed quickly and when he was to leave Bernard called him. "Jeremy, my son, we need to talk over the new situation." The boy sent his father his most beautiful smile. "I know it, dad; but my chores can't wait. We'll talk tonight. I would like to tell everybody, to spread to the four winds just now, but I know I must keep my mouth shut." He approached again Bernard and before he could realise Jeremy kissed him again and left. The Captain had some preference for Bernard; his ship was the only one with a highly qualified physician. Besides, Bernard was the son of one of his best friends; in spite of himself coming from lower class society. Bernard's father was a Northfield though he had not any title; his uncle was Lord Northfield, a high-rank officer in the Royal Navy. Bernard was disciplined, good officer and never presumed of his aristocratic origin, and the crew loved and respected him. This was his third voyage on board of the "Seagull"; he had recently lost his wife and his little son; the little boy was much like his mother, blond and very weak. He and his father fought day and night to save their lives without success. Like a good physician, he decided to fight his possible depression by helping others. The captain knew Bernard liked the sea since he was a boy and had been duly trained, but he loved more the Medicine, so he offered him a post in his crew. That morning that all available souls were on duty cutting and melting the whale's fat, he came to greet the captain as he entered into his guard. "You look happy this cold morning, Bernard." "Well, still it is not so cold and I have some motivations, sir. We have not any injured person, we have good weather, have captured four large whales and..." He paused for a few moments though he had decided to go ahead with his plans about Jeremy. "...I need to talk to you, privately." Bernard always treated with respect all members of the crew, from the captain to the last cabin boy, and especially his superiors. "Do you want it now?" The Captain asked. "I can wait, sir; I must enter in my guard. Duties are above all, sir." "Alright, tonight after the meeting we can have it, if you dare to a chess match." "Yes, sir. Thanks." He went to comply with his duties. That evening, after the meeting with the rest of the officers about the course of actions to follow, and during the chess match, he explained to the Captain his intentions about adopting Jeremy as his legal son. The Captain looked at his officer and friend thoughtfully. "Bernard, let's forget for a moment our differences as Captain and Officer and be only friends as if we were on land walking thru a boulevard. That's a praiseworthy action from you; however, have you thought about what your father and the boy's family will think? Bernard kept silence for a while, and then answered his friend. "Yes, sir. Jeremy has not any other family, except an old aunt and I don't think he will see her again alive. He has described me the symptoms of her sickness, so he is a total orphan; he lost the rest of his family during the last pest epidemic. I have considered my father's reaction; I'm his only heir but am sure he will love Jeremy as much as I do. I have been working hard like an automaton just trying to forget the unforgettable: my son and my wife's death. Without him knowing it, this little boy has conquered my heart and my will to live again. I owe him a lot. If we live long enough to see him growing into a man, you will then understand my decision. It is not normal that a boy of eleven can make algebra calculations and absorb medicine data; Geography, Physic... and even Latin as he does." The Captain grinned with his friend's determination. "It is up to you, Bernard; I hope you are right. In any case, you have my full support, I can carry out the ceremony of adoption onboard; the circumstances allow it, however, this must be confirmed when we return to port, or when Jeremy is 12 y/o." "If you don't mind sir, I would like to do it onboard with all our friends present; if something happened to me during this trip he will not be abandoned, and what is more important, spoiled. Please, sir, arrange it as your early convenience." "I'll do it, Bernard, I'll let you know; yet, firstly I must speak with the child." "Thank you, sir." They shook hands and Bernard went to his cabin where Jeremy was waiting for him to go to bed as he had done during the past few days. They smiled at each other, Bernard opened his arms and Jeremy launched himself into the man's arms in a tight and tender hug; in seconds they undressed and went under the cover stark naked, as usual. Jeremy put his left leg between Bernard's thighs and snuggled into his arms; he looked tenderly at his new father and started rubbing Bernard's hairy chest. "Do you know dad? I love rubbing your chest hair; it is so soft..." Bernard grinned removing his son's now long light brown hair. "Dad, when I become your legal son, shall I be able to keep my name?" "You can keep it or change, but I would prefer you to keep it. Your surname will be changed and you will be a Northfield, as I am." Jeremy sighed, thinking in those coming moments. "Dad, I don't mind to be a Northfield or a Mall, as long as you love me." "You can be sure about this, my beautiful son. When we arrive home I'll introduce you to my father and mother; I'm more than sure they will adore you as much as I do. They are very good persons and my father is an exceptional man and a better physician. You won't be shocked with his procedures because you know mine, but he's very advanced and doesn't believe in many of the old medicine topics and practices." "I... I... I'm scared about that moment, dad, but that's still a few months away." They kept silence for a few moments. The boy looked into his new father's eyes as he dared to say: "Dad, the first night I was waiting for something from you..." He paused awaiting Bernard to ask, but the man kept silence. Then he added: "I thought for a fleeting moment I was wrong and you did not love me." "Why? You have told me that you guessed I liked you right from the moment we started this trip." "Yes, it is true; but you were hugging and kissing me and made nothing to me. I... I... I thought you were going to... you know, to put your thing into my butt." Bernard sighed and hugged his son very tightly to his chest. "Why did you think I would do that to you, my son?" "Well... John told me that Jack liked him and did it to him; however, I was relieved when you didn't do it because he told me it hurts the first few times, but later it feels good and funny. John also said that if I loved you as he did Jack, I would accept it without any protest because that is part of our union." Bernard kissed his son on the lips a long and tender kiss to reassure him his affection, as he caressed his hair staring into the boy's blue eyes. His were blurred, though Jeremy did not notice it. "Jeremy, John talked from his experience as a homosexual. I have not ever done this to a man and much less to a boy, and I'll never do it. I love you too much to cause you the minimum pain. You are right, my son; but a father should not do such a thing to a son. I have seen many boys abused by their fathers and some of them did it because they liked it, enjoyed and loved each other. Nevertheless, some were really abused because did not like it. As you will experience in your life, mankind is sometimes very complicated. You are too young to understand this; if we return safely home, with the time you will grow up and become a medical doctor, and you will be able to see many kinds of love." He paused for an instant. "John loves Jack because he is homosexual, in other words, he has the body of a boy but he feels like a girl, so he likes males. Our society doesn't want to understand and admit this fact and reject them, but it has been like that since the human being is living in this planet. It is not exclusive of mankind, also in animals, like apes, occurs. There are many persons like John; some don't mind and live together as a couple. I have two homosexual friends and I can assure you they are the honest persons I have ever met. On the other hand, it is not a problem only of males, there are also females that feel the same, but they hide it better than the men." Jeremy thought for a minute. "He explained to me that last year when they ended the trip, went for a whole week on holidays; they made it out every day a few times. He assumed it was very pleasurable. Then, is he a queer, dad?" "That's a strong and offensive word for a friend, son. It isn't his fault to feel as he does, he was born with that inclination and probably he never changes; he might hide it as women do, but he will never enjoy being with a girl." "I'm sorry, dad. I didn't mean that; he is my best friend onboard and has no secret with me." "A good friend is a high appreciating jewel." "I wonder how, but he guessed I loved you. He told me that you are a very handsome man and that almost certainly a witch woman will catch and marry you. Then you might have children of your own and you...would leave me aside." The boy expressed his concerns near in a whisper; Bernard hugged him again very hard to his chest. "Jeremy, I don't know how to say this, but you must trust me. I wanted a son; I had one and I lost him. Now you have come into my life and my heart, I will never leave you aside." The boy sighed as the man continued. "After what happened to my wife and son, my plans do not include a marriage; I did once and I don't want to go thru it again. I pretend to travel and study sicknesses around the world and you will come with me. I want to heal pain and for that I need to be free. You will grow and become into a handsome young man; surely girls will be around you all the time." Jeremy smiled and pressed his body against his father's; his little dick was hard poking into Bernard's navel. "It seems that your little brother is hard," Jeremy blushed. "Yes, it is excited and feels good." He kept silence for a moment. "Dad, what do you do when your big brother gets hard? Because since we started this trip mine is always demanding attention and I must take care of it." "Well, I suppose you know the answer. You have had a release with