Part One

There once was a Boy.  He was a boy who loved other boys.

The Boy was very sad because the people in the pulpit told him, "God hates you," even though the Boy loved God very much.

And the people on podiums told, "You will destroy society," even though the Boy loved people very much.

Even his mommy and daddy told him, "Boys love girls. Girls love boys," and though they didn't mean to hurt him, it still made the boy very sad.

The Boy had a Little Brother.  

The Little Brother loved the Boy so much, and he was sad that the Boy was sad.  

So, the Little Brother learned about the different kinds of love there is: 

between girls and girls,

girls and boys,

boys and boys,

and just people who love people.  

The Little Brother met many new friends who were just like the Boy.  

The Little Brother fought for the Boy

and this made the Boy happy.

Part Two

The Boy had many friends, but not any friends who were Like Him.  That is, until the Boy met an Other Boy.  

The Other Boy was one of the Little Brother's friends, but soon the Boy and the Other Boy became friends too.  

They worked together.  

They played together.  

They talked together from when the moon came up

to when the moon went down.  

And the Boy was very, very happy.

Before he realized it, the Boy fell in love with the Other Boy. But he was too scared to tell the Other Boy, so he kept it a Secret.

Then one day, the Other Boy had to leave for Far Away.  He went off to learn about people and things and places that grown-ups learn about.  

The Boy missed his friend very much

and felt sad once more.

Part Three**

While he was far away, the Other Boy met many other boys who were Like Him and the Boy.  

He worked with them, played with them, and talked with them.

Every time the two friends talked, the Other Boy would tell such great stories about his adventures.  

All the while, however, the Boy held his Secret very closely.  He would never tell it, he promised.

But sometimes, when they talked, the Other Boy would ask about Boys Who Loved Too Much.  Sometimes, he would ask about Boys Who Loved Other People.  

This made the Boy grow jealous. 

Sometimes, the Boy was angry.  

Many times, the Boy was sad.  

But he loved the Other Boy very much anyway.  So, when the Other Boy needed help, the Boy would try to tell him, "Do what you believe is right. I believe in you."  

But even though the Boy told the Other Boy this, he was still very sad.  He really wanted to tell the Other Boy his Secret, but was still too scared.  So because the Boy did share how much he cared for the Other Boy, the Secret grew within him like a big red balloon in his heart...

...growing and pushing...

...pushing and growing...

...until the Boy could no longer keep it to himself...

...until the Boy's heart burst...

...and the terrible and beautiful Secret flew out.

But not like one big balloon,

but a thousand of them in reds, blues, yellows, and greens.

So that is how it began: that two boys stared across from one side of a nation to another, each beginning to learn what it means to grow up,

what it means to be in love and what it means to love,

and what it means to be alone.  

But above all things, the two Boys learned what it meant to be friends.