The Lost Love

John desperately searched. He needs it so badly. He cannot wait any longer, he needs to get it. He held up his phone, trying to get it. He climbed a tree but still, there is none. He has been searching for almost an hour now but the cellphone signal he has been looking for refused to show itself.
The phone’s battery is almost at its end too. He gave up and sat at the foot of a nearby tree. Adding to his agitation is the foul smell of the burning debris beside him. Aside from that, he is starting to feel dizzy because of the concussion on his head. The fact that he had not eaten anything for almost 12 hours also did not help alleviate his fatigue.
He thought to himself: “I’m gonna die”. He thought of his family, and how their lives would be without him. He regretted not telling them that he loves them, especially to his mother. He regretted getting on that plane because of a stupid reason. Now, his private plane which caused him millions is beside him, burning to a crisp.
His wounds need cleaning but he was nowhere near a stream or any source of water so he just laid there, waiting for the wild animals to pounce on him. As John was drifting off to slumber, he heard a faint gasp and he used his remaining strength to turn his head towards the direction where the sound came from. That is when he saw a blurred image of a woman running towards him and as she closes the gap between them, he lost consciousness.

 

He opened his eyes slowly, trying to recognize the seen before him. He was in a dark room filled with lots of bottles and different kinds of herbs stacked on the shelves hanging on the wall. His body was full of bondages and herbs. The only thing he can remember was a woman took after her.
As he turned on the other side of the room, he saw a variety of spears hanging on the wall beside the window. Some were sharp and pointed while some were flat and less perilous.
​“Maybe, they are used in hunting”, he said to himself.
After few minutes sitting alone at the middle of the room, he heard footsteps. They were getting louder and louder then it suddenly stopped. The door slowly moved and a woman entered. She was wearing hand-woven clothing. It has alternating patterns of lines and shapes. You can see that it was carefully woven. Her body was filled with accessories, from earring to anklets. They are made from bones of animals and dried vine of a wild plant in the forest. On her head you can see a cloth like a bandana. The woman had a serene face, like that of an angel but her aura says otherwise. You can sense that she is a tough lady, but with a calm façade.

​“Are you okay?” said the woman staring at the man’s bruised body

​“Yes, I’m fine.”
​“Where am I? Who are you?” he asked with an eager voice.

​“I’m Mari. I was going to gather some herbs when I saw your bird crashed down.”, she answered

“You mean my plane?” he interrupted

“Ohh yeah! Your plane. I headed for it and I saw you lying on the floor then I brought you here”, she continued

“Here. Eat this!” said Mari while handling John a bowl of broth made from a root crop she discovered from the wild she called Mari.

“Thanks”, said John but deep inside, he was thinking of eating beef or pork.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Not everyone in our tribe can speak English”

“Okay”, he replied with a smile.

After eating his very first meal after the plane crashed, Mari guided him out of the hut.

 

To say that he is amazed is an understatement. His jaw practically dropped to the ground when he finally saw where he was. There was a bonfire in the middle of what looked like a small village with huts looking like the one he went out of. The people were wearing the same type of cloth as Mari but without a bandana.

“She must be special or something”, John thought to himself.

He tried to make sense of what he is seeing right now by asking the woman beside him since Mari went to the bonfire.

“Where am I?”

As if the woman did not hear him, she went towards the bonfire surrounded by children.

“What’s this, a ceremony or something?” He asked though he knew that no one except Mari would understand him, but to his surprise, someone answered.

“Yes, you are right.”

“You can understand English?”

“A little”, said the man who is about his height, a bit tan and has a well-toned body. He was wearing a headgear that made him stand out.

“I thought…”

“That only Mari can speak English?”
“Well….”

“I taught her how to speak the language; I am, after all, her father and this tribe’s only connection to the outside world.”

“What is your tribe called, sir?”

“We are called the Omaha”

“I’m sorry, but I have never heard of that tribe before.”
“Of course you have not. We are considered the ‘Lost Tribe’ because we rarely communicate with others.”

Before John can ask more, he was interrupted by the booming cheers from the crowd that had gathered around the bonfire.

​“I’m sorry! I need to be in the ceremony with all the other tribe leaders. Anyway, welcome to the tribe!” said the man.

