Men in Paradise - 28. Chapter 28 - The Lost

The Simbari people (also known as the Sambia) are a tribe of mountain-dwelling, hunting and horticultural people who inhabit the fringes of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea near Australia. As the Sambia saw it, boys lacked a crucial substance necessary to develop muscle, stature, bravery, and the other characteristics of a successful warrior. This substance, jurungdu, was concentrated in semen, which the boys would ingest during homosexual acts during several stages of initiation. As a boy progressed in his initiation, he would change from being a receiver of semen to a donor of semen, as younger initiates would perform oral sex on him. At the end of the initiation process the adult man would marry and eventually maintain exclusively heterosexual relations. The six-stage process of affirming one’s manhood can take anywhere from 10 to 15 years until these young men father a child. Much of the initiation and training is characterized by what some have deemed to be highly erotic and sexual. In the first stages, a sharp stick of cane is inserted deeply into the young boy’s nostrils until he bleeds profusely. The boys are then dressed in ritual clothing and an attempt is made to force them to suck on ritual flutes. The boys are then taken to a cult house and older boys dance in front of them making sexual gestures. Once it gets darker the younger boys are taken to the dancing ground where they are expected to perform fellatio on the older boys. The young boys are also introduced to older warriors who are told that bachelors are going to “copulate” with them to make them grow. Each younger boy will be assigned to an older warrior boy and had to spend several days alone with him in a hut in the forest where the younger boy is expected to perform fellatio to his warrior. According to Sambia belief, the semen of a man possesses the 'masculine spirit', which young boys will be able to attain through his ingestion of semen. This stage is called ‘Imbutu’ where camaraderie and male bonding will be done. Once the initiation ceremony is completed, the younger boy will be mentored by his warrior and prepare him for the tribal army.

Sarawan’s PoV

Battle of the Barbarians, 1478 AD

Clouds were gathering in the east, and they were getting thicker and darker. The sea wrapped all its waves deep below and hardly made noise. Trees around the island almost stood lifeless waiting for a bad omen. Birds were hiding wherever they could and silently praying their babies to remain silent. Animals looked at each other with frightened eyes, they sensed the bloodbath that was about to happen in the islands.

Almost 400 men from Arangka tribe

Sarawan was hiding his slender body behind a rock near the seashore, he looked at the sharp knife hanging in his waist belt which was given by Pa Valawan before he was slaughtered by Arangka tribesmen. Sarawan looked down below his belly and saw several new hairs that started growing just above his dick. Even at that terrible situation when two tribes of the islands were standing face to face to rip each other's skins alive, he couldn’t stop smiling to himself and felt proud of himself finally attaining puberty and becoming a man. After the initiation ceremony, he would be allowed to learn sword fighting and join as third front in the army of the Kimchi tribe. He would be able to participate in the annual feast along with grownups and marry a girl after three seasons. He had no clue who would be his beloved warrior with whom he had to spend the next three seasons and mentored by him. But his immediate concern was to save his life and stay alive from that bloody battle of the barbarians so that he would see the light of the initiation day.

He heard the sound of swords and spears of Kimchi warriors clanging to display their strength and quell any fear that arose. It was too loud which created goosebumps on Sarawan. Nearly 200 young, strong and tall Kimchi tribesmen were standing in front of their brutal rivals. That was not an ordinary battle, the very survival of the Kimchi tribe depended on it. Sarawan knew that only one tribe could survive that battle. The losers would either be slaughtered or enslaved. Their elderly women and men would be thrown into fire and burnt alive. Young boys and girls would be raped and forever enslaved. Any evidence, customs and markers of the loser tribe would be erased from history. Their farms and animals would be robbed. And, at that moment, Sarawan realized that the last couple of days Arangka tribesmen were slowly dominating Kimchi men and slaughtered the chief and his bodyguards. Nearly one hundred and fifty men had been lost by the Kimchi tribe. The brutal methods of Arangka were impossible to hold by Kimchi warriors even though they fought so hard. The flamethrowers of Arangka, which was a strange and completely new war instrument, surprised Kimchi men. They never expected something like a wood instrument which could throw fireballs at them at lightning speed and kill their many men at the front.

Last evening, Sarawan witnessed the brutal murder of his father when his flesh was torn apart by three Arangka men around him. They kicked his lifeless head and roared like a man-eating animal. He was unfortunate to watch from a distance all his four elders brothers had been slaughtered by their enemies too.