my body; well... since I don't have any to whom I do it, either I masturbate, jerk off as you boys put it, or I leave Mother Nature to work." "That's not true, dad; you have me." Bernard kissed the child's forehead with love. "You are my son and I don't want to do anything sexual with you. I love you too much." Saying this, Bernard caressed his son's face with the back of his hand. Jeremy sighed. "But if I did it to John, why not doing it to you? I don't love him and I love you. You are my father, so..." Bernard interrupted him. "Did you do it to John?" Jeremy blushed. "Well... in fact he wanted to do it to me. He put my penis into his mouth for a few moments, and then he rubbed it until that lovely feeling came to my loins; so I felt I must reciprocate him and I rubbed his dick up and down until he spurted a few drops of whitish-clear stuff. We did it up there at the top of the foremast the day we spotted the first whales." Bernard grinned and kept silence, he guessed his adopted son's thoughts; he continued. "However, it was not half pleasurable as we did the other night. That was fantastic, dad! It was as if I was climbing to the top of a rainbow, every moment the colours were brighter and brighter. When I reached the top, an explosion of colours and stars came into my mind. It was so wonderful, so marvellous!... Then I started descending the rainbow and I went into a dream that I have had a few times. I'll tell you later." "I know how you felt, son. When you grow and go to bed with a girl to whom you really love, then you will experiment with the same sensation, but very much stronger. I did it with my wife, because of that I don't want to speak about her or my son. I always get sad remembering those moments." "Dad, please, let me do it to you as I did to John. Please." Bernard looked into the boy's eyes. "No, Jeremy. I know it is silly but I have strong prejudices to admit it; probably with the time I'll disregard them, but by now I can't do it. You are my son and I'm ready to please you on anything that you want from me, but that goes against my principles and I must forget them before I could accept it." He wanted to change the subject because he knew he was not fully sincere to himself. "What's about your dream, son?" "I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm tired dad and it is late." He kissed his father goodnights, turned over and cuddled into his arms; he felt Bernard's soft chest hair on his back and his flaccid penis against his butt. Bernard's hand rubbed his son's smooth cheeks, spooned, he hugged the boy tightly to his chest. "Have sweet dreams, son." "The same you, dad." The boy kissed his father palm and placed it on his chest; Bernard could notice the strong heartbeats of his boy. He sighed and both drifted to sleep. Chapter 4 ------------ The following weeks were very busy ones. They had arrived at the hunting area just when they had finished melting the six previous animals. They were lucky and more were added, though the work was hard; fortunately, the sea was not very rough and that helped. The wind blowing soft from the North contributed to the success; however, in spite of being in the Southern summer, the air was very cold. While they were cooperating in the cutting or melting, Bernard taught his son daily all about navigation and medicine that he could; the boy was like a sponge and his brain accumulated knowledge about all matters he knew could serve him in the future. He knew what his son wanted about sex, but Bernard was not prepared for it; he wanted his child to grow free of prejudices but it was hard for him to change his way of thinking. The boy was very smart and did not mention the subject again, however, Bernard took special care to reassure his love and the boy rewarded him with the most beautiful smiles and affections that filled his heart with pride. One those nights that they were not so tired, Bernard asked him. "Jeremy, have you had that dream again?" The child gave his father the loveliest grin as he caressed the man's shaved face. "Yes, dad. Sometimes a little different, but..." "Can you tell me about it? Or is it so private that..." "Well some of it is very personal, but I don't have any secret with you." Bernard kept silence in order the boy could organize his thoughts, then he started. "Dad, normally it starts with you and me, hands entwined riding on a very large wave on a blue sea; and then we are naked in a strange beach walking happily. Suddenly it changes and I'm alone, most likely in the same place, sitting and facing a beautiful red-haired girl of my age, and looking at each other into our eyes. She has freckles under her eyes and the most intensive blue eyes I have ever seen; ours are blue, but hers are like the sky on the tropical coast; more or less as Joe has. I'll tell you about Joe later. She had red and some thick lips; wonderful white teeth, and when she smiles me, I felt as if I melted into her like the whale fat. She closes her eyes and when I'm going to kiss her the bell announcing the guard chimes, destroying my dream. Normally I found my penis is hard needing to pee." The boy sighed. "Can you tell me anything about this, dad? Perhaps Joe has something to do with it in my mind; he also has red hair and has very bright blue eyes." Bernard smiled and rubbed his son's pink cheek. "Partially. I can't say anything regarding the wave and the strange beach, but about the girl, it is clear for me; it demonstrates what I guessed about you..." "About me, dad?" The boy said with perplexity. "Yes. That proves: that you are a very healthy boy; that you have not homosexual tendencies and that you are approaching puberty. Those dreams will increase its intensity and pleasure; and within a little more than one year, your body will reach the peak and have your first wet dream." "Wet dream, what is it, dad?" "It is the first time that you spurt semen like John did when you were on top of the foremast; when this happens your body has matured enough to produce life; semen is the seed of life. It is believed that a matured female produces a similar seed into her and when both join the miracle of life starts, creating a new being: the baby. Hence the need to introduce the penis into the woman's vagina or pussy as you might call it." He paused, waiting for comments from the boy. Then he continued. "Nobody knows how it happens, but with some differences, it takes place within all animals, especially the mammal ones. That's what in slang is called fucking." The young boy was open-mouthed with these revelations; he kept silence for a moment while his young brains were processing all this new information. "Dad, does it means that the whales do it male to female, too?" Bernard smiled after the boy's astonishment and quick reaction. This is the kind of son he had dreamed about, wanted and missed. He was very similar to himself when was at his age; always trying to find out the origin of everything; to satisfy his endless curiosity. He then answered him: "Yes. I have never watched it because they couple at a different time and sea. A friend of mine, who is serving HM in a warship, watched how a male with a five or six yards long penis was trying to inseminate a female whale." The boy laughed imagining that long cock. "The sperm of this animal must be very much the same as you watched John spurting. Of course, this doesn't coincide with what the priests might have taught you. Just not a long time ago, the Church sent many men to the fire for speaking like this." He paused. "This has been an advanced lesson on animal reproduction from the time surely life started. I think it is enough by now." "That's fantastic, dad! I would spend nights and days hearing and learning from you. Of course, it doesn't coincide with what the priest explained to us, but we'll continue some other day. Human being and life is so amazing..." Bernard ruffled his future son's hair and smiled. "This has reminded me of something. There, behind that box is what I would call a lifebelt. Have a look into it, please." "Dad, it is cold and I'm naked." "I know, but it is very important and nobody will watch that gorgeous figure of your body." Jeremy grinned and jumped from the cosy bunk, he was hard and his little cock was proudly sticking out. He went behind the box and found a series of rectangular cork pieces linked by two cords. "Place and tie up around your chest and waist." The boy nodded and did what the man ordered him; once he did it, he showed to his father; then he untied the device and returned under the covers. "Do you know the meaning of that?" Bernard asked the boy. "I suppose it is to protect my chest about something, but I wonder of what." "No, it isn't. That's to protect your life in case of wreckage or an accidental falling into the sea. That would keep you afloat as long as you wear it." Bernard alleged seriously. However, the boy argued: "Unlike most of the sailors, I know how to swim, dad. My brothers and Joe taught me in the river." Bernard then added further explanations. "Probably you could swim a short space of time and with good weather, but not in case there is a rough sea." He looked into his dad's eyes and knew how much they liked each other. Bernard added stressing his words: "If in any circumstance I order you to wear it, you just obey me quickly and don't argue or ask questions. Most likely we will never use it, but while we are in the sea the risk exists." "I'll do, dad. I'll strictly accomplish your instructions." He kept silent for some moments, then he said changing the subject: "I told you something about Joe, but I think I never mentioned him to you." "No, you didn't. Who is he? I suppose is a friend from your village." "You are right, dad. Until I came onboard he was my best friend, his name's Joe MacLean; he's an Irish descendant and has a large family; fortunately, none of his brothers and sisters died during the epidemic days, only his grandparents. We used to sing in the church's choir; and he has the most beautiful voice I ever heard, even better than mine, he was considered a nightingale." "I did not know this part of your life. How is he?" "For me, Joe is fantastic, however, not for everybody. For instance, we knew that the