Nakoma's voice rang through the woman's head as she washed her clothes in the winding river that had once given her so much joy, now only made her sad knowing her life had taken one too many turns.
"Pocahontas?"
The young woman didn't answer her friend's call until she looked up and saw her approach from the other side of the hill a worried look on her face.
"What is it, Nakoma?"
"I've been calling for you, why didn't you answer me?"
Pocahontas started working again, rubbing the rock over the deerskin dress once more.
"I was, thinking," Pocahontas replied after a moment's pause she added, "Yes, about him."
"Why do you trouble yourself so with thoughts of him?"
Pocahontas sighed, "because I will always love him, when the wind blows I feel him, when I visit the glade he is always with me, and when the seasons change I will still love him."
A heavy sigh fell from her lips as she took off the other dress she wore and began to wash herself in the chilled water of the river.
Nakoma stared pityingly at her friend but turned away when Pocahontas turned to look up at her again, Pocahontas would not want her pity.
�You must let him go Pocahontas, he is gone,� Nakoma said softly and when Pocahontas went to shake her head Nakoma continued, �When someone leaves us, you think that your heart will never mend, that it will remain broken, but life goes on Pocahontas, let him be, so that you may live.�
Pocahontas was silent for a moment studying her best friend, noticing sadness about her face. Who could Nakoma have been pining for?
�You loved Cocoum, didn�t you?� Pocahontas said out of the blue and Nakoma wore a pained expression at the very mention of him. She had not stopped thinking about him, not these three years passed, not ever. Every time the warriors returned from another village she kept expecting to see Cocoum�s dominant form standing out among them, his dark skin shining bronze in the warm sun, his chocolate eyes gazing proudly at her. Yes, she loved him.
�It doesn�t matter now does it whether I did or didn�t, he is dead,� Nakoma said not wanting to talk about it but Pocahontas wasn�t giving up.
�If only he had wanted to marry you none of this would have happened,� Pocahontas said shaking her head and Nakoma gave a wry laugh.
�But you were the daughter of a chieftain, not I, I had nothing to offer him, if he married you, one day he would be chief and that is where his attraction lay,� Nakoma said sarcastically, quite out of character for her normal kind self and Pocahontas turned away.
�I did not ask to be born as I am, I loathe being a princess,� Pocahontas said softly and this time it was Nakoma who turned away, so disgusted with Pocahontas.
�You could do so much for this village, but you sit around and play the victim, you do nothing but pine, think Pocahontas, you speak the tongue of the white man better than I, if we could forge an alliance between our two peoples, we could have peace, if only you would care about someone else other than yourself,� Nakoma said sharply then she walked off leaving Pocahontas to ponder her words alone.
Nakoma was furious with Pocahontas. Pocahontas had the ability to change the lives of their people, couldn�t she see that? Sighing she calmed down slightly as she walked closer towards the glades, where Pocahontas used to go when she wanted to be alone. It had become a haven for Nakoma these days. Nakoma came upon the entrance and smiling she lifted the vines covering the entrance and gasped as a lithe tanned figure stood to face her.
�Cocoum? Is that you?�
Pocahontas sighed and walked back towards her village feeling even worse than she had been. As far as she was concerned, nothing in her life was going right. Since John's leaving, her father and some of her friends had tried to convince her to start courting again. John Smith was Pocahontas's first man she had ever courted and it seemed to her father and friends, he wouldn't be her last.
"Wingapo, my daughter," her father's voice startled her thoughts and she almost stumbled on the path. After quickly studying his daughter on her feet he began, "Mochag has asked my permission--"
"Father please," Pocahontas said, gently cutting off her father.
"My daughter, it has been a long time since he left, you must move on!"
The young woman sighed and began walking away, "My daughter!" Powhatan swiftly grabbed his daughter's shoulder, turning her to face him, "John wouldn't want you to live this way."
Pocahontas's eyes filled with tears and breaking free from her father's hold she sprinted away from him, not knowing where she was going, only knowing she needed to get away.
"Think about what I have said!"
Powhatan's voice rang after as her feet pounded softly on the earth.
Nakoma stepped towards Cocoum wondering briefly if he were a ghost. She hesitantly reached out to touch his face and Cocoum�s strong hand grabbed hers.