These two hundred young men that day were the last front of the Kimchi tribe against hundreds of Arangka men and their terrific flamethrowers. If they were broken, nothing would stop the cruel Arangkas to capture their island and declare victory. The great Kimchi tribe which lived and survived in the twin islands for thousands of years and their legends would be forever destroyed, Sarawan thought. From a distance, Sarawan saw one of the first-time young warriors of Kimchi standing at the front, he knew his name and spoke to him many times. The Young warrior’s body was smeared in blood stains and his face looked exhausted but still shining due to the reflection of sunlight. When the sun goes beneath the sea, and when the rest of those warriors had been slaughtered, Sarawan would be chained and enslaved by Arangkas. They would not kill him as he just attained his puberty. They would take him away and put him in a wooden cage for days. They would take turns butt raping him for weeks and then finally sell him to the biggest bidder among them as a lifetime slave. He would never be allowed to fight or fuck a girl or own an animal. His freedom would be forever deprived. He looked at his slender penis below his waist hiding beneath the tiny leather loincloth. And then he took his knife from his waist belt and held it in his hands, gripped it tightly while clenching his teeth in fear.

Manu’s PoV

The battle had already begun. Dust around him was unsettled. For some unknown reason, the flamethrower stopped throwing fireballs at them at noon. But the brutality of the Arangka tribesmen did not stop. They killed their leader and his bodyguards. And moved in further to breach the last front of the Kimchi tribe. A dozen enemies were approaching him with their axes and spears. I tried my level best to kill a few of them that morning but my body was already exhausted. On his left, Ramos was fighting like a wounded tiger, blood was dripping from his right arm upper limb, he might have been wounded by an Arangka. I took a spear out of the body of a dead warrior lying on the ground near me and threw it as fiercely as I could onto the approaching enemies. And moved closer to Ramos to save him.

Ramos and I had been blood brothers since childhood, we had pledged to protect each other when there arises a need. Probably, the moment had come that day for one last time and Manu took a long breath to build up enough energy to fight and defend Ramos. The fight continued and enemies were closing in, even though it was his first time in a battle, he fought his best when Kimchi brothers around him were butchered by enemies one after another. On my left, a warrior’s leg was cut off by an ax and he could see the flesh poking out with blood. Moments later, another gang of Arangkas surrounded him and the end time of Manu was arriving at any time. An arrow from one of them already scratched his arm and blood was oozing out. Another arrow slightly pierced my upper chest. The pain was excruciating. A tall and muscular Arangka man was running towards me with a large ax in his hand. When he inches closer, I quickly gave a pass at Ramos one last time and lifted my head to look at the sky.

‘May Mother Goddess take me in her arms and relieve me from this bloody hell’ I thought to myself.

That’s when I noticed, the Arangka man with the ax suddenly stopped just a few feet before me and his face turned ugly, his mouth was moving in all directions, and he howled like a wounded wolf. Before I could realize what was happening, the ax man fell to the ground like a wooden pillar. A knife was plunged into his back and a teenage Kimchi boy was standing behind him with a raging face. The boy quickly reacted, and he took the knife from the back of the axeman and plunged it onto him again and again until the axeman was butchered like dead meat. Not believing what I saw, I looked at the Kimchi boy in astonishment and admiration. More Arangka men started running towards him with their spears. Quickly realizing the danger, the boy was in, I went and grabbed the boy’s hand and pushed him back. He was hugging me from behind to hide his tiny body. Suddenly, I felt so protective of him. I forgot the whole world and the battle, the dead bodies around me and even Ramos, but my entire focus was on the approaching Arangka men towards the Kimchi boy.

Sarawan’s PoV

My hands around his waist were trembling in fear. My heart was pounding like a drumbeat. I thought the young warrior I was hugging could hear it. He felt that the body of the warrior was filled with sweat and blood stains. I had no idea what I just did. ‘Did I just kill the first man in my life?’ I asked myself. Then I thought ‘he could be the last’ as the Arangka men approached me with a vengeance to kill.

At that moment, I heard a loud and deafening sound, and the ground below shook like a boat in the sea. Before I could realize what was happening, another noise came from the same direction. Arangka men must have heard that sound too, they turned their heads to find out what was happening behind them. From a distance, smoke erupted from the mountain in the island belonging to the Arangka tribe and then it vomited fire after fire. It was the most frightening sight Sarawan had ever seen in his life. His body trembled and he gripped the warrior’s waist even tighter. The warrior’s hand touched his arm around him as if to calm his nerves.

