The theory of the fusion of small cracks into large ones reproduces certain features also observed in the clustering of earthquake sequences. By modifying our earlier model to take into account the stress release associated with the occurrence of large earthquakes, we obtain repetitive periodic cycles of large earthquakes. A preliminary conclusion is that a combination of the stress release or elastic rebound mechanism plus time delays in the fusion process are sufficient to destabilize the crack populations and, ultimately, give rise to repetitive episodes of seismicity.