​“Thank you, sir!” He waved to the man and saw him sit with the other men also wearing the same headgear.
Just then, Mari approached him and asked, “Were you talking to my father?”

​“Yes, we just talked.”

​“What did you talk about?”

​“Oh, he just introduced me to your tribe.”

​“He did? That’s new; he was never comfortable with strangers.”

John did not know what to say so he just asked Mari about the ceremony.

​“This is a ceremony for children. You see, our tribe adores children and even calls them names that would translate to ‘wise small one’, ‘innocent leader’, and ‘little stargazer’.”

​“Is that so?” Just then, they heard the tingling of bells which signaled the end of the ceremony.

​“Something is missing.” John thought to himself and before he can comprehend what it is, Mari pulled him towards the bonfire. He was about to protest when Mari said something that picked his interest.

​“Be quiet, the leaders are about to read the legends and other stories. And after that, the children, women and men are going to perform their different plays. Different artists would be showcasing their talents. Did you know that we have different terms for different types of artists? We categorize them by their expertise!"

John quietly followed her and just as he sat down on the tree trunk, he remembered what was missing: “A feast! They do not have roasted pig or any other meat!”

 

Mari noticed how John was staring at the bonfire.

“Are you okay? Your eyes might dry out”, she commented.
​
“What?”

​“You’ve been staring at the bonfire. Your eyes might get dry.”

He contemplated on whether he would ask Mari about their food. Meanwhile, Mari intently watched the play by the children which was about farming.

Mari decided to tell John about the different types of crops that they have, especially wheat, their specialty product.

Out of the blue, John asked her, “Where are we?”

​“Weren’t you listening? And what do you mean?”

He rephrased his question. “In what part of the world are we?”

​“No one knows. We are after all, ‘The Lost Tribe’.”

​“Surely, your father would know.”

​“I guess so. Speaking of him, here he comes.”

Mari’s father came to them, holding three books, probably the ones he read earlier.

​“I see, you are taking care of our guest, Mari.”, he addressed to his daughter.

John stood up to pay respect to the elder but Mari seized him by the arms.

​“What are you doing? Are you disrespecting one of the tribe leaders?” whispered Mari to him.

​“What do you mean? I haven’t done anything”, John also whispered in defense.

​“It’s fine Mari, he does not know our tradition. By the way, I am Amadi. We have not introduced ourselves to each other yet”, he said while holding out his hand to John.

​“I’m sorry for the late introduction and for what I have done earlier, sir. I am John. May I know where exactly in the world are we?”

​“All I can say is that we are nowhere near what they call an ‘ocean’.”

John was left dumbfounded with what Amadi said. Nevertheless, he did not ask anymore because he knew that he will not get a useful answer.

​“I guess I’m gonna have to find my own way out of here”

After witnessing the showcase of talents, John asked Mari for a walk.

​“Where are you from?” asked Mari to break the silence.

​She repeated it again, “Where are you from?”
​“Oh! I’m from California.”

​“Where are you supposed to be going on your plane?”

​“I don’t really know. I just want to unwind. Let us just not talk about it.
​Speaking of my plane would help me retrieve my things?”

​“ Sure thing! We can go there by tomorrow.”

 

Gong! Gong! Gong! Three strikes on the gong woke John up. He clambered out of bed to check what’s happening. There he saw people gathering on the community square preparing for breakfast.

“This sure is a peaceful tribe.” John thought to himself.

“Come on!” Mari’s cheerful call snapped him out of his thoughts.

“But we haven’t even had breakfast yet.”

“It’s not yet prepared so we better get going. We don’t want to get soaked by the rain, do we?”

“How can you say that it will rain?”

“It always does. Yesterday was just an exception.”

“Do you think it will rain hard today?”

“I don’t think so. I prayed to the gods and asked them to make the rain a light one.”

“Does it snow here?”

“Only once a year”, replied Mari

With that, John did not ask anymore.

As they were walking on a clearing towards the forest, they saw Amadi with the other elders going inside the biggest hut. Before John was able to ask what they were going to do there, Mari spoke.

“They are going to talk about the celebration that we are going to have tomorrow.”

“Celebration for what?” asked John as they were walking.

“For the gods, of course! They have kept us away from any conflict and brought never-ending peace to our lands; it is only proper for us to give them praise. You know, we have this legend about one of our gods named Akachi who gave life to this land.”