“What was that?” I asked the young warrior with a trembling voice.

“That’s the work of the mother goddess to save us for the day” he replied calmly.

By that time, the rest of the Arangka tribesmen must have seen what was happening in their island, sensing the danger that their families were in, they hurriedly started running towards their island one after another to save their women, children, and animals.

From a distance, the chief of the Arangka tribe gave the order to his men to retreat to their island to protect their people back home from the mountain fire.

Manu’s PoV

When I opened my eyes three days later, the Shaman lady of our Kimchi village was sitting near me in her hut, vigorously grinding something in a pot with a thick wooden stick. Her mouth was moving slowly, and I guessed she was murmuring some song of a legend. The teenage boy who saved me from the ax man was sitting in a corner with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head held down as if he was resting. I felt my throat was dry and I was thirsty suddenly.

“Can I have some water?” I asked the sorcerer lady quietly as if my voice would awaken the boy in the corner.

The boy lifted his head from his elbow and looked at me with a surprise. He must have been worried about my condition over the last few days. He got up and went to a pot nearby and fetched water in a glass.

He approached me with the glass. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“How long have I been here?” I asked him with curiosity.

“Three days,” he replied with a smile.

“Three days?” I asked him again, I wondered what happened to the battle, ‘Did Arangka men return back the next day to fight?’, ‘Is Ramos alright or did he get slaughtered too?’.

I wanted to ask him about so many things, but then the Shaman lady poured something in my mouth from a cup and I dozed off within a few minutes.

Next morning when I woke up, I learned that the boy who saved me from the axeman is called Sarawan. He lost his father and all his brothers in the battle. He lived on the other side of Saha Mountain on our island with his family who were mostly doing fishing as an occupation. The battle was abruptly interrupted when the Gah’na mountains in the Arangka tribe’s island erupted. We never had such eruptions in our twin islands until then. Many families and even the Arangka warriors were killed by the mountain explosions that day. Based on Sarawan's descriptions of the explosions and its aftermath, I have anticipated that Arangka tribesmen might not attack our Kimchi Island anytime soon. I was glad to see Ramos greeting me at the entrance when I left the Shaman’s hut that afternoon. For some odd and unknown reason, I was holding Sarawan’s hand as if we were still in the battle. I let my grip loose from his hand when I saw Marika, the girl I destined to marry one day, standing next to Ramos.

Sarawan’s PoV

It was remarkable how Kimchi village turned into its normalcy after a gruesome battle for a week and lost many lives. But life always goes on in the Twin islands. The legends of our islands told us for generations that thousands and thousands of years before our forefathers migrated there before the glacier when our lands related to other lands. During the glacial period, they even ice mountains as they have been told by their forefathers. When the Sun goddess reemerged and the temperature rose on Earth after the glaciers, the ice mountain melted and poured water into the sea. Water currents formed around the island which isolated the humans living in the sea from the rest of the world. Their forefathers, accustomed to living in the twin islands, formed cultivations, and happily lived thereafter. But it didn’t last long. A small argument on their religious traditions during a festival turned into a bitter rivalry between two groups which later split into Kimchi and Arangka tribes. There were days these two tribes lived in harmony and peace, and then there were days they fought like dogs due to the greed and desire for glory of the tribal chiefs.

It was expected that the tribesmen of Arangka might return to slaughter them again and take over Kimchi Island. Since the Chief of the Kimchi tribe was killed in the battle along with his qualified future would-be successors, It was the need that forced the Kimchi people to choose a hundred and two years old man who was almost retired from the social lives of Kimchi as the new Chief. He ordered the remaining able men to be battle ready and new warriors to be prepared.

Preparing the new warriors always begins with the initiation ceremony. Teenage boys who attained their puberty were sent to initiation ceremonies to prepare them as warriors. Well, the initiation ceremony of the Kimchi tribe was gruesome. Even though Sarawan was proud to reach puberty and he was ready to become a warrior, he hated the initiation ceremony. Younger boys would be assigned to elder boys who have already become warriors, elder boys would train and mentor the younger boys in their journey to become the Kimchi warriors. But the catch is, younger boys had to stay with their assigned elder boys in the forest huts isolated from the village for weeks. The first couple of weeks will be dedicated to building bonding between the younger boys and their assigned elder boys. They had to engage in oral intercourse with the older boys and drink their semen every day. The semen of a warrior is considered as sacred drink which is believed to give physical strength by sharing the warrior’s stamina and build bonding between them by giving sexual pleasure to the elder boys from the young ones. It is also used as a training method for sexual education to the boys who attained puberty. This is the part that Sarawan dreaded the most. Sarawan wondered who even invented such a dirty initiation ceremony. Well, there is a legend for that too.

