Part 1: Ziio
I could've loved you, Haytham. I could've.
The stability in your arms, the smile on your lips, the history in your eyes. But I saw the hard determination in your fists the first time we met, and I understood. You could never love me.
Still, I think of you sometimes. And I surprise myself with how much I remember of you. I remember the blues of your robe and your hawk-like hat. I remember thinking that you must be a sign of change. A messenger of the gods. A guardian of the earth and her children. I remember thinking that you must be the answer to our red-coated problems. But now I think I was only selfish. And blind. You weren't the answer to our problems, only the bringer.
Maybe I still think too kindly of you, but sometimes I think that you also brought some good. Like my son, Ratonhnhaké:ton. Yes, my son, because I am too afraid to associate him with you. I am too afraid that if my people discover the truth, they will cast him out. A Kanien'kehá:ka* is no one without his tribe. You understand, don't you? Maybe one day, when the sun sets on this world, he may call you 'father'. I think you will like it.
Sometimes I think of what we will be like as a family. Maybe you will live with us in Kanatehséton*. But I think not. You will stay in Boston or New York or London. You are an ambitious man. Filled with the future. You've killed out of blind ambition and bloodthirsty power. You will not make a good father. And my son will not walk down that same path. Ratonhnhaké:ton will choose the one you did not choose. One day, Haytham, both your paths will cross and I think he will bring you many troubles.
Will you remember me then? Will you look at my son and see me in his eyes? Will you think of me and stay your hand? Will you remember our time together? They were the happiest days of my life. Also the stupidest. I was naive. And you were desperate. And I knew nothing about you.
But now I do.
I am sorry, Haytham. If it were a different time and we were different people, I could've loved you.
-Fin.
Notes
Kanien'kehá:ka - also known as the Mohawk ; Connor's people
Kanatehséton - a Kanien'kehá:ka village ; Connor's village