Part One—Let the Truth Be Told

His name is Link...please take care of him. Link then came to just in time to see his mother scamper away. He arose up from the ground as quick as he could. Mother! Don't leave! He chased her to a meadow where he saw his mother kneeling, and praying. Link's eyes went soft, Mother... he said as he placed his hand on his mother's shoulder. She looked up from praying and stared into her son's eyes with tears in her own, Link, she said weakly, Please go back...leave me here. Leave me here to die. Link shook his head, No, mother. I want to be with you. His mother jerked out a golden holly stake from within her robes, I can't let you do that, Link. I won't. I must leave this awful world and flee to heaven; She raised the stake above her head. Link only backed away from her, Don't do this, mother. Don't do this! But it was to late. For his mother had already brought the stake down hard into her chest, killing herself instantly. No! Mother!

"Wake up, Link," said a familiar voice, "You're having another bad dream."

Link shook himself awake and sat up in the bed, breathing hard and sweating bullets. It took him a while before he realized he was still alive. His aqua colored eyes trailed about the room and landed on a boy, Matt, "That dream...when will it leave me?"

Matt rolled his eyes, "Don't ask me," he said, "It's that dream where your mother killed herself, right?"

Link nodded, "I've had it every night for a while now," he pulled the covers tightly around his body, "It's beginning to scare me."

Matt finished wiping the counter and blushed, "Maybe it's a stage you're going trough. Maybe..."

"No..." said Link, "This dream was even weirder than all the other dreams like this. I..." he swallowed, "I was able to feel my mother's warmth. It was almost as if she was alive and right next to me."

"It's probably a stage," Matt replied, "A very serious stage. One that would probably last a long time."

Link now was withdrawing his covers and getting out of bed. His eyebrows lowered as he sat down at the table and began to munch at his cereal. He chewed it slowly before he realized it was soggy and withered, "Ugh!" he pouted, "How long has this been sitting here?"

Matt smiled childishly, "A while," he said, "You woke up for about a half a minute and told me you wanted cereal. So I made it. But you already went back to sleep."

Link pushed his bowl a couple feet away from him, "I don't feel like eating the rest of this," he reached into a bowl across the table and pulled out a handful a berries. He shoved them in his mouth and got up from the table, "Ok...I'm outta here."

Matt banged on the table, "Hold it...you know the rules every Friday morning!"

Link put on an innocent face, "I do?"

"Don't act stupid, Link. Get your wooden sword out of the wardrobe and get your lazy ass in the yard."

Link dragged himself to the wardrobe, "C'mon, Matt. I don't feel like practicing sword dancing today," he said, "When do I get my real sword back?"

Matt took up his wooden sword as well, "When you learn how to use one properly, that's when," he grabbed Link by his tunic and hauled him out in the yard. He took up his sword and held it with two hands, "I'm gonna teach you today how to block when you don't have a shield."

Link rolled his eyes, "This is gonna be old."

Matt shot him a dark stare, "First," he began, "I'm gonna swing vertically at you. In order to block a vertical swing, you must hold your sword horizontally. Go ahead and think fast," because within a second, Matt had swung vertically. But Link, reacting, held his sword horizontally, blocking the swing. Matt nodded, "Now do you know what to do if I swing horizontally?"

Link shrugged, "I whimper?"

Matt frowned, "Be serious, Link. I'm only doing this for you."

"How is this working for me?"

Matt lowered his sword, "Let's see...I'm doing this for you maybe because I'm your best friend and I don't want to see another girl talking behind your back because you have no idea how to handle a sword. You got that, Mr. Smarty-pants?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just finish with your lessen so I could get out of here."

Matt took up his sword again...then lowered it. He stared at the ground.

"What?" said Link, "What's the matter?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. Just go ahead. Take your sword and go," he began to walk into the house, "Your sword is in the cupboard under the steps...I only wanted to help."

Link's eyes grew wide, "Is that were is really was?"

Matt nodded.

"Cool!" Link ran to the cupboard and opened it. He pulled out his shinning sword and waved it in the air triumphantly, "Finally! After three months I finally got my sword back!" he closed the cupboard and started towards the door. He opened it and stuck his body halfway out before turning back in and saying, "See ya at dinner, Matt."

No answer.

"Matt?"

Still no answer.

He shrugged and walked outside.

Way above the clouds, higher than the eye could see, stood the three goddesses: Din, Farore, and Nayru. They were all thinking the same thing at the same time. But Din was the first to mention it.

"Link has been having those dreams again," she said, "He really misses his mother...even though he's only seen him once."