In the beginning of the days, when their ancestors migrated to Twin islands, the male and female population was equal. Those were the days when people from both the islands lived as one tribe with one tradition under one chief. When the chief of the Twin Island who was born in the present Kimchi land greedily abducted a married woman without her consent from the other island, Mother Goddess appeared in front of the people and cursed the entire male population for the disrespect they have shown to the women. She was so angry that she took almost most of the female population with her to heaven. And only left a few women who weren’t faithful to the Mother Goddess. Thus, the female population in both Kimchi and Arangka island declined rapidly. Men especially the young and able ones who were sexually active and hungry often fought each other to get a woman due to the limited availability of the opposite gender in the islands. Someone wise enough came up with a solution in the name of initiation ceremony to use teenage boys as an alternative to quest the sexual hunger of the young men at least until their marriage. In fact, only warriors can marry a woman and that too they must be minimum thirty years old and must own a hut and a farm as dowry to the woman he is betrothed with.

Manu’s PoV

True, I was looking forward to the feast, but definitely not the initiation ceremony. It would be nice to have a mentee who would follow him around and assist him whenever required. Sometimes it becomes too lonely when he has been assigned to guard the frontiers of the island. Warrior’s life is hard even though it has its privileges. Whenever he returned to the village, Maruka was always there to entertain him, even though they aren’t allowed to have sex or even make any physical contact until their marriage. He loved to listen to her sweet voice and watch her blush whenever he teases her. He just turned twenty and he had to wait till thirty to break her virginity. Manu sighed in anguish.

I smiled back at the senior carpenter who welcomed him with a wave near a wood storage. He has been treated as a hero after the battle since Ramos proudly spread the news that he saved him from the Arangka murderers. But I couldn’t gather the courage to tell the tribe that a 14 year old boy saved him from the axeman. Tribal chief assigned a few men to him to take responsibility to organize the feast, since many older boys died at the battle, Manu’s social status rose up several hierarchies and he has been considered as one of the leaders of the tribe now even though he is just twenty.

The feast was a great success. Many villagers and the tribal chief appreciated him for his efforts to organize it. That night, he ordered his men to bring the woods back from the storage and start the bonfire. He has been asked to light the bonfire which is a great honor given only to a successful warrior. It has been a Kimchi tradition where men will drink skulls and dance in front of the bonfire right after the feast. Married men will return to the village with their wives and children. Elder boys had to take their assigned younger boys back to their respective huts in the forest and kick start the initiation ceremony.

“I am happy for you, my boy’ Ramos lifted his skull cup in his hand.

Manu raised his cup above his head in silence as a sign of accepting his friend’s compliment.

“Thanks friend,” he muttered. He felt a slight dizziness in his head due to the alcohol that had already gone into his system.

“So, which one of the boys has been assigned to you?” Ramos pointed at the group of younger boys who were standing next to the tribal chief listening to his instructions.

“I don’t know man” Manu shrugged his shoulders. He is least interested in it.

When the sky above turned completely dark, the full moon of the feast day shined brightly and the stars appeared above their heads, the Tribal chief called each one of the younger boys and assigned them with the elder boys for the initiation ceremony and asked the elder boys to put the bracelet around the neck of their assigned younger ones.

It is Manu’s turn now and he held the thick silver bracelet which is wearing his initials on it and raised his head to look at the younger boy who has been called out by the tribal chief.

He was pleasantly surprised to find out that the boy who has been assigned to him is Sarawan, the teenage boy who saved him with his knife from the axeman at the battle.

Sarawan’s PoV

The day that he has been dreading finally arrived. Younger boys are not allowed to participate in the feast, since the boys must be in hunger to be ready for the first night of the initiation ceremony. I was watching the older boys drinking and dancing around the bonfire. Married men left the place except our tribal chief.

“You must satisfy the desires of your mentor” Tribal Chief repeated this sentence again and again during an hour-long instruction. Another senior old guy who must be in his seventies has given them orientation on oral intercourse using a wooden tool which looked like a penis. Younger boys laughed at it when the senior guy showed the wooden tool to them. It looked much bigger than any dick he had ever seen or imagined. He may have a slender body, but he is taller than most of the boys of his age and he has always been prouder of his dick’s length in particular. He couldn’t even imagine taking another boy’s dick in his mouth and it would be even more weird if it’s as big as this wooden tool. But he had to deal with it and get done with the initiation ceremony so that he would be trained to fight with swords and bows.