priest liked to touch boys, but only the pretty ones of the school and altar boys. He was not fond of Joe because he is not pretty, but my friend is the best of all of us learning languages and singing in the choir. We have been best friends as far as I can remember, I would say more than friends or brothers. My aunty and his mom used to say we were as twins, but not identical, and they were right, though physically we are entirely different. We love each other, but that word never came thru our mouths until the last moment of my farewell; it was hard for us to say goodbye." He paused and Bernard asked: "Did the priest touch you?" "I must be honest, and I think he had that idea. His wife caught him when he placed his hand on my bare thigh during a maths class; though he had done it a few times before. Yet, I did not know the meaning of that action until I overheard his wife scolding and threatening him to tell bishop; she had been my mom's old friend. He had plans to take me into a priest school, they called it seminary; he had suggested it to me and to my aunty, but I clearly said I did not like to be a priest. Thanks to his wife I met you here." Jeremy stared at his father tenderly, then continued: "The last day, when I went to say goodbye and collect the letter for the captain, the priest was going to kiss my cheeks but I quickly offered my hand, he grinned and shook it. Then I told him to care about Joe because my friend was the best singer in the choir; he told me that the Church had already planned something for him. I wonder what the plans are." "Well, we'll find out when we return. I'll be glad to meet him. I suppose that two so different boys but at the same time so equal, you were together in many pranks." Jeremy then chuckled and jabbed his father. "Yes, you are right. More than once we were spanked." The boy paused for some time, grinned and then continued: "We did many things together; nevertheless, what we most liked was to play and stay in our barns in the middle of the comfortable warm straw, especially when the weather was not very cold." Bernard guessed those moments as he recalled what he did with his cousin Charles in their loft. "Why were the barns so interesting for you?" Jeremy stared at his father; he knew Bernard knew his answer. "Well, Joe is special and we were naughty boys when we were together. From time to time we went upstairs in the barn and rubbed our penises until they were almost soared, we did not know we had to put some saliva. It was nice but never reached the final point." Jeremy grinned looking at his father that was paying much attention to his son's explanations. Then he continued. "About two years ago, we were rubbing our dicks and suddenly Joe told me: "I'll suck your weenie if you promise to suck mine afterwards. Alright, I said. Before I could realise he spread my legs, stared at me cunningly and in seconds he had my dick in his mouth. I did not expect it was as good. Soon I was breathing hard. I could not bear that great tickle sensation as all my body jerked. I was moving my head to each side and I remember that I was anxious he ended that punishment. I tried to stop him but I could not. Suddenly my body tensed, I raised my hips, held my breath and I groaned like a wounded animal. I fell back on the straw and I think almost passed out. I heard Joe far away telling me: "Jeri, please wake up, wake" I did and I told him what I had felt. He said: "You got me scared as hell; is it that as good?" Without any hesitance, I pushed him down on his back and I did him what he had done to me. When he recovered, smiling said: "It was as good as my brother Ben told me." We laughed together, got dressed and went down to the stable. Ben was feeding the cows, watched us and also started laughing murmuring: "Naughty boys!" "Good boys and good friends!" Bernard said ruffling his son's hair again as Jeremy cuddled into his father's arms. He had his left leg between Bernard's legs and felt the softness of his balls and dick; with the story with Joe, his penis was very hard. Badly he wanted to touch his dad's cock and make him feels the marvellous tickle, but he did not want to force him. It was incomprehensible to him why he did not want it. He loved being in his arms and when he rubbed his pecker against him... It was so good! Instinctively he closed his eyes and started rubbing his hard little cock against his father's belly. Bernard with all the tenderness he could muster said: "Jeremy if you don't want your penis to get soared as when you did with Joe, you should put some saliva on your little brother's head." The boy smiled at his dad and flushed. "Please dad, do it yourself." They separated a little and Bernard reluctantly put some of his saliva in his fingers, and dragging the foreskin back he spread it on the boy's red cock-head. Jeremy moaned at his father's first touch. Bernard retrieved his hand and Jeremy moaned again. He closed his eyes and started experiencing the marvellous rainbow in his mind. Soon he climbed to the top and that beautiful explosion of colours came into his mind as his body tensed, his breathing increased and he reached the peak of his dry orgasm. The man caressed softly his son's back repeatedly while he was absorbed in his bliss. The ecstasy ended and both drifted to sleep. The hunting of whales continued and their closeness and affection increased. The boy was carrying out some duties in the infirmary when a man came advising him to present himself in the Captain's cabin. The boy almost started trembling since he had never been in the Captain's Quarters. Immediately went and entered after asking permission to go in; that was the first time he would speak to the Captain; he was scared and quivering. "Come in, boy." He entered and stood in front of the Captain's desk; the first and second officers were sat close to him. "Are you Jeremy Mall?" The Captain asked. "Yes sir, I am," Jeremy replied. "Jeremy, Mr Bernard Northfield, our physician and third officer, had expressed his will to adopt you as his own son. Do you know that?" The boy relaxed, it was nothing regarding his job, so he felt relieved. "Yes sir, my..." he rectified. "Mr Northfield told me all about." The Captain and the officers grinned. "We know you can read and write very well. Watch this document and read it." The man handed a scroll to Jeremy and he read it; then handed back over to the Captain. "I understand that, sir; more or less it says what you have told me just now." "Do you accept what is written on it? Do you accept Mr Bernard Northfield as your own father with all the prerogatives inherent to that?" Jeremy did not understand the legal terms, but he knew that behind those words, above all, there was love, abeyance, and protection. "Yes sir, I do, sir." "In this case, sign it together with these two gentlemen; they are witnesses of your assertion and acceptance because you are a minor. Your future father has already signed it." Then the three of them signed the scroll. The Captain continued. "As soon as I sign this document, you will be Jeremy Northfield. You might change your mind before you are twelve y/o; in this instance, you ought to express it to the Mayor of your town of residence. Once this time is over, you will not be able to change anything until you are 21 y/o. Do you understand that, Jeremy?" "Yes sir, I do, sir; but I'll never change my mind, I love my father... I mean my future father..." "Don't worry Jeremy, you can call him your father in private, however, I suggest you wait until I publicly sign it, then you can say it to the crew or to your friends." "Yes sir, I'll do, sir. Thanks." "In that case, you can return to your duties." The boy wanted to make thousands of questions to the Captain; for instance, when he could call "dad" publicly his father or when he would sign that stupid paper. He felt a great wish to hug his father and shout to John and to every member of the crew, but he had to wait, at least until tonight when they were in their cabin. He ended up his guard and quickly went into the physician's cabin. The man guessed what the little boy was feeling, so he opened his arms and Jeremy jumped onto him gripping his long legs around his father waist, with such force that Bernard had to make a great effort to keep his balance. He had grown some during the months spent in the ship. "I love you, daddy, with all my heart. I have never loved anyone as I do to you now." Yet, with the boy in his arms, Bernard sat on his bunk and hugged his new son very tightly to his heart. Jeremy was sobbing tears of happiness and joy. "I love you, too, my son, even more than I loved my own son." They kissed on the lips and then the man ordered: "Please lock the door, the ship is quiet and we don't expect anyone coming. Tonight is a special one and belongs only to us. Do you know which date of the year is today Jeremy?" The boy moved his head negatively while he was sat on the man lap and his arms around Bernard's neck. "Today is 20th November." The boy wide opened his beautiful blue eyes. "It is my birthday, I'm eleven!" The boy exclaimed jubilantly. For a fleeting moment, the boy's thoughts went to his ever-best friend, Joe. It was his birthday, too. The answer from his father brought him to the present moment forgetting his friend. "Exactly, it is your birthday and the date you have become my real son. I have a little present for you." He took off a small gold ring from his little finger and placed it in Jeremy middle finger. "My dad gave it to me in my 12th birthday when I went to Oxford, and now it is yours. At eleven you are as big as I was at twelve. You have grown up a lot lately." Jeremy could not prevent tears from running down his smooth cheeks and between sobs he repeated: "I love you, dad. I would do anything that you order me, anything! Please keep safe this beautiful ring, I could lose it." He tried to take it off from his finger but it was well fixed in it. "That's yours and I don't think you will lose it. Now let's undress because the bed is waiting for us." Like every night, Jeremy had washed carefully before coming to bed with water from the sea, because they could not waste normal water, except for cooking. In seconds he was naked and