A/N: This was written for a Zelda fiction-writing contest. I hope you enjoy - and critiques are always welcome.
"Six"
by
Diane B. Taylor
Three days left – it is time enough? He has not come yet. Some say he will never come in time, which they assume would be in my best interests. They also whisper that he has run off with…I do not want to say.
3 Days Before The Carnival of Time – 2:00 p.m.
I stand in my usual spot in my family's inn – the check-in desk. I wait for him, and in the meantime…well, the chores and checking-in do not take care of themselves. Time goes by like any other day before.
It is early afternoon, business is unusually slow. Suddenly, the postman opens and enters through the front door in the inn foyer. Without an introduction or even a greeting, he thrusts an envelope into my hands. I sputter, stunned – I know this handwriting.
"I have delivered this to you!" He cries and turns to leave.
"Wait!" I exclaim. "The letter…Where did you get it?"
He refuses to tell me. Repeatedly he dodges my queries – or else, he truly doesn't know. After a short time of my interrogations, he finally departs.
I can only stand and stare at the closing door, squeezing the letter in my hands. The door slams shut, and my attention curves to the enveloped letter. I swear I can still smell him on it – that musky, distinct scent.
I suddenly hear mild foot-shuffling before the counter, and I look over to see a small boy in green: shield slung at his back, sword carefully hidden, but likely within easy reach. He grins happily, obviously unaware of my current situation. I smile back and bow quickly.
"Welcome to the Stock Pot Inn," I say. "Do…did you…," the words don't come like they have in times past. "Do you have a reservation?"
He nods energetically, still smiling, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I give Link – the name written in the reservation book – the key to his reserved room and consider this the end of our discussion…until Link assumes his face, his demeanor, his eyes.
My heart jolts: "You are also looking for him?!" I cry. Link slips the face off.
"I have been asked to look for him, yes," he answers.
"Then…," my mind searches wildly for a proper meeting time – I must talk to this boy further, but I cannot…the time is not right.
"Please meet me in the kitchen of this inn tonight at midnight," I say, my voice thick and unsteady. "I believe I have a clue which might help us."
He smiles, bows, and waves as he exits the inn. I have hope – there might still be time enough…
3 Nights Before The Carnival of Time – Midnight
I am so anxious I believe I could be sick – I fear the appointed time is too late. I pace my bedroom while the clock chimes away the minutes and hours. Finally, I hear the front door to the inn open and shut. Tip-toeing down the stairs swiftly, I slip into the check-in foyer and see that Link is already waiting for me. Quickly, I lock the door and draw him into kitchen.
"I am sorry to trouble you late at night," I begin. "It's about him…Kafei."
I pause, but Link nods for me to continue. "Today…I received a letter from him. It is strange to receive a letter from one who seems to be missing. But this time, I am not wrong! I know this…it's clear…to me…" A lump in my throat rises, almost too much to control, but I must continue in spite of it.
"This letter…" I begin again. "I wrote this the night he was declared missing. I wrote it to him…after the rumors began saying he ran off to marry a farm girl. This time, I have great hope that he hasn't run away at all.
"Here is my request: would you take this letter to a postbox in my place? When it is delivered…when he receives it…you should be able to meet him!" I have hope and dread in my heart at the same time. I hand the letter to Link and say, "When you meet him…please tell him that Anju is waiting for him."
Link bows. "I will do this for you, Anju," he says, smiling gravely. He turns to depart, and just as he leaves the kitchen, I whisper one last request to him: "Please, after you've seen him…tell me how he looked." He bows one last time, and withdraws from the kitchen.
I stand alone and listen to the water over the fire boil. I can hear Link's footsteps going up the staircase to his room – thud, thud, thud. The sound is light and this brings me to consider an obvious fact – I am entrusting my future to this child. Why do I hope in him? What aura does he have that makes me confident to hand my life's outlook to him? Is he even capable of bringing us back together? How much time is left?
2 Days Before The Carnival of Time – 5:00 p.m.
My time is spent as before; only, there is a belief, an assurance that was not present before. I have told no one else of my plans as of this time.
I check in several guests throughout the day. They all come into to see our legendary Carnival of Time – our Carnival is absolutely unparalleled. Fireworks become the canopy over us; ruckus music makes our feet dance, and performances by special artists are the highlight. Our magnificent Clock Tower overlooks our celebration.
Kafei and I are – or we were – to be married during the Carnival of Time. If he does not return in time for our wedding, what will happen?