When the tribal chief paired him up with Manu, he never thought the warrior who fought like a lion in the battle and protected him from a dozen Arangka tribesmen would be his mentor. When Manu put the bracelet around his neck, Sarawan was somewhat relieved and glad that he would be trained by such a warrior.

Manu’s PoV

I looked at his remarkable eyes and found no expression when I put the bracelet around his neck and held his hand. His hand was warm but surprisingly strong for such a young age. I led him to the hut assigned to us while I noticed Ramos taking a teenage boy with him to another one. When Sarawan and I entered the hut, I had no idea what to do next. I liked the boy, he had this charming looks and curious eyes and I am grateful to him for saving me from the axeman, but I wasn't thrilled about having any physical connection and certainly not letting another boy take my manhood in his mouth.

‘Poor little boy, why does he have to endure such humiliation to become a warrior?’ he asked himself.

He looked at the teenage boy again, who was standing in front of him clueless, but his face had shown no expression as usual. He was tall with a slender body, there was hardly any hair on his body, his face was glowing in the moonlight. He had those pink lips thick and beautiful like a girl. His curly hair on his head unmoved but shining due to whatever oil he was wearing that night. For his age, he has shown remarkable strength and serenity. Unlike himself who is now becoming nervous and impatient, he decided to get it over with this ‘stupid semen drinking stuff’ as quickly as possible.

‘Sarawan, let’s do this and get it over with quickly’ he muttered, he could hardly hear his own voice.

He quickly removed the tunic hanging below his waist and noticed the teenage boy’s eyes looking at his almost naked body in astonishment. That made Manu proud of himself, he had always felt good about his physique and a complimentary look from another boy gratified that. He felt a small tingling in his body and his manhood inside his loincloth twitched a bit which made him guess that probably his body was reacting to the appreciative look from the boy.

He untied the loincloth, the only remaining part of cloth in his body. It wasn’t easy standing completely naked in front of another boy. He could feel the sharp gaze from Sarawan sighting every inch of his body and exploring it in his eyes. And that made him uncomfortable, ‘this is not the time to show weakness’ Manu steadied himself.

Sarawan knelt before him. So Manu decided to start the initiation game and moved closer to his face. He could feel the breath of the boy in his crotch. ‘Gods, what am I doing here with another boy?’ he cursed himself. He could feel the blood flowing quickly in his veins when Sarawan touched his manhood and took it in his arm. He couldn’t hold it any longer, he pushed his waist targeting the boy’s pink lips and groaned a bit when his dick brushed it. He never experienced so much precum leaking out of his dick like then. The teenage boy helped remove his foreskin a bit and opened his mouth to take his full length slowly and steadily. The more his dick got deeper into the boy’s warm mouth the more it got excited and spoke a language of its own. ‘Gods, this is going to be a long night’ Manu cursed once again in excitement.

Content Warning: The below description of the following paragraph contains detailed pornographic scenes and nudity. Reader’s discretion is needed.

Sarawan’s PoV

The Young warrior was standing in front of me with nothing but his tiny loincloth. His tall and toned physique looked like a sculpted wooden god. He has broad shoulders, hard worked biceps, muscular chest and trimmed abdomen made him look like the finest specimen on earth. His brown skin from his head to torso is shining gold even in the candle lights. With a little hesitation, he untied his loin cloth and revealed his hidden manhood to me. I couldn't even believe that the warrior who roared and scared his enemies and fought with a long sword like a lion a few days before at the battle was standing in front of me completely naked. He has dark and curly pubic hairs down below the waist like a thick bush. His magnificent shaft hanging in between his legs even without an erection is longer than the wooden tool that the senior guy showed to them during the orientation. His balls tried to hide behind his huge shaft but failed miserably like fruits hanging in the tree. I looked at his beautiful face and his eyes looking at me curiously. He was watching me watching him. I do not think anyone had ever seen him naked, and it is clear from the twitching of his lips, he is still uncomfortable with his nakedness in front of another boy.