cuddled into his father's arms, face to face. Then he said: "Dad today is my birthday and I would like to ask you for something special." Bernard grinned. "Granted; what is it?" Bernard asked though he knew what his son would say." "I want to... to touch your... You are my father and I'm your son." He looked at his son, placed his palms around the beautiful boy's cheeks and kissed his sweet red lips tenderly. Jeremy kissed back his father pressing his lips against his. "I worship you Jeremy and I know that anything we do tonight is covered by our quilt of love. You can whatever you like and want." Jeremy's dick was hard and soon he felt his father's fingers around it. "You better straddle me and sit on my chest with your back to me, so it is easier for you and me." Jeremy kissed his dad again and turned around. Bernard's dick was hard too and for the first time, Jeremy watched his father's penis in full erection. He placed his two hands around it and squeezed it. The man moaned in pleasure. Then Jeremy turned his head and looked back to his father with a grin as he said: "Dad, it is huge!" Bernard sighed. "It is a normal one, a little bit over seven inches. I have seen larger and thicker ones." "I wonder how John could hold such a big turd into his anus." The man smiled. "Dad, will you put some saliva on my cockhead?" "I don't think you'll need it. Can you see the clear watery fluid on top of my penis?" "Yes. You are spurting a lot; what is sit?" "That's called pre-seminal fluid, in slang "precum". The body produces it to lube the girl vagina when having intercourse, or making love, as normally it said; she also produces it. Take some of it and spread on your little dickhead." Jeremy did as ordered, his little cock jerked and he moaned with the new sensation. He took his finger to his tongue and tasted it. "Dad, it tastes good, like blood. I like it." The man chuckled and started slowly masturbating his son. Jeremy understood that the moment he had so eagerly wanted had arrived. He placed his hands around the man thick meat and started stroking it slowly up and down. He heard how his father moaned in pleasure; he placed his right hand under his dad's balls and massaged them. Bernard squirmed and increased his strokes to Jeremy's dick; after some minutes, he felt approaching his orgasm while his son closed his eyes and bent his head back. Jeremy now was climbing the last steps of his particular rainbow at his dad's hands. Bernard could not stop his climax. He raised his hips, and as Jeremy reached the top of his private rainbow with a loud moan, Bernard exploded with a muffled groan and his long-time untouched dick started spurting his large load, with such a force that his first shot reached Jeremy's nose, a second to his neck and some more over his smooth chest and belly. Jeremy laid his back on his father's chest as he was spent. When the boy opened his eyes, not yet recovered his breathing, he noticed how some of Bernard's cream entered in his mouth as he made a grimace of distaste. He turned around and showed it to his father that still had not fully recovered. Bernard smiled watching his son covered by his semen. He could not stop and dragged the boy tenderly to him in a joyful hug. Then Jeremy hugged his father back and moved a little as he said: "It doesn't taste like the precum. It has a special and rare odour and flavour, but I like the sensation and especially your muffled groan, dad. It has been fantastic! Let's do it again." Bernard grinned watching his son over creamed with his spunk. "We must wait for a few minutes until my organs are refilled with new semen, however, you can start again, if you want it. I would suggest you clean your body first with that cloth; then throw it to the sea thru the porthole." "No, dad. I want it on my body until we finish, it is part of you and I would like to keep it forever, like the ring." He grinned. "I'll clean myself later." Jeremy spread his father's seed over his chest and belly; even he squeezed his now almost flaccid dick and extracted the remaining in it. Thus covered, he bent over and lay on his father's belly. "Thanks, dad for these moments. When I did it with John I felt some regret when I finished, however, when I do it with you, I feel very happy and ready to do it again and again." Bernard dragged up his son to his chest and tenderly rubbed his back and hair. After some minutes of relaxing, Bernard pushed his son a little bit down on his tummy and motioned the boy to start again rubbing his dick against his belly. The boy did fucking his father buttonhole; a few minutes later, Bernard noted how his son's breath increased with gasps. Soon he was in a frenzied ecstasy moving up and down breathing heavily. These actions got his own dick hard; he caressed his son's back and neck not stopping kissing his smooth cheeks; he felt the spasms in Jeremy's body, his young body got rigid as a loud moan escaped thru his throat. He collapsed on top of his father; his head lying on Bernard's left shoulder. The man felt the heartbeats of his son slowing down until he was at a normal rate. He rubbed gently the little boy and hugged him very tightly. "I love you, Jeremy, my son." He repeated in a murmur. The boy moaned and sighed, his left hand was caressing his father chest hair; he loved that sensation. He sighed again and remained still on his father's chest. "Dad, I enjoy these moments even more than the nice feeling; I would like to be like this forever." "Are you sure, son?" They grinned. "No. I like a lot to watch how your cock becomes a fountain." Both laughed as he continued. "Though I do like the feeling of your dick between my legs, it is wet and soft." Bernard pulled up his son and caressed softly his curly hair. He thought they have trespassed the limit that he had imposed to himself, and that he would teach his son everything he knew regarding sex, of course, whenever he wanted it. "Jeremy, do you know how to kiss a girl?" "Well, I suppose is more or less as we do. I never kissed anyone before, except my family and Joe." "No. That type of kissing is tender and familiar; there is another one that involves sex, nothing to do with the tender one that we have shared." The boy looked puzzled to his father. "No, dad. John never mentioned it." "Probably he didn't do it because that's the expression of great intimacy." The boy was in silence expecting his father to continue. "It starts the same, you would stick your lips on the girl's and then you must introduce your tongue inside her mouth." The boy made a grimace of distaste. "Dad, are you sure? It seems a little bit gross." "It isn't, that was what I thought the first time. Let's try, think I'm that girl of your dreams." Jeremy grinned. "I don't need to think about her." Saying that he placed his lips on his father's and tried to stick his small tongue into Bernard's mouth. He was ready and received it slowly, both tongues swirled inside and soon that kiss became in a passionate one. Their dicks got harder than ever, and after one-minute kissing, the boy broke the kiss to breathe. Then Bernard said: "You must breathe thru your nose." Jeremy again placed his lips on his father's and this time his tongue went to touch his dad's palate, exploring all corners he could reach. His cock had not been as hard as it was now. He started moving his hips up and down without leaving his father mouth. Their saliva mixed and he noticed that his dad's hard wet cock was between his legs, rubbing his balls sack every time he moved up and down. He then tightened his smooth thighs to get it gripped as a prisoner between them. After a few minutes, father and son reached the point of no return; Jeremy scaled the top of his rainbow again and Bernard to the most exquisite ecstasy he had ever experienced. They broke the kiss as Bernard raised his hips, stopped breathing and both moaned loudly. Bernard spewed out once more between his son's legs as Jeremy collapsed on top of his father's shoulder abandoned and exhausted. Bernard dragged the warm cover over them and drifted to sleep; in fact, Jeremy was already asleep. It has been a day and night to remember. The following morning, before the bell chimed, Jeremy moved, and thought it was cold; he took the cloth mentioned by his dad, wetted it in the salted water they had in a basin, and carefully cleaned himself and his father the dry semen crusts from his lovemaking. He kissed his father tenderly on the lips and cuddled into his arms again. "Dad, I'll never forget last night. It was so wonderful, so tender, and so lovely...!" I have no words to describe it." The boy deeply sighed. "It was solely affection, my son. I don't know why our society is so strict prohibiting it. Some captains have visited a few Indian Ocean islands, and they reported that people lived there mostly naked; father married the daughter or vice versa, but they were proud when a brother sought his sister to marry. They said it is a barbarian custom, but I don't think so. Perhaps from the medical point of view should be mixed, but that's a different problem that you will learn in the school when we return home and you study Anthropology." Those words brought the boy to reality. Yes, he would meet his father's family members, but will they be his, too? Soon he forgot about it and grinned to his father. "I don't mind as long as he loves me," he thought. "Dad, I have not any home, but yours. My mother died five years ago when the bubonic pest plague spread its terrible wings over our country. My aunt, well... she is not properly my aunt, but my mom's aunt; she also was infected, as I was too, though lightly. She survived but the sickness left serious sequels on her body and now she is near a disabled old person. Her husband and my two brothers died too; so we were the only members of the family left as survivors." Bernard caressed his son's now long hair. He sighed. "Jeremy, I didn't want to speak about that time because it hurts a lot, but I need to do it. We all paid a high cost to those terrible epidemic days. I had a wife and a son of five and both were very weak. I knew her when we were your age. She came to live in the countryside because her health wasn't good and she was delicate; she