A frog observes
the industrious masons,
quiet and serene.
We kept regular, even if not frequent contact, with the "brothers" Hayashi who now lived in a wider apartment, so that at times we could also stop at their place for the night. We were telling each other almost everything, there was friendship and understanding, and, mainly Jiro, often opened himself to me like in school times. So, one day he told me what happened to them in the last months, an event that hit me and that at first I judged rather severely, but then Yukichi showed me under a different light and that helped me, if not to share, at least to understand.
Jiro had grown up really handsome. One of the youths working with him in the printing section of the publishing house, fell in love with Jiro and started to closely court him. Jiro, for several months, hedged but in the end the youth overcame his resistance and, once they were alone in the books storage room, they ended up making love. Afterwards Jiro repented and, although he felt terribly ashamed, confessed to Ichiro what happened. His lover did not get angry at him, but simply asked him "But you, do you still love me?" Jiro swore that he loved him very much, even if he had not been able to resist for so long a time the enticements of the other. Ichiro, as a true lover should do, forgave him without problems and told him that the basic thing was that they loved each other and remained together. Jiro, without his lover asking him so, arranged that the encounters with that colleague did not happen any more.
But a few months later, Jiro felt terribly attracted by a sixteen year old boy, Majime. Also the boy was strongly attracted by Jiro. The latter, before it happened again to cheat on his lover, spoke to him with open heart. Then Ichiro asked him to explain what caused in him that desire to make love with others, that is what was lacking to their relationship.
After several hesitations, Jiro confessed: "You see, Ichiro, I really love when you make me yours, really very much, believe me. But I feel the desire, at my turn, to make you mine, but I know that you do not like that. So, when somebody else makes me understand he wants to be taken by me, the temptation is strong, it becomes really difficult for me to resist, I feel really weak. The desire is big, too big."
"I see. And Majime wants to be yours, wants to be taken by you?"
"Yes. And I feel I am near surrendering again, and I do not want, would not. But I really like much Majime, he arouses me, and he wants to be taken by me at all cost. He says he loves me."
"And you, do you love him?"
"Not as much as I love you, that's sure, but... yes, I desire, and love him."
"Well. Majime is a really likeable boy. Why then don't you propose him to come to live with us? If this can solve your dilemma, it would not be a problem for me, I only care for you to be happy and to remain my lover."
So, they proposed to Majime to come and live with them. The boy accepted at once and so they started making love in a threesome, with full satisfaction to everybody. To justify in the people's eyes the new presence in their home, Ichiro decided to legally adopt Majime. As the kid's family was numerous and poor, Majime's parents accepted at once that adoption allowing their son to enter in a family of a higher and wealthier position than theirs. Majime was a cheerful and lively kid, and liked very much staying with the two "brothers". And when he knew that we were aware of the real relationship that bound them, he just started to praise both of them with words of great admiration and of deep affection. It was evident that the boy was in love with both of them.
Yukichi and I talked between us for a long time about this situation. For me it was unthinkable a threesome, it seemed to me something wrong, not serious, dangerous. Yukichi made me reflect on the fact that we are not all the same, and that Ichiro, Jiro and Majime were evidently satisfied with that solution, both physically than as a family.
During our discussion, Yukichi at a certain point said to me: "Anyway, it would be wonderful to have around, at home, such a lively and nice boy, don't you think?"
"What is that? Do you want to have a threesome?" I asked alarmed and amazed.
"No way, not in that meaning! To me, you are enough and I don't need nor want others, you should know that. I was just thinking that it would be great adopting a son, raising him, seeing him grow up. A sweet responsibility. And as I don't absolutely want to marry, to adopt him could be a good idea."
"Yes, but to live with us, here, he has to be like us, that is he too must be a lover of his same gender, therefore he must be a certain age. But then, if it was so, he could possibly desire doing it right with us, and so problems, tensions would arise... It seems too complicated to me, don't you think?"
He agreed and we never again talked about that possibility. But life is really mysterious, at times, and leads us in unsuspected roads. Some months passed after this talk, and neither my lover nor I thought any more about it. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of our common life, we decided to go to Hakone. We stopped at a ryokan. The weather was splendid even if it was just the beginning of spring. We were doing a walk in the surroundings, enjoying nature who was waking up, the fresh and pure air, the quietness of the country. We were talking about poetry and we were paralleling the concept of nature in the Japanese poetry and in that of the Western countries, when we heard screams and yells.