�How?� she asked shrugging her shoulders trying to comprehend, �you were dead.�
�I didn�t die that day Nakoma, I was wounded badly, the loss of blood had slowed my heartbeat, the shaman thought I was dead, so when he left the tent to tell the village I snuck out the back and ran off, I took a boat to London,� Cocoum explained simply as though it were common knowledge and Nakoma shook her head at him. Strange she didn�t notice before he now wore the clothes of a white man, a long flowing white shirt and cloth pants, the shirt hung open to reveal that his bear paw that he had been so proud to receive the day he was proclaimed a man had lost its colour, it had faded. As had the proud look in Cocoum�s eyes, he looked so different; he had the look in his eyes like one of a broken horse.
�You look different, very English,� Nakoma said referring to the clothes and Cocoum growled looking down at himself then he tore off the shirt he wore and threw it to the ground spitefully.
�I hate the English, they call us the barbarians Nakoma, but it is they who are the barbarians,� Cocoum hissed and Nakoma thought of a different line of questioning not wanting to get Cocoum so angry.
�Why did you let us think you were dead?�
Cocoum stared at her as though she had asked a silly question.
�Would you have preferred me to come back in the wake of my defeat? I would not be the laughing stock of our village, Pocahontas did not want me, there was nothing for me here,� he said heavily and Nakoma felt stung by his words. Nothing for him. Not even the friendship they used to share meant anything to him. Only her, only Pocahontas, always Pocahontas.
�Then why come back?� Nakoma demanded nastily and Cocoum turned away from her searching eyes and then Nakoma heard another voice, the voce of a white man she used to know.
�Cocoum, how far is the village?�
Nakoma took a step back looking from Cocoum to John alternatively.
"What is going on here?" Nakoma demanded folding her arms across her chest ready to hear the story and John looked at Cocoum obviously expecting Cocoum to finish the tale. Cocoum merely stared back at him defiantly and John sighed turning to Nakoma.
"When I was in England a friend of mine was boasting to me about a true Indian slave he bought from Virginia. I was curious and so I went to see and found Cocoum. I...Well I guess you can say I bought him from my friend and brought him back here to be with his people," John said and Nakoma felt her respect for this man grow. How noble of him to want to return Cocoum to his roots, if only Cocoum would at least look grateful. Cocoum eyed John resentfully as he snorted with laughter.
"You bought me because you knew I could lead you back into the village so you could see Pocahontas again," Cocoum hissed and John blushed beet red under his accusing gaze. Yes John wanted to see her again, he loved her, it was only natural. After he had heard of what John Rolfe had done he had tried to find her but she was long gone back to Virginia.
"I heard she had returned to the village because of John Rolfe, I want to see her again," John appealed to Nakoma who smiled though still disturbed about the way Cocoum was acting.
"She will be happy to see you," Nakoma assured him comfortingly and John smiled at her thankfully.
"Really?" he asked needing to hear it again and Nakoma nodded.
"She thinks of nothing else," Nakoma said truthfully and smiled.
�Stay here, I will bring Pocahontas to you,� Nakoma said turning to run off.
Nakoma came upon Pocahontas resting in the longhouse that they shared and Nakoma pulled her to her feet roughly.
�What is the meaning of this Nakoma?� Pocahontas demanded wrenching her arms out of Nakoma�s grasp indignantly not quite forgiving Nakoma for being so mean at the lake.
�Do you trust me?� Nakoma asked her eyes shining and Pocahontas stared at her proudly.
�Yes,� she said without hesitation and Nakoma smiled.
�Then come with me.�
Following Nakoma to the glade was the hardest thing Pocahontas had ever done.
Her legs felt weighed down like rocks as she followed her friend's fast pace.
Nakoma's face was blank making Pocahontas fear what she would find as she came towards Grandmother willow's glade.
"Alright, wait here," Nakoma, breathed as she leaned her back against the tree to catch her breath.
"Wait for what Nakoma?"
"Your future to change," she replied before slipping away into the forest.
Pocahontas sighed and wondered what sort of game her friend was playing.
Leaving her place beside the tree she walked towards the waterfall, keeping as silent as a deer.
She walked in, allowing the cool water lap around her ankles and then her knees. As she looked down, she noticed someone behind her, "Nakoma, I see you!"