always was sick. We fell in love and she was the first girl that I kissed properly. I remember that my first kiss coincided with my first wet dream; from that day I masturbated every day, thinking about her. She blossomed with our love and our parents were more than happy; we married at 22 y/o. She was a beautiful blonde with sparkling blue eyes, as your friend Joe's; I loved her passionately. She would have loved you as much as I do because she had a great heart. Those were the best years of my life in spite of the hard work that I had; firstly attending to the medicine, botanic and nautical schools; and after graduation, ships and hospitals. Some years later our son Charles came into this world; I had the hope he would be a strong and healthy boy like you are and I had been, but he wasn't. He was a copy of his mother: a real and sweet angel. However, he was extremely bright like you are." He paused for a moment recalling his thoughts and Jeremy caressed softly his father chest hair encouraging him to continue. "He was able to read correctly at four and play some easy tunes on the piano at five. He always was with his mom except when I was at home. When I returned from the hospital, he used to run into my arms, I lifted him into the air and his musical laugh sounded to me as glory." Bernard paused again and Jeremy regretted to have initiated that conversation that brought so much pain to his adored father. "I encouraged him to play with other boys and girls but it was ineffective. Then the epidemic that was not so severe in our zone came, but enough for the weak, old and sick persons. Within a few hours, both passed away on the same day in spite of my father and my own efforts." Jeremy hugged his father very tightly. After a couple of minutes, he said: "I'm sorry, dad; I'm a stupid causing you so much pain." The boy's eyes blurred not because of the sad story, but for the pain that he was inflicting his father. The man reciprocated the hug as he dried his blurred eyes without Jeremy noticing it. "You don't need to be sorry about. You might not believe it, but I feel much better now after telling you what I have kept in my heart during these sad years." They hugged tenderly and at that moment the bell sounded. They got up; dressed, cleaned the cabin and everyone went to his duties. During those months the hunter had been exceptionally good; the crew had worked hard since the daylight was present: twenty out of the twenty-four hours of the day, and the ship's hold tanks were full of fat. The Captain unusually called the complete crew for a meeting on deck a week after Jeremy's birthday. The man was standing on the aftercastle near the large helm with his three officers and the midshipmen around him. Then he said: "It's exceptional but you are an exceptional crew and I'm very proud of all of you. This time we have been very lucky and have reached our objective two months before schedule, so we have finished the hunter for this year. We will dedicate next week to repair and get the ship ready and fit for our return home." The crew shouted and launched their hats up into the air. "I would like to express you my thanks for your behaviour and wish you a healthy and happy return home." He paused and then continued. "Besides, an event took place one week ago; almost certainly some of you have noticed it; our physician and third officer Mr Bernard Northfield has adopted the cabin boy Jeremy Mall as his legal son. I have signed the document witnessed by my officers by which, from now on, the boy's name is Jeremy Northfield. We gave a copy of this document to the Captain of the warship that visited us a couple of days ago, so he can deliver it to the Governor of Australia where she was sailing off to. Now we will have a special meal and some rum to celebrate both events." Jeremy scarcely could retain his tears when the Captain signed a copy of the adoption document and gave it to the first officer so he could write down on the ship's log. Jeremy could not resist the moment and ran up and jumped onto his father's arms. Many felt much moved by what they watched and some tears rolled down on the cheeks of some sensitive crewmembers; especially on John's, which was standing near the helm. Many miles away in the south of England, Joe was standing in front of his seat forming the choir, they were singing in a funeral and he could watch the large candles flickering around the coffin of the dead person surrounded by his own family, though the corpse inside of that box was not any member of his family, but his best friend's aunt. He was not particularly affected, chiefly because he had not treated her much, and nil since Jeremy embarked on the "Seagull"; however, his parents had been good friends of her. That led his thoughts to the sweet moments when they said goodbye in the Ripon road's shed months ago. As usual, he had forgotten his birthday of the day before, nevertheless, his dear brother Benjamin did not. He approached his mother in the kitchen to collect his porridge. "Ben, son, I must go to Jeremy's aunt home to help her; she's gravely sick, so please, keep an eye on Joe while I am out." Ben grinned for himself, Joe did not need anyone to look after him, but he was older and a responsible brother. He heard Joe coming down from their room and sighed; he adored his little brother and today was a very special day, though he was sure he had forgotten it. He took their dishes with porridge and milk and placed on the large wooden table. "Good morning, Ben, the breakfast looks fantastic. Where's mom?" The 13y/o boy hugged his little brother by placing his arms from behind and around his red-haired brother's chest. "She's gone to Jeremy's aunt home; I don't think she will see tomorrow's daylight, but forget it. Don't you know what day is today?" The smart boy immediately associated the name with the day and sighed. He stood and hugged very tightly his elder brother. "As usual, you are the best brother in the world! Thanks, Ben, for reminding me of our birthday. I'm sure Jeremy has not forgotten it and he's remembering me; I wonder where he is now..." "He must be somewhere in the Antarctic sea." Ben kissed his brother's head. "Joe, I don't have any physical gift to give you, because our parents are collecting everything for the trip but I think we can do something to replace it; as soon as you finish your breakfast we must go to feed the cows." Joe grinned suspiciously. "C'mon I'm ready." They went thru a next door to the stables. Joe helped his brother to feed the animals, then with a sly smile added: "Where is your present?" Ben grinned, took his little brother hand and dragged him to the barn and then pushed him amongst the straw bales. Before the red-haired boy could realise, Ben dragged his shorts to his heels and out of his legs. Joe guessed what was coming next and he eagerly wanted it. His stiff whitish pecker popped out appearing in its glory. Without expressing a single word Ben kissed tenderly his adored little brother; sucked his tiny nipples, lapped his tummy and navel, and then, in a quick move took his hard dick into his mouth. Joe groaned in ecstasies as Ben delicately dragged the little boy's dick's foreskin down with his lips. Joe closed his eyes and started bucking his hips as Ben sucked it as a vacuum; then he placed his hands on top of his brother's almost blond-haired head. At that moment, the image of his best friend came into his brains as his dry orgasm crept thru his body exploding like great fireworks, then instinctively shouted: "Stop, Jeri, I love you!!!" Ben stopped sucking the sensitive meat of his little brother and grinned; his cock also needed attention but he left it for later on. He sighed at his red-haired brother's expression of love. He watched the blur on his younger brother's eyes and hugged him tightly. "I would like to have a Jeremy in my life as you have." Joe felt ashamed for his shout; his brother caressed his freckled forehead tenderly and kissed it. "Sorry, Ben, for my confusion, I miss him very much." "I know it, brother; I'm sure he does you. C'mon, let's come back." They did not say anything else; dressed and returned to the house. Joe promised himself that Ben would never be a farmer if he could avoid it; he knew his brother hated the farm. Chapter 5 ------------ The life onboard continued, as usual, Jeremy did his chores as a cabin boy and as the physician's assistant; however, his consideration had risen since he was the son of the MD. He continued studying and teaching John at the same time. In moments when they were free of service, the boys talked about their intimacies, but Jeremy never told a single word about what he did with his father; that was only between them and nobody else. One of those days Jeremy told his friend: "John, I want to tell you something very important. My dad has transmitted our wishes to the captain that, when the trip get an end and we are moored in Southampton, our wages must be paid to you, so you can finish school and become a midshipman and also you may find Jack. If he agrees, my dad will take care of his sicknesses." The boy looked around and not seeing anyone, he hugged his friend with blurred eyes. "Thank you Jeremy; I'm glad you have been adopted and I'm sure we'll meet sometime in our country. You'll become a good physician and your father will be very proud of you. I hope you find a pretty girl that loves you as much as I do." The time elapsed and the ship with his expensive load put her bow to Northwest and started sailing toward home; it was December 5th, 1788. They were sailing in high seas in order to prevent possible attacks from the pirates and to take advantage of the wind and sea streams. Day after day the temperature turned warmer, now all crewmembers wore shorts and light shirts; they were now in the Indian Ocean. The rain appeared nearly every day washing the ship, refilling the ship's water-tanks and cleaning their bodies from the salt accumulated on their skins. Now they could use soap to clean their bodies. The stink of melted fat disappeared and the vessel and crew looked happier than ever before, looking forward to the extra money they would get. They were sailing thru that part of the Indian Ocean where