He is obviously the epitome of male beauty, perfection in every part of his body. As if I am spellbound to his masculine prowess, I knelt before him like I have been told to do by my instructor. He moved closer towards me with hesitation. His huge shaft is right in front of my eyes, and it already started getting its erection due to the attention it is getting from me. When there was little distance from my face and his crotch, I could smell the musky odor of his masculinity and also the attar (powder made of rose petals) he was wearing that night. In anticipation of what is going to happen next. I took his semi hard shaft in my hand which had already started leaking precum while I was busy peeling his foreskin in the sensitive area of his shaft. That's when I saw the true length of his shaft which rose above like a pillar and precum was oozing out of it. He pushed his waist closer to my face and brushed his shaft on my closed lips, his precum was painting me now. I wasn't sure if I could take such an enormous shaft in my mouth, but I opened it anyway.

His eyes were still fixated on my face. I could see the growing excitement when he licked his lips and pushed his shaft into my mouth even further. I have been ordered to take the full length of the shaft to provide utmost pleasure to the boy. Satisfying my future mentor through oral pleasure to fulfill his youthful desires is mandatory in the imitation ceremony. And I need to take its full length until he grunts with excitement so that his shaft can release his man-juices for me to drink is vital sign as per the orientation. I held his long shaft in my hand and pushed it further down my mouth until it hit my throat. His legs were shaking now, I grabbed his muscled buttocks in my hands and pushed his shaft into my mouth further. My tongue swirled around the tip of his manhood which made him quiver in pleasure. When such a strong and youthful warrior submitted his manhood to me which made me feel like I was in control of him. Another round of sucking his shaft and pushing down the throat, he couldn't take it any longer. His shaft trembled in my mouth and his veins were bulging in it, unable to control its emotions. I knew that he was close to burst his semen any time, I held his balls in my hand and gripped it as hard as I could.

His entire body shuddered in excitement, his waist buckled, his eyes closed, his lips opened when he muttered "Sarawan, I am coming".

I took his shaft deep down my throat one last time and that was the final straw. His entire body shook in pleasure and his eyes looked at me as if he saw heaven. His shaft shuddered inside my mouth and burst its juices like an opened dam. His thick boy juices were pouring in my mouth one after another shot and I gulped as much of his precious juice as I could. Some of them even leaked out of my mouth which I was unable to control.

Finally, Sarawan completed the first night of his initiation ceremony taking the semen of a warrior.

Manu’s PoV

I was sitting on a fallen stem of a tree in the forest. Birds were singing their morning songs, and a couple of rainbow ducks (Mandarin ducks) were swimming in the pond. They looked adorable together. Sarawan was still swimming in the pond, his thick eyebrows and curly hairs over his head drenched in water. His eyes and lips were closed as if he was immersed in another world. His long hands slowly peddled the water around him as if he didn't care about a damn thing. The bracelet around his neck with my initials on it shining in the very little light coming from the distant sun rays.

Cold winds from the east found their ways to enter the forest and already touched his half naked flesh giving him goosebumps.

‘Why am I staring at another boy taking a bath? Is this even normal?’ I was questioning myself.

But then I realized that as per Kimchi tradition, the boy belongs to him, at least until his marriage. Just because they had a few night sessions of exciting oral pleasure which always ended up with pouring his semen into his mouth, ‘Should I be feeling this way about a boy?’

‘Does Sarawan feel the same way about me?’ Manu wondered.

He chuckled with a thought, ‘Just because he had to take his manhood in his mouth and drink his semen as as he has been instructed as per the initiation ceremony, there is no way he would have any feelings towards him. it's not like the boy got the other end of the deal’

He noticed from the corner of his eyes that Sarawan was giving quick glances at him too.

That night, Manu asked the boy to remove his waist clothes too. Well, the boy might be just a teenager, but there was nothing tiny about what was hanging between his legs. Before Sarawan could bend down and kneel to kick start the routine, Manu pulled his body closer towards him and grabbed his growing boyhood in his hand. Sarawan looked at him in surprise.

‘It's time to return at least half the pleasure of what he was getting from the boy, he can’t be just a selfish prick, isn’t it?’ Manu convinced himself.

At the end of the first couple of weeks, both Manu and Sarawan were exhausted. Both learnt so much about each other’s body and mind that made them feel as one person rather than two separate individuals.