We stopped in amazement and listened -- they were cries for help. We rushed in the direction from where they were coming and saw an incredible scene -- there were two boys, tied to a tree, and a man, some short ropes in his hands, was wildly lashing them. We ran to stop him and we asked him what the two boys did that was so horrible to deserve such an inhuman punishment. The man, seized by an unutterable fury explained us -- the older one was the orphan of a former housemaid, that he took in his house out of pity to make him work in his fields. The youngest one was his own son. He caught them doing "what a man should do only with a woman". He would have forgiven them, if they swore to him they would not again do such filthy things, but the two kids answered him that not only they could promise him nothing like that, but that they were in love, therefore they intended to continue doing those things.
"They said they are in love, the two crazy boys! Do you understand, sirs? Two males! If they said me that they just wanted to have fun, I could understand. Who didn't, when a kid, I say! You two, sirs, who are city people, tell me if I am not right. So, I understood that there was no other means to make them straight, than give them both a good thrashing. I told them that they would get a good beating until they understood reason. But these two rascals, the more I beat them, the more they seem to lose their heads, and they shout they love each other. Did you ever hear something like that?" the man shouted and resumed lashing them.
I stopped him: "Listen, my man, we are two professors from Tokyo, and we know about boys much more than a country man. Why don't you allow us to talk with them? Who knows that we may find a solution to this problem."
The man looked at us for a moment, frowning as if he was trying to think with some difficulty, then slowly lowered his arm: "In my opinion you'll waste your time, sirs, but if you want to try, do it -- let's hear what you can tell them more convincing than my beating."
"But you have to leave us alone with the boys." Yukichi said determinedly.
The man again thought, than said: "All right, but you have to promise me that you will not untie them." and after we promised, he went far enough as we could talk safely with the two poor boys.
At first we had great difficulties to make them talk, but at the end, when they were convinced that we were just trying to help them, they stared to be open with us. The elder one was a sixteen year old and his name was Jun, the younger was Hiroshi and was fourteen years old. They told us that they really were in love with each other, for a bit more than one year, and that they were ready to do anything in order to protect their love, even a double suicide. Anyway, especially Jun's life, was miserable, and killing himself would just be a relief, and just Hiroshi's love held him back, until that moment, from that extreme solution. But if now that love was denied to him, what sense could have life to him? Hiroshi said that he would never live without his Jun. He told us that his father was a heartless violent man, and that he didn't want to see him any more. Therefore, he too had decided to put an end to his life, together with his Jun.
The two boys, tied to that tree, wearing just their fundoshis, their poor clothes on the ground near the tree, their bodies covered with red streaks, excoriated and bleeding, repeating their reciprocal love, moved us deeply. I suddenly had an idea. Talking in German, I rapidly told Yukichi, who at once fully agreed with me.
So, I said to the boys: "If you trust us, we will do all in our power to help you. To take you away from here, to allow you to serenely live your love together. But first you have to swear to us that, any thing we will tell to Hiroshi's father, you will not care, you will not mind. And that, anything we ask you to do, you will do. Do you accept, boys?"
"Sir, anyway, what do we have to lose?" Jun sadly said.
Hiroshi added: "If really you will help us, we will become your most faithful servants, for all our life, I swear, sirs! Jun, you too swear this."
"Yes, yes, I too swear." the boy said determinedly.
So, we called back the man. We told him that what the boys had, was a well known illness, but that almost certainly we could heal them making them go back to a normal life, if just we could take them with us to Tokyo. The man, suspiciously, asked us how much this care would cost him. Nothing, I answered, as our University will pay all the expenses. "Good," than said the man with a shrewd air, "but what do I gain with that? If they have to come to the capital with you sirs, I lose four arms for my work." Yukichi and I looked at each other, when I said to the man we could give him a certain amount of money, but in this case he had to come with us to the authorities in Hakone, to sign a declaration that he entrusted to us the full legal guardianship of the two boys, and the full authority over them. The man evaluated our proposal, bargained on the sum he would get, but at last he accepted. So, we untied the boys and told them to dress. All five we went down to Hakone. In front of the Imperial official, the man put his seal on the document with which he entrusted to us the two boys, and we paid him. We took the two boys to our ryokan. First of all we made them wash and treated their cuts. Then we procured new clothes. When they were settled, they came in front of us.
Jun asked us with a circumspect air: "Why are you doing all this? You really want to cure us? Who are you, doctors?"
"On thing at a time. First, we are not doctors. It does not exist any treatment and anyway you do not need any treatment, yours is all but an illness. He and I, exactly like you two, are in love with each other. That is why we decided to help you. What we want is you two to come to live with us in Tokyo. You can find a job or to study, as you like, and you can continue to be lovers without any problem."