Mother Nature had built many small islands that normally were uninhabited in those times and rarely were shown on navigation charts. Suddenly John shouted from the top of the foremast: "Blows ahead!!!" The crew did not know what to do; they had finished the hunt but the ship had empty tanks previously filled with water and they did not expect to need them since they could provide water in the normal ports of call. It was a big animal. The Captain made consulted with his officers and these tested the rest of the crew about initiating the hunt of the big whale. Bernard and a few sailors disagreed, but the instinct of hunting prevailed amongst the majority of them, so they decided to kill that big whale and get extra money and fresh meat. The "Seagull" was before schedule, so could spend some time in it. They observed the animal; it looked a lonely one, in all probability an old male, sick or injured. The captain ordered to send two full boats with the four best harpooners; they wanted to solve rapidly the hunt. The boats approached the whale; it was one of the biggest they had ever watched. The harpooners launched their deadly weapons that reached their target being deeply buried in the whale's body. The animal made a quick move and disappeared into the blue deep waters. The sailors expected this; as usual, within some minutes, the whale would start a frenzied sprint, but it did not; the ropes attached to the harpoons were flaccid. While everybody was concentrated on the hunt, Bernard stared at the eastern horizon, he observed some dark clouds and lighting very far; he had voted against the hunt but he could not influence on the rest of his colleagues' officers. "Captain, I think that a storm is approaching us quickly." The wind started blowing a little bit harder than before. The Captain was concentrated on the hunt, he answered mechanically: "Don't worry, we have a good ship and before the storm reaches us we will have fixed that animal to our stern." Saying that and with a great surprise, they watched how the thirty-five tons of the animal emerged from the deep sea close the two boats; it lifted its large body on the air and fell down on the boats like a terrible hammer. Both boats disappeared in the sea, some sailors tried to emerge but, as it was normal in those times, none of them knew how to swim. The rest of the crew was astonished about the whale's behaviour and could not believe what their eyes were watching. The captain immediately ordered the ship to approach quickly to the place in order to try the rescue of the survivors. The wind speed had increased, the sky became very dark and waves started moving the heavy ship. All the sudden, the wounded animal appeared at the stern of the vessel, raised its huge tail and struck a tremendous blow against the rudder. The large and strong wooden part went out of its hinges into the sea; the helm went mad and the ship, without govern, started gyrating following the wind strength. The Captain gave orders to control the ship with the sails, but the wind had increased its force and was very difficult to climb to the masts. The sky became blacker, now it was a hurricane with high waves, lighting, heavy rain and thunders. It was as an inferno. This type of storms was normal in that part of the ocean, however, to cope with this, they would have needed the rudder, or at least that no land appeared in sight. The ship was navigating adrift; they could not see anything, only large waves with high foamed crests that made the vessel to jump like a mad horse in a rodeo at the mercy of them. Bernard guessed the danger, he carefully approached Jeremy. "Son, wear the lifebelt and attach your knife to it. Don't get far away from me; we could be in danger." The boy was scared; he looked at his father and quickly went into their cabin, appearing a few minutes later with the strange garment around his waist and chest. The night had fallen and stronger wind and higher waves continued; they could see nothing and waited the storm would pass, but it did not. The ship remained adrift in the mid of the ocean at the mercy of the waves; most of the crew was under deck praying for their lives. It was close to dawn but still dark as hell. From time to time the lighting and thunder hit the sea around them and the strong wind broke one of the rig masts. Suddenly two lightings like snakes illuminated the sea as the daylight, followed by terrible thunders. Scared they discovered that the ship was near an island. Bernard shouted to the Captain pointing out to the direction where he had seen the foaming coral reef of the island. Then the captain near shouted. "Bernard, God is punishing us for our miserliness and vanity!" Bernard knew his captain was a strong believer. He watched how he murmured something to the first officer and disappeared into his cabin; moments later he came dragging his oak chest that left on the open deck. The vessel was too close the foaming rocks and the Captain knew she could not avoid the terrible rocks crests; it was too late. Bernard quickly shouted to Jeremy: "Jump into the water and swim to the towed little boat, cut the rope, I'll join you there; if I couldn't, swim to the island; beware of the foam, it shows sharp rocks are under it and you could be hurt! Come on, don't lose a second. I'll follow you!" Tears came to the boy's eyes, but he had learnt that he had to obey his father; he kissed him quickly and jumped into the sea. The ship was now only a few yards from the rocks on her larboard; the boy jumped from the starboard. With the lifebelt was easy to swim; he approached the little boat that the crew used for repairing or painting the hull. He cut the rope, tried to climb into it but the lifebelt made that very difficult. A large wave took him away from the small boat, he could observe how a strong current dragged him to the foaming rocks. He fought against the waves that took him up and down; the lighting and storm showed him the way. He passed the sharp rock barrier and observed that waves there were not so high. Dawn was approaching, however, still was near dark. In a moment large lighting illuminated the sea and he could watch how the ship was lifted up like a feather and crashed against the rocks. He cried but continued swimming. Sometime later, while he was swimming, new lighting followed by a strong thunder sounded; he turned his head and saw nothing. The ship was not there; she had disappeared swallowed by the sea. He fought against the waves that pulled him to the beach; in the twilight, he saw a large black rock, he swam to a side and another large wave dropped him on the sand. Coughing he crawled under the rain to shore, leaving behind the rough waves; he was exhausted. Dawn was appearing on the East and he was alone. He cried and in his tiredness, his exhausted body drifted to sleep on the wet sand. John was at the aftercastle terribly scared, the ship was moving without any control at the mercy of the large waves; he understood the ship was adrift; he did not know what to do. Lighting followed by a strong thunder let him see how Jeremy jumped into the raged waters and how his father was ready to jump, too. His heart bumped inside his chest as he watched his adored boy disappearing in the rough sea. He wanted to save him, even if that meant the loss of his own life. He deeply loved those beings that had offered him what nobody had done before: affection and understanding. He left the grip he had on the helm and went to jump to follow his worshipped boy. A new lighting and a strange strong air and water whirl dragged him to the opposite side of the ship throwing the boy in the water like a cricket ball. Fortunately, he could swim, and when he emerged out of the deep dark water new lighting showed the ship about two hundred yards from him. He started swimming in that direction where he thought his friends could be, but something hauled him on the contrary way. He was near exhausted, and to his mind came the images of those happy times spent at the top of the foremast with his much- loved boy. In the deep darkness, suddenly his arms touched something hard; instinctively he gripped his hands on the border, he did not know what the object was. New lighting showed him the object: it was one side of the large and strong gate placed at the stern that they opened to drag up the whales onto the ship. He climbed on it and gripped his hands on each iron rounded handle. Some time elapsed and the young boy knew he must fix his body to the large wooden square because his arms were tired due to the continuous movements of the sea. The handles had a few yards of rope attached, that were used to drag and closed the door. Now dawn had come and he could see better; he tied both ropes leaving enough space for his body between the wooden surface and the ropes. He tied one end to his right foot and introduced himself under the rope. That side was not completely flat, strong wooden beams crossed it and formed little squares of about two feet long and one deep; all of them were full of water from the rain mixed with salted water from the sea. The teenager was exhausted when he laid finally his young body on the large wooden squares. He got asleep and forgot everything. Swung by the sea he woke up some hours later; he raised the head and looked around. He could not see the ship, and the island was a tiny spot very far away on the horizon. The sea still was rough and was raining. He cried as he thought about his new friends; he assumed sadly he had little chances to survive. Would they be alive? Or had they been dragged to the dark waters with the ship? He then prayed aloud. "Please my Lord, save me and save them. I'll be a good boy from now on. Please, save us." He started to cry again. Bernard, after ordering his son to jump, tried to jump too, but something caught his boot; he freed it, immediately straddled the board to jump into the water. At that instant, gigantic lighting like a great snake and strong thunder sounded and he felt as something stroke his right leg and crotch; the pain was so intense that he almost fainted. He dropped himself into the rough waters near the ship that soon disappeared in the darkness. He started swimming and saw the