She shouted but no reply came to meet her ears. Pocahontas turned around and wadded back to shore, her legs soaked and along with the hem of her dress.
Feeling frustrated she sat down on a rock and waited for whatever Nakoma had planned.
"Pocahontas?"
The young woman gasped, she knew that voice, the same one that had haunted her dreams for the longest time, should she dear to hope?
"Pocahontas?"
"J-John Smith?"
The native woman breathed.
"Wingapo Pocahontas," John Smith said as he stepped out from behind the willow tree and stood before her.
"John, is it really you?"
She tried not to let the tears fall from her eyes, "yes, it's me," he said as he knelt in front of her and lifted her chin with his hand, "Do not cry my darling,"
He whispered.
Pocahontas slightly smiled as he brought his lips softly down on hers and she sighed again as he deepened the kiss.
"That whore!"
Cocoum said under his breath as he perched on top of an oak and watched the kiss from across the river.
�Cocoum, what are you doing?� Nakoma asked looking curiously up at Cocoum who jumped down from the oak a little muffed at being found out by Nakoma. For as long as he could remember she had always been there beside him, following him.
�Why are you helping that Englishman?� Cocoum demanded of Nakoma who looked to smile fondly as she watched Pocahontas and John embrace tightly.
�That Englishman happens to be in love with Pocahontas and she is in love with him,� Nakoma said plainly and Cocoum gave a wry laugh thinking her response naive.
�What do you know of love Nakoma, you are still a child,� Cocoum teased her not even looking at her and Nakoma took his face in her small hands and brought his eyes to hers.
�Look at me, I am not a child anymore,� Nakoma said stepping back and for the first time Cocoum looked at her properly. Nakoma was no longer the child he had left behind. Her body had transformed into that of a young woman, and her eyes showed that she had wisdom far beyond her years.
�Go home Nakoma and leave me alone, I do not need your nagging,� Cocoum said turning away ignoring the pain in his chest at her crestfallen expression.
�Well at least I have a home to go to Cocoum, but you, you have a long way to go before our village will accept you and allow you to come home,� Nakoma taunted him uncaringly then she turned and strode away leaving Cocoum bristling with rage.
How dare Nakoma tell him he was not welcome in the village! To prove her wrong Cocoum started walking proudly towards the village but when he spotted those familiar longhouses his pace slowed down. Was Nakoma right? Cocoum came to a complete stop and just stared. Suddenly two children came running from the village and Cocoum was reminded of how he and Nakoma had played the same games when they were children.
�Horan, stop running so fast,� the little girl obviously the younger of the pair was lagging behind and the young boy turned to tease her fondly.
�Catch up baby,� he called and the girl frowned at him clenching her pudgy fists.
�I am not a baby,� she called back furiously and the boy laughed and turned only to find Cocoum standing before him, dauntless as ever.
�Cocoum,� the little boy said and Cocoum was surprised the boy knew him. The girl had caught up by that time and she peered at Cocoum intently. She was young, maybe six so she would have been three, too much of a child to remember Cocoum, but the boy was at least ten.
�That is not Cocoum, Cocoum is gone away, my mama said so,� the girl said sniffing at Cocoum disinterestedly.
�Then he must be a ghost, are you a ghost?� Horan asked curiously and the little girl�s face crumpled in fear as she took a step back from Cocoum.
�Stop telling stories or I will tell my mama,� the girl said her lip quivering. She believed in ghost stories, Horan had told her many when they were children.
�Go be a cry baby then,� Horan said and hurt by his dismissal the little girl pushed him then danced out of his reach when he sought retaliation.
�I am not a ghost,� Cocoum spoke up and the two children glanced at him.
�See Reko, he is not a ghost, wait till I tell the whole village,� Horan said excitedly and Cocoum was worried. He didn�t want anyone to know he was here, not until he had proven himself.
�No, you must tell no one you saw me.�
�But aren�t you going to come back to the village?� Horan asked confused and Cocoum looked away.
�Not yet.�
�Reko, Horan, when I find you both you are in trouble,� an annoyed voice called for the two children and Reko looked petrified.
�Its mama,� she said and Horan looked disappointed but nodded.
�We better go,� he said as Reko started running down the hill.
�Stop talking to the ghost Horan,� Reko called back over her shoulder and giving Cocoum a parting glance Horan raced after his playmate.