An imminent future looms over us, an evil future. The moon…it drops lower with each passing minute. I am afraid – it will crash into us, this little town. I am afraid if Kafei does not arrive in time that he will perish with the crashing of the moon. But won't we all die with the crash anyway?
Another guest enters, breaking me out of my thoughts. It is Link. He runs up to my check-in desk, I see that his face is aglow with hope, and my heart leaps.
"Did you meet him?" I ask softly.
Link replies, "Yes," and hands me a necklace and pendant – unmistakable. I shout in recognition.
"It's from Kafei!" I say. "Thank you…so very much!" Link smiles, bows graciously, and leaves the inn once more.
My heart and mind are made up - I will not be dissuaded. My lover, Kafei, is
going to return. We will be married before time's end, before the moon crashes.
Perhaps we will even have the opportunity to flee together.
While my heart and mind cannot be swayed, I continue to have doubts. What if something happens to Kafei before he can reach me? The moon still leers above us…it is apparent that it will crash. How much of our country will be destroyed when it does? If he cannot reach me, and I stay here at the inn, will I die alone? Who else will be in the inn…or will they all flee for shelter? Will I be the only one left in the whole town if I stay?
How much time is left now?
1 Day Before The Carnival of Time – 9:00 a.m.
Mother and Grandmother are leaving and all the guests of the inn are leaving as well. I have not seen Link at all since he gave me Kafei's pendant.
Mother packed my bags for me to try to convince me to take shelter with her and Grandmother, but I said that this would be the time that I would stay and wait for Kafei.
"If we have the opportunity to catch up with you and Grandmother, we will," I said. "But if not, you would know where we will be." I do not want to think what would happen if Kafei never showed up – the fear is almost overwhelming.
Mother and Grandmother are leaving at last. Mother gives me one final backward glance as she leaves the inn, the door closes softly…and they are gone. Headed for shelter away from the impending crash of the moon. I suddenly have a crazed urge to run after them, to say I've changed my mind. Please! I'm sorry, I'm coming – I don't want to be alone! But I have made a promise to Kafei, even though he was not present to hear it. I will for as much time as it takes.
I am completely alone, at last; I go up to the inn roof to behold what I can of Termina. I open the door to the roof, and all I can see are eerily silent streets and squares, quiet rooftops and the Clock Tower. It's deep, sonorous ticking seems to have intensified without the noise of a busy town to keep it quiet. It is ticking away time…indeed, the sound seems to say…time…time…time…it's…
a bit…
of time…
never…
to be…
regained…
And there is the moon. I suppose it is because I have not been outside much since Kafei's disappearance, but I notice for the first time the moon's ugly grimace, its eyes wild. Even though the moon is also affected by the passage of time, it doesn't seem to want to crash into Clock Town. I stared hard at it…no indeed, it seems to be trying to work against the curse laid on it…
I felt the earth quake – that was new. Would there be an earthquake at the time of the moon's crashing? If the people in Termina who took refuge lived through the moon's crash, would they be swallowed up into the earth when it split? Death is never avoidable for any one of us, but can it be delayed? How can I know? But I know this much: the passage of time is inevitable.
My mind flashes to an old story told to children meant to warn of the dangers of "repeating the past."
Many centuries ago, the people of Termina led peaceful, fulfilled lives. No one starved, there was plenty of harvest. Even the poorest of the poor had enough to last them through hard winters. Clock Town was prosperous and the center of commerce for the country of Termina, and the annual Carnival of Time was second to none. Races from all over Termina gathered to celebrate and mourn the fateful passage of time. The lives of loved ones passed onto the Immortal's Plane were commemorated, weddings were had on all four corners of Clock Town, and babies born in the past year were blessed and given presents.
In the flourishing, the people of Termina forgot to thank the Goddesses who had given them all by which the Terminians prospered – the people believed they had achieved it all with their own hands. One day, the Goddesses asked the people of Termina to give them their rightful due; the Terminians rebelled.
To demonstrate to the Goddesses they could live without Them, the people of Termina asked their leaders to create a god. A god whom they could worship, a god who would watch over their affluence and would not demand offerings of them.
Majora's Mask was created.
It's glowing eyes could watch over their wealth. It was inanimate – or so they thought – and thus would not ask much of them. It was an object that seemed perfect in every way to the Terminians.
The Goddesses saw the insolent actions of Termina, and punished the people for their arrogance. The creature Majora inside the mask was given life – and nearly obliterated Termina.
After the Goddesses had felt the people had learned their lesson, they made dormant the mask of Majora, hid it. Bu after all that time, it was re-discovered by a nameless person – none now know where it lies…or with whom it lies.