“What about him?”

“According to the legend, Akachi had a son named Faraji who was a hundred times stronger than a normal person but very reckless. He thought that he was going to rule the land built by his father but when Akachi was on his death bed, he confessed something to his son. It was then that Faraji knew about his long-lost brother, Oma who is the great founder of our tribe. Oma was an illegitimate child, born to Akachi and his first love but he banished her because she was unfaithful. Nevertheless, Akachi loved Oma but was not able to find him. Faraji searched for his brother to settle everything, leaving his own family. Oma did not have the strength that Faraji had but he had a calm demeanor and a love for animals. When the time came that the brothers had to face each other, Oma was able to think of a plan on how to calm his brother down using his animal friends. When Faraji came back to his senses, he realized how wrong he was for trying to kill his brother. The two went back to their father’s land only to find out that Faraji’s family is gone, and so is their father. They were killed by another god named Tau. Faraji decided to avenge his family by trying to start a war with Tau but Oma was able to stop him by using his real powers, controlling the weather.”

“Wow”, was all that John was able to say. They were already crossing a hilly path when Mari finished her story.

“And that is why we rarely have snow, it’s because Oma is such a calm God, he does not want us to be burdened. But he does give us rain because we need it for our crops.”

“Great legend; I wonder who gave you the lands. You seem to have all kinds of them.”

“Not all, just the few that we need, especially the flat land we use for our crops. We are very grateful to the gods for what we have”, Mari looked straight into John’s eyes.

John was the first to break their eye contact.

​“Are we there yet?”

Mari snapped out of her daze and answered John.

“We’re almost there.”

She led the way into the forest by holding John’s hands which made him uncomfortable.

​“We’re here!” Mari let go of John’s hands to go near the wreckage.

​“It’s totally burnt.”

John was losing hope. He cannot go anywhere without his plane or any other means of transportation.

​“I’m sorry. But there is nothing we can do about it”

​“It’s okay, I understand.” Just then, John remembered something.

​“My phone and my wallet! I remember carrying those out with me.”

​“You did not have anything with you when we brought you to the village”

​“Then it must still be here!” He searched around the crash site only to find his cellphone with no more battery. He also found his wallet near his phone and thankfully, everything is still intact.

Because he had nothing more to get from the wreckage, they left.

 

“I am not annoyed, I am pissed!” was what John was thinking while the kids were playing with him, or more specifically, his hair. He was thinking of a way to escape from the village but because he does not know where on earth he is and because his cellphone has died out, he had no other choice but to wait for something to happen.

When the children finally got tired, he was able to relax. Mari, who was busy helping with the preparations for the festivities tomorrow, approached him and sat next to him

​“I’m sorry about the kids, their parents really spoiled them.”

​“I can see that.”

The kids’ parents were waiting for them by their huts. The girls went to their mothers while the boys approached their fathers.

Seeing John’s questioning look, Mari answered.
​“The females are taught to be mothers in the future. We can never work for our family; we can only serve our husband and take care of the children and the house. The males are taught by their fathers to work and how to impose rules in the household. They are the ones who discipline the children.”

John stared at Mari in awe. “She really knows everything about this tribe. Plus, she’s really beautiful.” He remembered the first time they met; she had that caring look in her eyes.

He was brought back to reality when Mari looked straight into his eyes. Her hazel orbs sparkled with enthusiasm.

​“What are you thinking of, John?”

​“Huh? Nothing.” John gave a little chuckle which gained more enthusiasm from Mari.

​“What are you laughing at?” She intensified her gaze by edging her face nearer to John’s. Their faces were inches from each other which made John gulp. Mari looked down which to John, looked as if she was eyeing his lips. He tried to speak but no words came out from his mouth. Her gaze went back to his eyes which caused John to flinch, making their almost-touching faces come nearer to each other.

​“You’re nervous”, Mari suddenly remarked which gained a sigh from John. She pulled her face back whilst John turned his head away. That was when he noticed how hot he was feeling. Mari stood up and went to a nearby huddle of women.

​“What was that?” John asked himself while trying to calm down.

Meanwhile, Mari was also thinking about what had transpired between her and John. She went to the group to hide her blush and to make sense of what just happened but apparently, her mind was playing tricks on her. She cannot understand why but her heart is just fluttering with excitement. “I must be going crazy with all these preparations!”