Farore was the next to speak, "He's very confused with everything. Anything he stumbles across, he becomes confused. He needs a mother."

Now it was Nayru, "You know...we have the power to bring her back," she said, "We could if you'd like."

"No..." said Farore, "We can't. She's been dead these fourteen long years. We can't, we need stronger power."

Din focused her dark, red eyes in a small town in Hyrule. She spied a young girl and smiled, "There's only one way to bring Link's mother back to life."

Nayru blinked hard, "And how is that?"

She smiled, giving Nayru the message. Nayru smiled back and glanced at Farore, who was also smiling deceivingly. They all knew how to bring her back, but it wasn't at all how it seemed.

Farore crossed her arms and said, "But we must notify someone about it...someone Link trusts."

"We could tell Zelda," suggested Nayru.

"No," said Din, "I know Zelda's a person Link can trust, but think about it...we need someone that Link will turn first to when he has a problem. Just guess...who is it?"

Nayru and Farore both answered at the same time, "Matt!" Din smiled.

"Of course it's Matt. Who else could it be?" she said. Then she turned to Nayru, "I need you to transport Matt here. We can tell him as soon as he arrives."

Nayru nodded and fled to get Matt. She returned only within a matter of minutes with him; his face confused as ever.

Farore patted him slightly on his back, "Do not be afraid, Matt. We're the three goddesses."

Matt licked his lips, "I quite know that but...why am I here? Am I being punished?"

"No...no," said Din, "We'd like to tell you something. It's something about Link," she leaned closer to his ear and whispered their secret. Then she brought herself back to stare into his shocked face.

"No way!" he said, "I must tell Link. He'll be overjoyed!"

"No," said Din's stern voice, "This is a secret that must be kept. Link will find it out on his own."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Please! Link still doesn't even know how to make his own cereal. How is he going to out about his mother?"

The three sisters exchanged worried looks at each other. Farore's shaky voice answered his question, "Ok...you can tell him. But...only when you feel the time is right to reveal it to him. You understand?"

Matt nodded cautiously, "Yes...I understand. Only when the time is right."

Din smiled, "Very good, you've always been a good boy—a boy who listens to what he's been told to do...Ok, Nayru. You could take him back home, now. It's time."

Link glanced around the deserted Kakariko Village. There was nobody in sight. The rain had made the soil dirty and muddy. So the villagers wouldn't allow themselves outside their houses.

He shrugged and pulled out his sword and swung it as if he was fighting someone, "Take that, Ganondorf!" he yelled and he swung again, "You can't get away from me this time, you're dead meat," he jumped back as if someone was trying to strike him, "Oh...I'm to quick for ya," his eyes grew fierce, "Time to die once again!" he lunged forward as if he was plunging a sword into someone's side, "Ha! I've defeated you once again."

He then looked around, fearing someone had been watching him. He raised the sword a little and began pacing back and forth among the alleys. His eyes shifted as he poked around every corner.

A shuffle of leaves was heard from behind and Link whirled around with fright, "Who's there?" he stammered. He slashed back some bushed, "y-you don't scare me!"

Just as he said that, he heard a trash can from inside an alley topple over and fall onto the hard ground, making a loud, tortured sound. He gasped as he ran to the alley in which he thought he heard the crash coming from. He saw, scattered all over the floor, was trash. But he also noticed something else.

It was a girl. A girl, who looked about his age and had dark, brown hair. She looked a little frightened, on account that Link had a sword. She blinked her blues quite quickly as she swallowed hard in her dry throat.

But there was something about this girl that Link noticed right off the bat. This girl looked exactly like his mother...only a little younger. She had the same facial features and her hair was just as straight. It made Link's head spin, because he thought for a slight second about just flying into the girl's arms and hug her as if she really was his mother. But he didn't...and that made his heart race.

The girl stammered a little, "I-I'm sorry. Did you hear that?" she lowered her eyes and blushed, "I'm sorry...I was just looking for food. There's nothing here. I guess the Hylian Dogs had gotten here before me. Almost every day that happens."

Link, for some reason, relaxed, "That's fine," he pointed to Matt's house, "My friend and I would love to give you something to eat back at our house."

She sniffed a little, as if she had a cold, "You live with your friend?"

"Well...not exactly. There was a fire back at where I used to live. And Matt offered me to stay with him until I save up enough money to rebuild my house."

The girl smiled, "That was nice of him," then she lost her smile and stared at the ground, "At least you have a friend. At least you have someone who can take you in when you're homeless. As for me, nobody can give a heck about the poor girl who lives on the streets and uses old newspapers for blankets and eats from the trash can and sleeps in little chicken coops and..." her voice trailed off as she looked up from the ground and laughed nervously, "Just listen to me—I'm thinking out loud and saying too much. I know what you're thinking. I know I'm a little weird. I don't really have to eat at your house...it's not like you're making me," she sniffed again, "I don't really want to be a burden on you...or your friend."