"And in exchange for that, you want to have us in your beds and fuck us, right?" Jun harshly asked. Then he added: "In this case it's better you let us kill ourselves as we already decided. We are in love with each other, we don't want to become the whores of nobody!"
"In exchange? In exchange we just ask you to consider us your friends. We absolutely don't want you in our bed. Also we two, as I told you, are in love with each other, and in our bed there is no place for anyone else."
"Why did you ask to get our guardianship?" Jun asked me, still suspiciously.
"In order to extract you to that man's authority, and forever. If we show this document at the Tokyo tribunal, we can oppose if Hiroshi's father changes his mind. You are not yet of age, somebody must have your tutelage. Do not you think that it will be better our custody, Jun, than that of Hiroshi's father?"
"I think so." Hiroshi readily answered, looking at his lover. Jun nodded, but it was evident that he did not completely trust us.
So I added: "We two remain here in Hakone three more days and two nights. You will sleep here with us. I entrust this document to you, Jun. If we try to take advantage of you or of him, you can tear it and go away -- we will have any more possibility to stop you. What do you think, is that alright?"
Jun took the document, slipped it in his kimono, and simply nodded. So our common life started. We ate supper, we chatted. During the night, when the two boys presumed we were sleeping, they started to confabulate, then to make love. When we heard they were sleeping, also Yukichi and I quietly made love.
On the following morning they were more relaxed, more open. We liked these two boys. And in the following day we also saw them sketching a light smile to us.
Finally, all four we went to Tokyo. It was the first time they saw the great capital and they were really impressed. Our home seemed to them wonderful, even if in reality it was rather modest. When then they met Naosuke and Nobuo, and knew that also our servants were lovers, they looked at us in amazement and Hiroshi whispered to Jun: "Do you see that it is not just we, that we are not so weird after all, that it is not just a kid's thing?"
The two boys settled down quite rapidly and revealed themselves to be both likeable, intelligent and bright, even if Hiroshi was more luminous and cheerful, and Jun more reserved and quiet. But Jun had a very hard life on his back. Anyway, amongst them, Hiroshi was the stronger and more determined, notwithstanding he was the younger. They accepted our proposal to start studying, or better to say, Hiroshi made Jun accept. The younger entered so in my school while Jun studied at home at forced march. Both discovered they loved studying. For Hiroshi I made an exception, I did not made him stay at the dormitory -- each evening I took him home with me, and each morning to school. So he could sleep, and make love, with his Jun. Anything else he would not even have accepted to attend the school.
It was pleasurable to have the two boys around, they cheered up the house, they filled it with life. Hiroshi learned to play "go" with Yukichi. Jun became passionate with calligraphy so I willingly taught it to him. And I taught him also the Art of Tea, that at once fascinated him. Jun was a serious, thoughtful boy. He gradually started to open with me, and his reflections, his questions conquered me at once. The hardness of his past life, far from having withered his heart, made him mature.
After a few months, Yukichi and I questioned ourselves -- we liked the two boys, and they seemed to fit in well with us. Thus, I reminded Yukichi his desire to adopt a boy and asked him if he agreed we adopted both the boys. Yukichi was happy and told me he hoped the boys would accept. So, we called them and asked them if they would like being adopted -- I could adopt Jun, and Yukichi could adopt Hiroshi. They at once accepted gladly and gratefully. Thanks to the document that we obtained from Hiroshi's father, we easily got the adoption. The boys, therefore, soon started to call us, each of them and respectively, Dad. I have to say that it was wonderful being called, and treated as a father by a handsome, good and likeable boy like my Jun. Our home, even if hosting exclusively men, was really a happy home. Having two sons, gave one more goal to our lives.
Our rooms were adjacent and we often could hear them making love. Therefore, in the same way, they could overhear us. We were pleased, and felt tenderness hearing them, but them? So we talked with the boys and asked them if they were bothered.
My son Jun answered readily: "Bothered? But why, dad? Hiroshi and I are in love, and hearing that also our Dads are, is just beautiful. Rather, when we hear you making love, we two start again doing it, even if we just did it. We like hearing you, really. And we think it is too beautiful having our Dads as you are, and we hope to grow up resembling you more and more. And, who knows, possibly one day, in ten, twenty years, we too will adopt two boys, so we will make you grand parents. We are, and will be, the most exceptional family of all Japan, isn't it so, Hiroshi?"
The boy vigorously nodded and said: "I am proud being Yukichi's son, and I hope that my Dad also could always be proud of me. And I love also my Jun's Dad. We really are a wonderful family."