The celebration went smoothly and to end it, there was a dance. John saw Mari sitting away from the dancing people, evidently, the dance is by partners. He nervously went to her side and when she looked up at him, he mustered up all his courage to say five simple words.

​“Can I have this dance?”

Mari taken aback but she immediately stood up and placed her hand on John’s. Her heart was racing but she did not mind, her hands and feet were moving by themselves and without knowing it, they were already on the dance floor.

​“Ovel.”

​“What did you say?” John was bothered by the song because it seemed familiar to him.

​“The title of the song is Ovel.”

​“And what does that mean in English?” But Mari did not answer. The words got stuck in her throat.

​“It’s fine if you won’t tell me. It’s not like I’m going to stay here long enough for me to need to learn your language.”

With that, Mari felt her heart tear to pieces.
She mustered up enough courage to ask. “Do you want to leave already?”

​“I don’t want to leave; I just want to see my family. They must be so worried about me.” John stated with sadness and longing etched on his handsome face.
Mari was relieved with what John said. She does not know why, but she felt a warm sensation in her chest. She felt herself relax against John’s massive chest. She inhaled his scent, loving the masculine smell.
They cannot hear the song in the background anymore, all they can hear is the beating of their hearts and their shallow breathing.

Longing to prolong the feeling, Mari closed her eyes. She may not understand what it is, but she is definitely enjoying the sensation that John’s presence is giving to her. The song ended, but not the feeling.

 

It has been a month since John was found. He was exposed to the nature-loving culture of the tribe. He was enjoying every bit of his stay in the village of the Omaha tribe and the one who made it more enjoyable is Mari. They are inseparable for weeks now and Mari’s father did not like it. John has been staying at their house which made the situation more difficult for the tribe elder.

Amadi decided to talk to John about his relationship with Mari. They were in his study. Mari protested but was sent by her father away.

​“What’s going on between you two?”

​“What do you mean, sir?”

​“Don’t act as if you don’t know. There is something happening between you and my daughter and I do not like it. We have traditions that we follow here, boy. You can’t just break those centuries-old traditions!”

Unknown to them, Mari went to John’s room to find something that will prove to her father that John has no intention of hurting her. She found his wallet and when she opened it, she almost dropped it to the floor. There was a picture of John kissing a blonde woman

​“I should’ve known better!” Mari thought to herself.

She wanted to scream, but someone might hear her so she just went out of the hut. She ran until she got tired and settled on the foot of a nearby tree. She wept while thinking about those times when she and John had so much fun. She thought about the time she first saw him, almost out of breath and looking very tired. She also thought about how handsome his features were even though he had bruises. She mentally slapped herself for being so miserable. John hadn’t told her that he loves her, anyway. Who is she to assume? She’s just a lowly orphan adopted by a tribe leader while John is a handsome man who might already be married to a beautiful woman.

Back to Amadi’s study….
​“We may have only known each other for a short while, but I think…”

He can’t continue his confession because he is still not sure.

​“You think what?” Said Amadi, his patience getting shorter by the second.

John did not answer Amadi’s question but instead asked. “Can you please excuse me, sir?”

He did not wait for Amadi to answer and hurriedly went out of the room to search for Mari. He wants to talk to her, to sort their feelings out with each other. He looked everywhere, he went to her room, even outside but still, he can’t find Mari.

Amadi did not go after him because he knows where John will go. He likes the boy, even treating him like a son for the past few weeks, but he cannot let a stranger get too close with his daughter. He does not want Mari to repeat his mistake.

The last place to look that came to John’s mind was his room. The door was open but he remembered closing it before going to Amadi’s study. He went inside and saw his wallet on the floor. Seeing the picture in it, the memories came flooding back to his mind:

A blonde woman was holding John’s hands, crying.
​“I’m sorry, John.”
​“No, please, don’t leave me!”
​“But I don’t love you anymore; there is someone else that I love”
​“I can change! I promise!”
​“I’m really sorry, John” And she left. John only thought of one thing to do: “I must leave.”

He went to the tarmac and immediately boarded his plane. He wanted to get away from everything and forget what just happened. His long-time girlfriend just dumped him for another guy. His heart was broken and it needed time to heal.