"John, how did you come back?"
Pocahontas asked as she reluctantly pulled away from his warm lips.
"The wound had hilled faster than everyone including me had expected, but I wasn't able to get a ship back until 5 months ago."
"Why so long?"
Pocahontas said as he stole another kiss from his love, "there's a war in Spain."
"Spain?"
"Yes, my country and the country of Spain are fighting."
John explained as he shifted to sit closer beside her."
"Why?"
John sighed, "political things Pocahontas, please let us not talk of war, when I've come for peace."
"How are the men that sailed with you on your first voyage?"
"Ben was killed in the war," John said as the couple got up and began walking hand in hand.
"I know someone who'd like to see you," Pocahontas said as they walked back towards her village.
"Father??"
"My daughter," Powhatan said when they had arrived at his village.
"Chief Powhatan," John greeted the old chief.
"I hope you are well my brother," Powhatan replied.
"Yes, I am," John retorted, glancing at Pocahontas and smiled at her.
Powhatan invited him into his hut, asking Pocahontas to fetch food and water.
"I will be a few minutes," she replied and walked out of the longhouse.
�I can�t believe we saw Cocoum!�
�No we didn�t, we saw a ghost.�
"Reko, he was real I promise you!"
"Mama says that you shouldn't tell stories like that," the child retorted as
Pocahontas passed.
"Horan, you saw him, you saw Cocoum right in front of you."
Pocahontas halted in her footsteps, did she hear correctly? The two children looked at each other but remained silent not wanting to tell Cocoum�s secret.
"Horan, Reko??"
Pocahontas inquired, inching closer to the two children.
"Yes princess Pocahontas?" Horan said, gazing at her.
"What do you mean you saw the ghost of Cocoum?"
"We were playing a game of chase and we saw--"
"Horan we didn't see anything," Reko interjected as she yanked on her friend�s arm.
"Where did you see this ghost?"
Pocahontas inquired.
"The edge of our village princess," Horan said, warning a slight kick from Reko.
"I'm telling mama," Reko started to whine, "You are scaring me."
Pocahontas knelt down in front of the little girl, "hush now Reko, it's alright, do not be scared."
Her soft words comforted the child and she hugged her before releasing her.
Realizing that she had forgotten the water she darted into the forest. Walking quickly, she screamed as the basket full of water was thrown from her hands and a body fell on top of her. She struggled, "stop it whore!"
Pocahontas froze, "Cocoum, it, you, can, you, can not be!"
She struggled fiercely as he pinned her arms behind her, "it was hard for the village to loose me." He spat at her, "but, you."
Perhaps it was her strong will, perhaps it was pure adrenaline but Pocahontas managed to punch Cocoum with all her strength. His head snapped back, forcing his body to slide off somewhat.
�I will teach you some respect, once you are my wife the village will accept me once more,� Cocoum growled and Pocahontas felt he was suffocating her.
Just when she thought all was lost she spied a figure standing above Cocoum�s head holding a fallen branch, the figure�s face terrible to see. Pocahontas breathed as sigh of relief when the figure brought the branch up and brought it down upon Cocoum�s head. Cocoum slumped into unconsciousness and Pocahontas scrambled out from under him looking at Nakoma who was staring furiously at Cocoum�s prone form.
�Nakoma I�� Pocahontas felt horrible for her friend sported a betrayed expression.
�Just go Pocahontas, leave him with me,� Nakoma said not looking at her best friend.
�I�m sorry,� Pocahontas tried to apologize, she wasn�t sure what for but Nakoma wouldn�t hear any of it as she pointed back to village.
�Go!�
Pocahontas's feet pounded the earth, not once did she look back as she ran through the forest. The pot of water lay forgotten on the ground as she ran towards her village.
"John!!!!!"
Pocahontas shouted as she neared her father's hut.
John, who had just asked Powhatan for his blessing in asking Pocahontas to marry him, smiled at the chief and got to his feet. Pocahontas, throwing aside the leather flap of Powhatan's hut burst through the door. She leaned against the pool, trying to catch her breath before asking, "why?"
Fore a moment, Powhatan and John stood, dumbfounded, "my daughter, what is it?"
Pocahontas glanced up, refusing to meet the captain's eyes, "why did he lie to me?"