Well, the two boys are growing up well, sound and strong. Also our friends have become fond of them, especially Biway and Aritada. A few months ago Aritada separated from his wife, and now lives with Biway who at last ceded to his little adventures. Aritada decided to clearly tell his wife he had a male lover and wanted to live with him. She was already aware, when Aritada was Tachikawa lover, of her husband preferences. So, as Aritada left her their beautiful house and lets her lack for nothing, she accepted the separation without raising scandals or problems.
Aritada a day proposed me to buy a piece of land close to our Tachikawa High School in Yotsuya, a piece of land that remained free after a fire that destroyed all the block, to build there our new home. Yotsuya is more beautiful and elegant than Shinjuku, with a better neighbourhood, and even if we are no more at the side of the river, we now have a nice and wide garden and we are fine in there. Also Aritada and Biway built their house in the same block so we are now neighbours and we meet even more often than before. Our sons call them "uncles"...
Our school proceeds finely, also because not a few of our former students started to sustain it economically with donations and scholarships. And, even if in a very discreet way, beautiful relationships continue to bloom amongst our students, some temporary, some more serious and lasting. Of course we do not know what happens inside the four walls of each dormitory room during the night, but from an estimation I did, about a seventy five per cent of our students have regular sex, and for about one couple in four it is not just for fun, therefore there must be not less than forty five couples of young lovers, and about half will continue with their relationship after finishing school. It is really a good result for Aritada and me, and for that also Tachikawa's spirit could just rejoice, as he loved so much the adolescents.
Also in my family, all proceeds well. The only problem came when Hiroshi had a crush on a rickshaw boy of the nearby station, a particularly beautiful and sensual boy, and started a relationship with him. Jun suffered very much for that and came to talk with me, asking me for advice about how he could get back his Hiroshi, whom he still deeply loved. I told him to be patient, and to hope that things could recover. For three months the boys slept in different rooms. Yukichi talked with Hiroshi, even if he did not put pressure on him, to make him reflect about his choice. But Hiroshi was infatuated with his new lover and carried on his new relation. Jun was sad, but he continued to treat Hiroshi with gentleness, without ever recriminating. Hiroshi seemed to feel ashamed with Jun, but he also seemed convinced about his new relationship.
But one night, Yukichi and I heard Hiroshi asking Jun if he could enter his room. We later came to know that he asked him for forgiveness and that told him that, gradually, he understood that he was really in love just with Jun, and that he was no more able to stay separated from him. He told Jun that he decided to cut his relationship with the rickshaw boy, and he asked Jun if he still wanted to take him back as a lover. He promised Jun that such a thing would never happen again. Jun welcomed him with trepidation, and the two boys, with our great satisfaction, are back together again. Jun confided me that now Hiroshi is devoted to him even more than before, and that from that trial their love come out even stronger than before.
Hiroshi in his turn talked for a long time with Yukichi. When he asked his son why he decided to go back to Jun, Hiroshi explained him -- with the rickshaw boy it was very good making love, as he was uninhibited and was able to give him a strong pleasure, but he became aware, little by little, that the boy was able to give him just sex, beautiful, really pleasurable sex, but without a real love. He so started to compare that boy with Jun, and the sweet personality of Jun, the fact that notwithstanding all he continued to behave with him with love, made him understand where the real value of a relationship lay.
Yukichi asked him: "But Jun, on a physical level, when you made love, didn't he give you enough? The rickshaw boy gave you more?"
"Possibly yes, at least in part."
"Did you talk about that with Jun?"
"I didn't feel like, Dad, I was afraid to offend him and he doesn't deserve that. I thought that the love he gives me is more important than the sex and that I had to accept him as he is. But he guessed something, and he wanted to make me tell him. I did not want, but he said to me that, if I really wanted him to forgive me, I had to tell him everything. So, at the end, answering to his questions, I had to tell him what I liked in the way of making love with the other boy. Thus Jun told me that he would do his best to be the lover I desired, because he says that in a relationship sex is also important... and he is really doing his best, Dad, and it is fantastic. Now I really don't miss anything more, with my Jun! I am happy and I hope to be able to always make him happy."
So, also Hiroshi and Jun matured, to our greatest satisfaction. Now Jun is near his graduation at the University, and Hiroshi will be next year. We are all serene.
Exactly today I thought back to my father and to his decision to send me to study German in Tokyo. At that time his decision cost me so much and made me think to be unlucky. Today on the contrary I can not but be grateful to my father -- thanks to his decision I have my Yukichi, and a son I like very much, and wonderful friends. So I decided I will go to his grave to show him his grand son Jun, and to thank him for the happiness that his decision brought to me.
If it really exists something called Destiny, I met him when I was fourteen year old. More or less the same age when our boys decide to enrol in the Tachikawa High School...