Night Before The Carnival of Time – 9:00 p.m.
I clean the inn the entire day – sweeping, mopping, dusting, watering the plants, placing bug poison, washing walls, washing dishes, washing bed sheets. It is a coping mechanism, I know that. The relentless march of time pushes the feeling of isolation to a level that feels more than I can bear, and activity seems to help.
Now, I sit in my bedroom…and wait. Time lays loneliness on me, but time also forces my thoughts to an impossibly slow pace. The clock in my room ticks away seconds of my life I will never recover. When will he come?
I look to the clock. Shouldn't it be time for him to come? He and Link? It's 12:30…where are they? How time flies and is taken for granted.
I stare at the wedding gown I sewed for myself just in time to present to Kafei before he disappeared. I remember he said how elegant it was, how it suited me. We showed each other our wedding masks as well – the masks that had taken years…so much time…to create. Would our wedding masks ever be joined into one?…Time…The clock tower rings the minutes away…time…
The earth continues to shake, but more strongly than before…time…
The earth shakes – tiny pieces of plaster break off and shatter on the floor…time…
In between the tremors, I hear the house settling, staircase creaking with the strain. The roof grinds…time…
The clock in my room actually bounces against the wall as the quakes come in waves…time…
There is only silence outside my window besides the sound of shifting earth – there are no screams as I had expected…time…
It is 3:00 in the morning – is it too late? Has time run out? Should I try to escape the moon's crash?
Suddenly, I hear steps pounding into the main foyer and up the stairs. Kafei?...time...
A knock, and Link slips in, not Kafei. It is too much – the stress from his disappearance, the empty town, the sight of the falling moon, the sound of my life ticking away – I break down in sobs. I can only hold my head in my hands….time… I look up to Link and see that his face is pulled tight with emotion. I can't hold back any longer.
"Link…tell me he's coming!" I cry. "Tell me he's coming, please!" I try to stand on my feet, but my knees give way, and I crawl to Link instead. I touch his feet, begging with my hands. "Tell me…tell me he's coming!"…time…
I feel his small, comforting child's hand touch my hair. "He's coming," I hear faint footsteps on the stairs and…and…and…
…there he is.
I cannot speak – I am perfectly incapable.
I sit back on my feet, my wedding mask in my hands. Kafei holds his wedding mask in his.
He has been cursed, that much I can tell – cursed to the body of a small child. Yet his eyes tell a story that few men in their dotage can tell.
My voice comes faintly, addressing my returned lover, "What a familiar scent. Long, long ago…Yes. We were still young. We made a promise…Didn't we? The masks of the sun and moon…We were to exchange them on the day of the Carnival of Time."
The silence in the room is tangible. Even the earth's quakes have ceased for us…just for this – our – time…
Kafei tries to keep the regal face he always has, and says, "Anju…I'm sorry I was late."…it's almost time…
Sobs return, and I open my arms to him, erasing all the time we spent apart. "Welcome home," I said. He flies into my arms and envelopes me in his embrace. …It's almost time...
A tremble from the earth alerts us to the situation – a moment, a breath before the moon falls.
Kafei and I combine our masks and become a married couple. I am not wearing the wedding dress I had worked on so carefully over eons of time, but I do not care for that.
I address Link who witnessed our exchange. "Please take refuge." I do not want him caught up in the destruction of Clock Town if it can be avoided. Kafei encourages Link, "We shall greet the morning…together."
Whatever may come – we'll have each other.
A New Day: Beginning of a New Age – 6 a.m.
The dawn of a new day arrives and the moon no longer leers above us. Clock Town is no longer in a consistent state of panic – time is of no consequence. Business begins as usual. Celebrations begin. And a promise is in the sky – a bright new day. A new sun no longer blocked out by a merciless moon. It is time to begin our lives again; it is time thank the Goddesses for their mercy.
Mine and Kafei's love story will be repeated through hundreds of other couples time and time again through our spirits.
When Kafei and I look for Link to thank him for bringing us back together, we cannot find him. I ask Kafei, "It was time for his departure then?"
Kafei replies, "Yes, he left for the country of which he is the Hero of Time; He will also be remembered here as the Hero of Termina. But he will be yours and my Hero first and foremost."
It is the dawn of a new era where time is not the tyrant over our lives as it once was. Harmony reigns throughout Termina, and tranquility resides in Clock Town. Peace, joy, and love ascend their thrones in mine and Kafei's hearts.
For the rest of our time.