"Lie to you?"
John repeated, "Yes John, why did you not tell me he was alive all this time?"
There was a moment of silence as the realization of what his beloved was asking him sank in, "Pocahontas please, I didn't know until I had gone to England."
"That's not an answer John," Pocahontas said, anger making her voice rise.
"I promise to you I didn't know, I was going to tell you but he made me promise that I wouldn't tell anyone about him not being dead."
"About who not being dead?"
Powhatan inquired, his eyebrow raised.
"Father, Cocoum did not die in the glade that night, he's," she stopped as the situation hit her full force, "Cocoum's alive."
Nakoma stared down at Cocoum�s body and felt the urge to hold him tenderly in her arms and kiss away his worries but it was quickly replaced by rage. He still didn�t understand. She reached down and hauled him to his feet and Cocoum murmured something unintelligible. Nakoma half carried half dragged Cocoum to the glade, thankful it was only a few meters away. As she laid him down on a mossy rock she turned to look up at Grandmother Willow who looked kindly down at them.
�So this is young Cocoum, quite the looker isn�t he?� Grandmother Willow asked of Nakoma watching as a blush ran across her neck and cheeks.
Cocoum was coming to and he shook his head looking around until he spied Nakoma and he realized what had happened.
�Nakoma it was you,� he accused and Nakoma didn�t even try to deny it.
�Yes it was me, I had to knock some sense into you, think Cocoum, you are acting like an Englishman, trying to take what is not yours,� Nakoma lectured and Cocoum�s eyes darkened.
�She would have been mine,� he said and Nakoma shook her head at him disappointed.
�Is your lust for power the only thing that drives you? Where is the little boy who proudly told me he was going to be a brave warrior, where is he?� she demanded or him and Cocoum looked away from her.
�He is gone Nakoma,� Cocoum said sadly and Nakoma took his hand and pulled him urging him to look into the cool water of the glade.
�Then come back,� she begged and Cocoum was lost in the swirls of blue.
He saw himself as a child playing tag with Nakoma. He was there when she fell and scraped her knee and he had picked her up and carried her all the way home. When they were teenagers they had always run off from the village to go swimming. He remembered coming home the day he was proclaimed a warrior of the village, before Powhaten had suggested he marry Pocahontas. H remembered seeing Nakoma�s form waiting on the banks of the river for him, and the way the smile lit up her face when he waved at her. He had been happy back then. What had happened to him? Had his want for power consumed him so much he could not remember who he was?
�That was the Cocoum, I fell in love with,� Nakoma whispered bringing Cocoum back to the presented and he looked at her in a new light.
�Nakoma�� he breathed but she shook her head urging him to be silent.
�Can you not see? Your power comes not from your status but from your own will, you have the power now to save our people, you know the Englishmen, you know how they work because you have lived with them, they are trying to take over our land, help our people to help ourselves,� Nakoma said desperately and Cocoum sighed.
�Help me Nakoma, be at my side,� he asked taking her hand and Nakoma smiled gently.
�I am always at your side, the wind urged me to forgive you for everything, it told me I was to lead you along your path, my destiny is coming alive, it is our soul quest to save the people,� she said gesturing to her necklace that was the symbol of the dream giver and Cocoum was struck by her kind nature, by the way she stood by him through everything and sought to help him.
�I have been a fool, why did I search for something else when you were there in front of me?� he asked in wonder and Nakoma pursed her lips.
�The lure of power was too great for you to resist,� Nakoma told him sadly pulling her hand away but Cocoum reclaimed it quickly as his senses started to swim. There was something about Nakoma he had never seen before.
�But the veil has been lifted from my eyes, I see you Nakoma,� he said watching her blue-green aura that surrounded her. Had he become enlightened from this experience? It was what every person sought, enlightenment, to know why we were born to this earth. Nakoma had shown him.
�No, you see me as your savior,� she corrected him and Cocoum frowned.
�I do love you Nakoma,� he said honestly and Nakoma looked away shaking her head.
�No you don�t,� she said standing up then she walked to the edge of the glades, �come back to the village soon, we have much to change and a world to save.�
She was gone before Cocoum could speak and he stared at his reflection in the water in wonder. He would prove to Nakoma he loved her, and he would take up her soul quest. He would prove to everyone that he truly belonged.