long rope of the little boat floating beside him; he caught it and dragged to him; he watched the boat approaching; when it was close to him, sadly could see that Jeremy was not there. He tried to climb into it but felt a terrible pain in his leg; he knew he could not swim with it and to get the impulse necessary to go into the boat. He assumed that he had to use the boat as a lifebelt; that brought to his memory his dearly loved son and his eyes blurred. Soon, he could check that the ship was not there, she was gone with all his friends and colleagues in it. Could he survive? He thought. He could not swim so he had to attend what the little boat did. With horror, he watched how the little boat was being dragged to the rock barrier. Time had elapsed very quickly and the sun was rising over the East. It seemed that the storm would never end; he was exhausted and still was close to the sharp foaming reefs threatening him. He swam with his free arm and pulling the little boat to him. A large and high wave hauled him and the boat to the other side of the foaming rocks; most likely they were in high tide. He felt a tremendous pain in his leg and thought he would die. He tied the rope to his wrist so the boat could drag him to offshore. He lost his senses during some time; he ignored how long he had been near unconscious, but coughed and expelled some water. He saw the shore and a black rock, he was very near, but he was exhausted. He was not a believer but prayed for his son; he knew he would drown within seconds. His glottis closed itself; and he experienced how he was dragged into a very dark and deep well as he mentally started calling his son: "Jeremy, Jeremy". His brain with the lack of oxygen ordered his heart to stop working. He had died. (Today we know that this was an apparent death and that he could be revived within a few minutes before brain cells died too, and that was what happened.) Jeremy woke up as the heat of the sun burned his white skin still wearing the lifebelt; he stood and, to his surprise, he watched how a corpse was launched near the black rock, the man was fighting to survive. He quickly took off the lifebelt, his shoes, shirt and shorts and jumped into the water; the person had stopped fighting and breathing. He was floating; he noticed his wrist was tied to the boat and his heart exploded; he quickly untied the rope and in half a minute he dragged the corpse to offshore near the rock; the water lapping his legs. The boy shouted out: "Dad!!! Please. No!!!" He had recognized his father. Crying he quickly placed his dad on his back turning the head on his right side leaving his mouth free; fortunately, the boy ignored that his father was practically dead. He thought he had passed out; so he started pushing hard with his two hands on the man's chest. As anyone in those times, he believed that his father's lungs were full of water and needed to expel it out. "Please dad, wake up! Please!" He cried out loudly. The boy continued pressing against the man's heart while his tears bathed his father's chest. This massages sent fresh blood to the brain, these essential parts of any animal, woke up from its lethargy and ordered the heart to start pumping blood, it needed more oxygen. Bernard saw that the black well was now brilliant white; he coughed, and to Jeremy's surprise he expelled yellowish saliva and no water at all. Bernard heard very far away his son's voice calling him. "Dad, please, dad; don't leave me!!!". He saw in a blur his adored son features and murmured: "Jeremy, Jeremy!" He closed his eyes and drifted into a very deep sleep. He was exhausted. Jeremy watched his father steady breathing; he then dragged him under the lazy palm trees that covered the beach, being moved by a light breeze. Now the sea was more calmed and the bright sun shone in all its splendour. There was no trace of the storm; it was like a paradise. It was December 25th 1788, Christmas' Day. He took his shirt and pulled it under his father's head as a pillow. Bernard was breathing comfortably, and the boy wanted to clean him from the salt. He looked around, entered into the sparse jungle and observed a little stream of clear water coming from the forest that after a little meander, turned again into the jungle. He drank avidly and wetted his shirt, and then started cleaning his father face as his tears came out and dribbled down his smooth cheeks. He thought he had to prevent him from the sunburnt because he had been exposed too much and their skins were too white. He tried to take his father's clothes off so he could clean them from the salted water; with some difficulty, he pulled up his hips and dragged down his underwear and shorts. He was amazed by the size of his testicles; they were more than twice the normal size, dark violet; obviously, they were inflamed. He entirely dragged his trousers and could see the bump formed on his right leg. He carefully touched it as he had seen to do a few times his father and he clearly determined that the bone under the skin was broken. Part of the leg was purple; that explained his delay on reaching the shore. He wetted his shirt again several times cleaning his father's body that continued pleasantly sleeping. With his knife, he cut a few soft palm leaves and covered him. He lay near him and in seconds he drifted to sleep, too. It was almost mid- afternoon when Bernard woke up and found his son lying next to him; he sighed as the sleeping angel moved a little. He kissed his forehead and Jeremy opened his large dark blue eyes. He carefully kissed his father on the lips. "Dad, how do you feel?" Bernard stared at his beautiful son and hugged him. "A lot better, son; but I am thirsty; please use a banana tree leaf and bring me some water." The boy jumped and Bernard could see the beauty of his naked son; a couple of minutes later Jeremy helped his dad to drink the water. Bernard motioned him to approach to his chest and he hugged tenderly the young boy again; the emotions overtook them and both started to sob quietly as they supposed that they were the only survivors of the tragedy. He looked into those lovely eyes and tenderly rubbed his son's face: "Jeremy, my son, we have a lot to do and quickly, especially about my leg; we need to put it straight and as soon as possible, otherwise it will be more difficult and painful, even I could become a disabled man." "Dad, I have seen a ripped bunch of bananas and we need to eat something; I'm starving." The man grinned. "Alright then." He looked to the beach and saw the little boat tied up to a palm tree. "Take the old sabre that must be in the boat and cut it. We have many things to do before nightfall. You better wear your boots; we don't know what is under the sand." The boy jumped and did as told; the man could watch the beautiful naked figure to run to the boat. A few minutes later, Jeremy returned dragging a large bunch of yellow bananas and they started eating the sweet meat. When their hunger was calmed Bernard said: "Jeremy you must go into the jungle and find a straight branch to cut into pieces. Also, most likely a little upper hill, you should see a bush with bright red little fruits, they are the size of a cherry, if you find more than one with similar form and colour, take a few of each, I'll tell you later the differences, if not, bring a handful of them. Come on, speed up!" Jeremy jumped and took the old sabre with him. He followed the stream and soon he found a tiny fall that dropped its water into the mainstream. Instinctively, he followed it and could see that it went uphill to the high hill; the water ran among bushes as in a carved tiny canal. After near half an hour walking uphill and about two miles from shore, he found a large bush covered with bright red fruits, they were larger than a cherry, as small plums. The brightness and colour remembered him Joe's red lips that he had wished many times to kiss but never dared to do it; he missed him. He felt his naked dick starting to get hard, then sighed and concentrated on his task. The bush looked healthy though there was not much soil; its roots wrapped the lava rocks near the little stream. He was so engulfed in his task that he did not turn his back. When he did, he could watch he was over the palms and other large trees; he almost could see the entire island that was as a gigantic snail sleeping on his side of about four or five miles long and three or four wide, completely flat, except the mountain where he was that still continued up. It was covered with thick vegetation, except the mountain where the plants were abundant but scarce if compared with the base as if something had cut it, only bushes and no trees. He started taking some fruits, but the boy's curiosity made him follow up the little brook under the bush. He was amazed when he discovered that the plant covered the entrance to a cave, probably formed by the lava thousands of years back. The entrance started with something like a canopy formed as a slide, it was of about four yards high and the same wide. He entered following the tiny canal carved on the rock that ran on the right side of the cavern. As soon as he entered, he could check that the cave widened, the ceiling was about five yards over his head and about seven yards wide. He followed the water until it was too dark inside; however, the spring was just there, the water flowing out from the rocky wall, probably from the high mountain over him. When he was coming out, his boot hit something on the floor; it was like an old rusty hatchet, with a sharp vertical edge on one side and a flat horizontal part in the other, like a little hoe. He took it with him and went out. Time had elapsed quickly; he could watch the sun going down the horizon on the west. He hurried up as his father was waiting for him. He descended following the mini stream and soon he met his father. Bernard stared at his son with some relief as he saw him approaching. "I was worried that something could have happened to you, my son." As the boy showed his dad the fruit he argued: "Sorry dad, but that bush was very high in the mountain; I could watch the shape of the island from there, and what is more important, I have discovered a cave hidden behind