Aryll's point of view of Wind Waker

I hear Grandma huffing as she scuffles about the kitchen. A pan clatters as it falls on the floor. Grandma doesn't curse, but I hear a long sigh. She is getting old. I hear a muscle pop as she picks up the dish. What is she doing up so early?

I roll over in my sheets and peer out the window. The sun has barely kissed the waves – it's not even dawn. I scoot my way out of bed and begin dressing myself. The wooden floors are cold to my toes, so I hurry as I dress. After braiding my hair into pigtails and tying my leather sandals, I rush down the ladder.

My grandma is warming up water in the fire. She hears my steps and quickly embraces me. I hug her back, surprised. She usually isn't so chipper, unless it's a holiday or someone's birthday.

"Oh!" I suddenly remember, "It's Link's birthday!" Grandma rolls her eyes, and gives me a peck on the cheek. I look behind her to a see a pile of green cloth in desperate need to hemming. "Need some sewing help, Gram?" I just learned how to sew a double stitch, and my hands itch to practice my craft.

She shakes her head, "No, dearie, but could you find Link? He must've been out practicing with Orca late last night again. He probably forgot that today's his big day!"

"Okay!" I grab my telescope from a peg by the door and skedaddle out of the cottage.

"Big Brother!" I call. Of course there's no response. Link is a heavy sleeper; I doubt even an angry pig could wake him. I call his name a few times and wave to the neighbors as I explore the island. He's not napping in the shrubs, nor slumbering by the shore. There's only one place he could be: my lookout.

I clamber up the ladder to the lookout. The elders say that it used to be a lighthouse, but now it's mostly where us village children pay with the gulls. Link's up there now, snoozing in a sunlight. A seagull nips at his pockets, takes a shiny green rupee, and flies off. I chortle at the sight. Link looks so cute when he's sleeping, I almost don't want to wake him.

I quickly get over it. "BIG BROTHER!" I shout into his ear. I dart behind him, so he can't see me. He jumps, stretches, and gets ready to roll back into sleep. "I knew you'd be here." He jumps again. I enjoy scaring the crap out of him.

His eyes are bleary and his face contorts as he holds back a yawn. I giggle, "This is my favorite spot to gaze out at the sea. When I play with the gulls, I call it "Aryll's Lookout." Of course he knows this; we've often come up here together to trade tales of longing to see more of the Great Sea islands.

"So, do you remember what day it is today?" If I didn't remember at first, there's no way my sleepy big brother can. He stares blankly at me, eyebrows raised. "You're still half-asleep, aren't you? Did you forget?" He stills stare blankly; I think he's contemplating falling asleep still standing. "Big Brother, it's your birthday!" Now, I've got his attention. Link's always been the strong, silent type, but his eyes reveal everything. He completely forgot!

I tell him that Grandma's waiting for him at the house and watch him jump down the lookout, forgoing the ladder. That boy is reckless, and I hold my breath as he rolls away, unharmed. Grandma tells me that our mother was the same way, but I can't imagine a woman jumping around, forgoing safety like Link. After my mother died bringing me into this world, Link spent a lot of time wandering the island, alone. Then I grew up, and wandered with him. He never blamed me for Mom's death. He often tells me stories of her…

Lost in a train of thought, I barely notice when I see green in the corner of my eye. The seagulls surrounding me fly off, and I know the green blob is Link. For some reason Gulls, or really any kind of bird, distrust him. I don't know why. Link's wearing some sort of green getup, and it looks uncomfortably warm.

"Did Grandma make that outfit for you?" He nods and scratches at his sleeve, obviously wanting to rip the clothes off and go back to his pajamas. I make some snappy comment about the outfit, in true little sister style then request that he shut his eyes. I have a present for my brother. It's more like a last minute idea, since I forgot his birthday, but whatever. It's still precious.

He holds out his hands, and I place my telescope into them. Grandma tells me that the scope was forged by Rito, and it was a wedding present from my dad to my mom. She loved seagulls like me, apparently. Anyways, he opens his eyes and holds tight to my most precious belonging. He should know how much it means to me; I almost never let it leave my sight.

"You should try it out! Right now! Try looking at our house from up here!" He nods and positions the scope. I see a small smile forming, and I can't help but to smile too. But the smile turns sour in a moment.

Link whispers softly, "The postman looks kinda weird, doesn't he?" I squint to see what he's talking about, and glance up at the sky. Holy Hylia…

"The sky! Look up in the sky!" A giant Kargaroc, dark as night, is soaring above our island. A golden plume floats gracefully in a wind. I've never seen such a terrifying, majestic creature. Not even the monsters in the elder's tales compare. I hear Link take in a sharp breath, and the island shakes. A boom cracks through the air, splitting my ears. I look into the ocean. A looming brown ship speeds furiously across the water. Pirates! They shoot cannonball after cannonball into the sky; the bird dodges effortlessly. Finally, one cannonball hits the target; the bird whirls and screeches a bloodcurdling screech. As the bird writhes in the air, a small parcel falls from its grasp and into the forest. I realize in horror that the parcel is a girl.

I can't stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth, "Link, this is so terrible! That girl fell into the forest! She needs help!" I shake in fury; the girl is in grave danger, but Link will be too if he goes into the forest unarmed. I mutter as he scrambles off, "It's dangerous to go alone!"

I look back into the ocean. This day has certainly grown much more interesting.