Sarawan’s PoV

Farming, cattle rearing, fishing, and forging weren’t invented in the Twin islands, it was brought to the shore by their ancestors thousands of years before. In the beginning, there were separate Gods for farming, cattle rearing, war, romance, water, and winds, but then somewhere down the line, multiple Gods disappeared and only a few Gods remained in the islands. Their ancestors found ways and survived against natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes. But one thing that never caused them the trouble was the adequate water sources that provided yearlong water supply to both the islands such as water falls from the mountains and month-long rainfalls. Their ancestors invented water storage methods such as that pond and streams to bring water to their villages and farms.

His grandmother often told him legends about their ancestors and how they adjusted to the living conditions of that island.

Two rainbow ducks were swimming in the little pond as usual. They looked beautiful indeed. They always swam in unison as if they gave each other company in that lonely pond. ‘Will they remain together as always?’ he thought.

‘What if one duck dies and the other is left alone in the pond, can it survive then?’ Sarawan was worried about them.

Clouds were gathering in the east, cold winds brushed past his shoulders. I returned back to the hut, Manu was starting a fire in front of our hut. It gets cold that season and especially nights would be horrible.

‘Are you hungry?’ Manu asked him, raising his thick eyebrows.

I nodded my head. He smiled at me beautifully.

‘I brought food from the village for us, if you are too tired today, we don’t have to do that, you know’ he was giving me a hand signal poking a finger at his other arm forming a circular shape. I have understood the meaning.

‘It’s okay for me if you want it’ my cheeks blushed in embarrassment when I said that.

He grinned at me showing his white teeth, ‘We can talk instead’ he replied.

I was really exhausted from the non-stop sex we were having for the past couple of weeks. I released a sigh of relief.

‘Even i am exhausted too, you know’ he chuckled and i noticed there was a slight shyness in his tone.

I smiled at him.

That night we spoke a lot. He told me his dreams, his childhood memories, his family, his girlfriend, his friends and how he felt when I plunged the knife into the back of the axeman.

Manu’s PoV

Days went by quicker than I had anticipated. Weeks gone by, the time to return to normal life had arrived. I felt something stuck in my throat when I had to finally say ‘goodbye’ to Sarawan even though it was just a temporary separation. He would be back with his family in the fishermen area, and I had to go back to the main village and spend time with my family and Marika before I would be reporting back to the frontier wooden walls of Kimchi island. Though he was glad to meet his family filled with his energetic sisters and brothers and above all he gets to hang out with his girlfriend Marika, he would surely miss the presence of the teenage boy. Sarawan was supposed to join us with other boys after a month to continue their training on sword and bow skills. But there won’t be any chance for them to spend any time alone together like they did in the forest these past few weeks.

But even one month looked too long for me now. I didn’t know how Sarawan felt about it, he never showed any emotions and he found it hard to read his mind due to the lack of facial expressions from Sarawan. The silent boy looked like he was always immersed in another world with his own thoughts.

‘Man, the teenage boy is stone cold. Obviously, he didn’t feel the same way as I did,’ Manu thought.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and disappointments. And began walking into the direction of the village, Sarawan moved away towards the shore in the opposite direction.

Manu turned his head and looked at the teenage boy one last time, ‘That’s it’ he muttered to himself, feeling a lump clutching his heart in distress.

Back in the village, Manu’s eight sisters were busy preparing their family meal and listening to his war time story. They were overjoyed by their elder brother’s bravery and his new social status in the Kimchi Island. Marika, wearing her favorite yellow flower on her long and thick black hair, looked stunning as usual. She hardly spoke about the initiation ceremony or inquired anything about his time in the forest with Sarawan. He felt a slight guilt that he did unspeakable things with a boy, even though his heart was trying to justify it otherwise.

That morning when he went back to meet the Tribal chief as he was asked to do by Ramos. He saw a worried looking old man in him. The humidity around the island was higher than usual.

‘There were two lighter earthquakes on our island early this morning,’ the Tribal chief announced in front of some senior tribesmen and a few warriors including Manu and Ramos.

And then he continued, ‘Similar earthquakes were felt in Arangka island too’, he stopped speaking as if he was expecting someone to interrupt him. Tribesmen around him went silent and shocked.

“Do you think there might be mountain eruptions on our island that are too similar to what happened on the other island?” Ramos asked him.

“I wasn’t sure until now, but some hunters saw blue smoke rising from our mountain a short while ago and I consulted our Sorcerer who thinks that the mountain will erupt in the next couple of days,” the Tribal chief replied.

“What are we going to do?” a worried tone from Ramos asked him.

“Sorcerer will conduct a fire prayer tonight to our Gods, we need to inform the villagers and take them to safer distances from the mountain” the tribal chief answered him.