the bush and this axe." Bernard examined the old tool and to his son; it was more than justified the time. He dragged the boy to him and removed his scrambled hair; Jeremy grinned and felt rewarded by his dad. He seemed perplexed about the fruit size. "It is a strange tool, I have never seen something similar; it is a mix between an axe a hoe and is more than three hundreds years old, probably a type of adze. The lack of humidity into the cave has preserved it, so, you are not the first person entering in that cavern. Son, it has been great that you have discovered it, as soon as I can walk we'll install ourselves in there; we don't know how long we'll stay here... I wonder the situation of this island; almost certainly there are thousands of islands like this in these seas. Now, let's go to business. The fruits are larger than what I have seen up to now." "Yes. I doubted if this was what we were looking for. I suppose I have to place the sticks around your broken leg; I found this cord on the beach, I think it is from the flag of our ship, but there was not anything attached to it." "The flag won't save us by now, my son. Let's proceed. Smash these seeds until they become a thick paste, but don't touch the cream with your fingers, otherwise, you may lose your sensibility." Jeremy found a round stone near the big rock and in a little dry pond cavity he smashed the seeds until it was like a thick cream; then he collected the cream with a flat piece of wood, like a spatula that he made with his knife, and then dropped it in a banana leaf. Bernard then explained: "Jeremy these seeds are extremely powerful narcotic and an effective drug. When you apply the cream over the leg, within a few minutes, I'll feel nothing on the damaged area, however, sometime later it will affect my whole body, not only the leg, and I'll go into a hard sleep during a few hours. It is not strong enough to eliminate entirely the pain; therefore, probably I'll faint. It is normal, and then you can carry out with your first operation. Are you ready, doctor Northfield?" Jeremy smiled and jabbed softly his father on his tummy. "Yes master, I am. I would like that you don't suffer, but..." He grinned reassuring his son. "Alright. You have everything ready. Now put the cord and sticks around my leg, be careful son, I know now what a broken bone means. As soon as you apply the paste, cover it with the banana leaf and slowly sit on my leg until you feel that the bone and leg are straight. Then without delay and before the muscles can react, fix the sticks around the leg; don't worry if I cry or moan in pain as long as I continue breathing. The sticks must be fixed not very tight, only enough to keep the bone straight; otherwise, we could cut the blood flow. Are you ready, son?" A blur came to the boy's eyes, but bravely he cleaned it with the back of his hand. "Yes dad, I'm ready." He took the red smashed paste and carefully spread it on the leg with the spatula, taking care not touching it with his fingers; then covered it with large banana leaf. After a couple of minutes Bernard explained: "Now Jeremy, I feel nothing!" The boy sat slowly on the leg and his weight pushed down the broken bone together until it was straight. Bernard screamed in pain, and as he had foreseen, he passed out. Jeremy placed the four sticks around the straight leg preventing its movement. He added further straps with the tree bark that he had peeled from the sticks. Beads of sweat ran down Bernard's forehead that Jeremy cleaned delicately. He thought that his father would need a special crutch to put under his armpit to walk. He went into the jungle and watched many beautiful birds chirping and flying from one tree to another. He found what he was looking for and with some difficulty he cut the branch he needed. He thought would also need a piece as for the axe's handle. When he returned it was near dark, Bernard still was asleep. The moon was at full, shining over them as daylight when Bernard woke up three hours later; he watched his son's work and grinned satisfied. "You did a good job, Jeremy; I would say a perfect job. Within a couple of weeks, I'll be able to walk, if not before that time, and after two more weeks, I'll be as if nothing had happened, though I won't be able to make any effort. The bone will weld well; though I must be very careful during the first few days; but after four weeks everything will be alright." He extended out his arms to his son; Jeremy kneeled before him and rested his head on his father's haired chest. It was a very warm night and the sea seemed a lake, even out of the rock barrier. What a difference from the previous night! Jeremy cuddled into his father's arms, and after a few minutes, Jeremy moved, rested only his head on his father's shoulder and started singing a beautiful old Scottish Christmas' song. The lovely voice rose over the trees as if the angels were hearing it. Bernard was amazed but did not move until the boy ended his beautiful solo. He hugged tenderly his boy and thought how lucky he was having such a boy as his son. "Merry Christmas, dad!" The boy kissed Bernard on the lips. "Merry Christmas to you, my son. It is the most beautiful song I ever heard. I did not know you sang so well." Jeremy grinned and sighed satisfied. "Joe and I sang it for the bishop of Canterbury during his visit to our parish when the epidemic time was over. We were nine and he congratulated us." Bernard saw near his son the piece of wood that formed something like a crutch. "What's this, Jeremy?" "I have made a crutch for you, tomorrow you will try it. I have found this other big fruit, is it safe to eat it, dad?" The physician grinned. "I have to remain with the leg quiet at least during a week if we want a full success; then I will be able to move, but not much." He paused. "About the big fruit, yes, and very good if it is ripe. It is a luxury in our country. I don't know its name in English; in the South of New Spain they call it "mango". Jeremy took his knife and peeled the fruit; he took a portion and tasted it. "Dad, it is wonderful!" He exclaimed. Tomorrow I'll bring a few more and when you are better or ready to walk, we'll explore the island." They ate fruits until they were satisfied. The boy cuddled into his father chest, the man's back was leaning against a palm tree. Jeremy started rubbing and caressing his father's chest hair, and immediately his dick started to get hard. He turned around because he did not want his father could see his hard cock in those circumstances, but he could not stop it, yet Bernard was not so silly. "It is alright, Jeremy. You are a healthy young boy and should not be ashamed of having an erection or boner, as you boys call it." The boy blushed. "I like you, dad; you are so great... so good... so understandable..." Bernard rubbed softly his son' beautiful face as he sighed. The night was good and warm; he felt much better, probably the drug was still making the effect in him, and the boy looked fresh and without any need to sleep. The closeness to his son invited to talk. They had all the time for themselves. "Jeremy, you are as great as I am, even I would say more than that." He looked into his son's blue eyes, dragged him to his chest and continued. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Do you know that I owe you my life? You saved me this morning." "Well that's not exactly, dad; I pulled you away from the water and pushed on your chest so you could expel the water contained in your lungs; that's all." He looked intensely again to those beautiful eyes. "Jeremy, when you pulled me out to shore I was dead. I'm sure your actions to expel the water from my lungs had a lot to do with my revival. We don't know what happened but you did it." The boy stared at his father seriously and astounded. "Dad, I was terribly scared when I observed you did not expel any water, in spite, I was pushing very hard. Your lips were blue and you didn't breathe. Suddenly, as I pushed and pushed on your chest, I observed how your lips and face started recovering his normal colour and I insisted pushing; then you coughed. I felt so, so good and so happy..." Tears appeared in his eyes and his father hugged him gently to his chest. "Once we are at home we'll discuss this subject with my father. We have a theory regarding death; especially by an accident like this. Please keep in your memory all the details because we will come back to those moments. By now, let's forget and concentrate on our daily life. I wonder how long we'll stay in this island; days, months, years... we don't know. Meanwhile, we have to learn to help and care for each other. That will solve many problems; fortunately, I think we are in a good island that can provide food and water to survive." They hugged and Jeremy nested into his dad's arms as he used to do in the ship. Then the images of the previous night came into the boy's mind. "Dad, it was horrible when I turned my head and watched that the ship was gone. Why dad? We are the only survivors and this because you had the great idea about the life jacket; otherwise, we would be now on the bottom of the sea..." "I told the captain it wasn't a good idea the hunter of that animal. It was an old male and probably it had lived the same circumstances a few times before. I never saw a whale behaving like this one. Last year I cured an old harpooner and he referred me a similar story; he told me they were very lucky because the animal, in the last minutes of its life, gave a tremendous blow to their ship and opened a large hole on the upper starboard. Fortunately, the sea was almost calmed and they could repair the ship. This time the greed of some of our men has had a high cost." They kept silence for a few minutes and the boy wiped out his smooth cheeks, he was weeping. "Dad, I feel very sorry about all of them because they treated me well, especially about John; I never had a real friend as he was, except Joe. I guess we must look ahead and fight for our lives; fortunately, I have you with me, and..." He could not end the sentence because his body convulsed as he started crying again. Bernard rubbed the boy's back and some minutes later they were hard asleep. End of part 1