His mind was too bothered to think about the blinking red light on the cockpit. He just steered aimlessly until he heard an exploding sound by the side of his plane. He did not know what happened and the next thing he knew, he was leaning on the cockpit with his arm and there was blood, trickling down his face.

John finished reminiscing and thought about what he was really there for.

​“Mari!” He finally understood. He needs to find her and explain everything. But he does not know where to look. He was confused; he needs to think but is too tired to do so. That was when he remembered the song taught to him by his mother. He hummed the song that he had memorized with his heart. His mother said that it was the only memory she had of his father whom he never met.

Amadi was astonished by what heard. He was searching for his daughter when he heard that very familiar sound of the song that he taught to his once true love. It was coming from John’s room and he decided to look inside. He saw John sitting on the bed with a wallet in his hands.

​“Who taught you that song?” Amadi asked which surprised John.

John was able to recover and answered Amadi. “My mother taught me, sir.”

​“What is the name of your mother?”

John hesitated but still answered. “Her name is Sophia, sir.”

​“Sophia? You mean, Sophia Robinson?” Amadi asked, tears welling up in his eyes.

​“Yes. Here’s a picture of her.” John got a picture from his wallet and showed it to Amadi. “How’d you…” But John was cut off because Amadi pulled him to a tight embrace. The tribe leader was crying

​“How old are you, son?”

​“I’m 23.”

​“She was here about 25 years ago. I can’t believe I will be able to see you again!” Amadi exclaimed, tears still falling.

​“You mean…?”

​“Yes, my son. I am your father. Your mother got lost while she and her friends were on a vacation. I found her and because we do not know how she will return, she stayed with us for about two years. She was a lovely woman; I fell in love with her within a couple of months so I courted her, sang “Ovel” to her and asked her to marry me. She got pregnant and we had you, our little “wise one”.

Tears also started to fall from John’s eyes. He knew now why the song during the dance was familiar to him, it was the Omahan version of the song “Love” taught to him by his mother. He can’t believe that he will see his real father whom she said was already dead.

​“But why did you let us leave?” John asked.

​“I did not want the two of you to leave. You were my life but we were just not meant to be together. She was somehow found by her family who relentlessly searched for her. I talked to them about letting the two of you stay with me but they denied me that favor. Your mother was the heiress to the family business and I am sure that you are the next in line. Meanwhile, I have my obligations with the tribe so I cannot go with you. We decided to part ways. It broke my heart but I knew that it was for your own benefit.

​“I see…” John broke from his father’s embrace. Things started to make sense but somehow, there is still something that is missing. He started for the door but what he saw halted him from going further. Mari was by the door; her eyes were filled with tears.

 

“I can’t believe it!” Mari whispered loud enough for Amadi and John to hear.

“I’m sorry, my daughter, for not telling you anything.” Amadi sincerely said to Mari after recovering from the shock. “And I am sorry, too, my son. I was never a part of your life.”

“It’s okay, sir.” John said with an unreadable expression.

“You can call me Father if you want to. I wish that I can turn back time and fight for your mother.”

“But you can’t. You can’t turn back time.”

“John….” Mari wanted to comfort John. She went to his side and caressed his back. “Nobody wanted for this to happen…”

“I know. And I do not blame anyone for it, not even you, Father.” John finally said with a smile.

“Thank you, son”, Amadi whispered.

“Then I guess what I am feeling for you is just brotherly love, Mari.”

Mari’s eyes lit up after hearing the word “love” from John.

“Maybe not, my son”, muttered Amadi.

“What do you mean?”

Mari answered for their father. “I am adopted, John. We do not have any blood connection.”

​“Why don’t we make a connection sooner by marrying you two?” Amadi excitedly suggested.

John and Mari were astounded. They never expected a tribe leader to coax them into breaking the tradition.
John laughed but his expression turned serious. “I do intend to marry her, but I would still want to follow the traditions of our tribe.”

​“You will?” Mari asked.

John locked his eyes with her. “I love you, Mari. And the girl on the picture is my Ex-girlfriend.”

She can see the emotion in his eyes so she replied. ‘I love you, too, John.”

“I will court and marry you because I am after all, a member of the Omaha tribe. But I need to inform my mother first.” He smiled to Mari who was already embracing him.

“By the way, dad, she’s not married yet” He added with a mischievous grin.




.........................End..........................