The entire day Manu, Ramos and other warriors were busy informing the villagers and forcing them to flee to a safer distance. But nature was not waiting for too long, Gods were merciless that night. Two mountains in the Arangka island started erupting with their liquid fumes. It was horrible and frightening to watch from a distance. The liquid fumes flew all over the Arangka island burning whatever was on its way. Thick smoke engulfed the entire island which nauseated their noses even in Kimchi Island.

Tribal chief ordered the villagers to immediately move to the shores with their cattle and family members. Warriors had been assigned the task to shift the food and other important materials to the shores.

“Our mountain will erupt anytime” the Sorcerer warned them when they witnessed subtle swelling of the ground surface that night. Manu escorted his sisters and Marika’s family safely to the nearby shore.

“Where is he? Is he safe now” Manu’s thoughts lingered towards Sarawan even at that crucial moment.

Sarawan’s PoV

For some odd reason, I started visiting the pond in that forest almost daily since the warrior parted ways from him.

His mother fell sick and restricted herself in bed ever since his father and brothers died in that battle. His old grandfather was taking care of his sick mother in his absence. One morning, his grandfather hurriedly dragged him to the shore and pointed at a small boat that his father used for fishing.

“Take this and leave the island now” he instructed him, he handed over some food neatly covered in a leather pack.and a wicker basket filled with water to him.

Sarawan heard from the fisherman and his friends about the expected mountain eruption in their island. But he wasn’t sure how serious it was.

“Do you think the eruption will destroy our entire island or what?” Sarawan asked him casually.

His grandfather angrily stared at him and said “Boy, i have seen the worst things in my long life, but i had a dream last night and it warned me of total destruction” his breathing was longer, and he struggled to form sentences to speak any longer.

At that time, a loud explosion was heard from the mountain.

“Leave now” his grandfather ordered him in a stern voice.

“What about my mother?” Sarawan protested against leaving them behind.

His grandfather shook his head in a hurry and said “We lived long enough than you, your mother is sick, she can’t come with you and i need to stay with her.”

And then he finally said “You must go now”, he pushed his back towards the boat before he could protest further.

“What about the currents in the sea?” Sarawan is still hesitant to leave them alone.

His grandfather angrily screamed at him “Gods will protect you”.

Sarawan never thought that was the last words he had ever spoken to him. He suddenly remembered Manu. Just a thought of his name alone woke him up from his stillness. Without further wasting his time, he pushed the boat against the waves and jumped on it when it reached enough waters to float in the sea. He peddled the boat using the roars navigating it towards the other side of the Kimchi Island.

When he reached the village, it was in chaos. Manu was nowhere to be found, villagers were busy hurrying towards the shore with their families and cattles. Children were screaming and the mountain was making loud noises from a distance.

Finally, he found Manu staring at the pond in the forest. He was startled when Sarawan approached him from behind.

His charming face looked like a ghost, but still he smiled at him as if everything was normal.

“What are you doing here?” Manu asked him with his eyebrows raised as usual.

“I am taking you with me to the sea, i have a boat” I calmly replied to him.

He chuckled nervously and then his face turned cold suddenly.

“I can’t leave my sisters and Marika; you must go now” his tone was strong and stubborn.

“I am not going anywhere without you,” I told him, shaking my head vigorously.

He pulled my hand and dragged me away from the forest and walked me towards the shore like a crazy guy.

“You must leave and live,” he said, pointing at my boat just like my grandfather did earlier.

I stood still on the beach and refused to move my feet away from him.

“I can’t go without you” I felt like crying at that moment. My eyes were pleading for him to come with me.

He pulled my body towards his and hugged me tightly. His warm body was trying to calm down the pounding of my heart.

“Please go” his voice was no longer stronger as it was earlier.

“I can’t” tears were flowing like a waterfall from my eyes on his broad shoulders.

He stopped hugging me and he held my face in his arms and looked at me sternly.

“Live for me, my boy” he said to me with his husky voice.

And then he bent down his head slightly towards my face and kissed me on my lips.

But it didn’t last longer, he once again pushed me towards the boat and literally threw me into it. I wasn’t strong enough to stop his physical prowess. He pushed the boat in his both hands towards the waters.

My boat started floating in the sea and moved further apart from him. Strong winds pushed my boat further and further away from the love of my life. I saw him standing at a distance staring at me, his eyes were filled in tears. Behind him, the mountain made one last loud explosion and its flames were flowing all over the island.