Link shook his head, "That's nonsense!" he said, "It's not like we pay rent. Or buy anything. We live on Mr. Bradley's livestock. And that's kept us running for a long time."

She smiled and sniffed, "Thank you...whatever your name is."

"It's Link," he said, "Just plan old Link. I never knew my last name."

She scuffed some dirt to the side, "Vicky...my name is Vicky Coherence."

He smiled, "That's a pretty name," he started to lead her back to the house, "You know what...I don't think you're weird at all. I'd say you were just a normal girl who just doesn't have a home," he placed his sword back into his scabbard, "If you like, I'll ask Matt if you can sleep at our house a couple of nights. It's fine with me, and I'm sure he'll agree too."

"Oh no! That's too much. I wouldn't ask for me to stay at your house. I'd say the most I could ask you for is a simple piece of fruit to last me for the week."

Link shook his head as he stopped in front of the door to his house, "Just stay. It's winter...and it's better to stay in a warm bed than in a cold alley."

"I guess you're right."

Link nodded as he swung open the door, "Matt! I'm back!"

"So soon?" he heard a voice come from the den. He then saw Matt enter the room and stand there, staring at Vicky, "And who is she?"

Vicky smiled, "My name is Vicky."

"She's a girl I saw picking around the trash can for food. She..."

"Around the trash can!" he brought both hands to his face, "Are you hungry? Would you like me to whip up something for you to eat? You could stay here for a couple nights if you want."

Link smiled, "See...I told you it would be okay with him if you stayed," he rubbed his stomach, "So...what really are you going to 'whip up?'"

"Oh, just something real good," he replied, "What would you want, Vicky?"

She smiled warmly, "Meat...lots of meat. Any kind of meat would make me happy."

"Do you like pork? Because that's all we have."

"Pork..." she said in a dreamy kind of way, "It's been so long since I had a good bite of pork. Yes...I'd like some."

Matt nodded, "That's what Link and I have been eating everyday for dinner for as long as we can remember."

Link laughed, "Yeah...and every morning, it's either cereal or eggs."

"Then what do you have for lunch?"

"Nothing," said Matt, "We don't eat lunch. We chew on sunflower seeds. That way, we feel like we're eating something and it makes us less hungry. Plus, it stretches our food supply."

"That's smart," she said, "I would have never thought of something like that."

Matt smiled, "You and Link can go do something while I'll cook. Pork takes a while."

Vicky twirled a strand of thread around her finger and sniffed, "You know...Matt's really the first male I've ever known who could cook. He's someone really rare."

Link nodded, "I think he said he learned how to cook from his mother. His mother must have been a great cook, because he makes mean food."

She unwired the string from her finger and placed it back in the box, "I wish I knew how."

"Matt says I need to learn the basics first," he said, "Like cereal. I sick of making cereal."

Vicky laughed, "I haven't had cereal in a long time. I'm glad you and Matt have invited me to stay with you at your house. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said with a grin, "Like Matt always told me, it's best to be nice to the people who are needed," she grinned back, "How...how did you become homeless in the first place?"

Vicky lost her smiled and stared down at the ground.

"You know what?" he asked, "Just forget what I said. I shouldn't be asking about personal stuff."

She shook her head, "No...it's okay. It just brings back a lot of painful memories," she gave off a short smiled, "Father used to beat me hard. And mother never did anything about it. One day, when we were at a party, he lit my knee on fire in front of everyone. And someone called the security guards. They took him away and threw him in jail. I was then living with my mother and my uncle, who had moved in after father left. But my uncle was much worse. He beat me non stop...and he beat mother too," she stopped to wipe away a tear, "Then...he killed her."

"Your mother?" Link asked in shock.

Vicky nodded sadly, "My mother."

"Why?"

"It was because she was lazy, or so he thought. But she wasn't...she was sick. And she couldn't move a lot or she would be in pain. So she mostly stood in bed. So my uncle thought she was no use and decided to kill her...right in front of me," she paused a little, "I feared that he would kill me too. So I..."

"You ran away," he said, finishing her sentence. She nodded and wiped away another tear. Link leaned over and hugged her, "I'm sorry...I lost my mother too. She was killed also."

She lifted herself from his body, "And how did she die?"

Link tried to laugh it off, "I don't really remember her. I was a baby when it happened. She died in the war. It has been so hard without her."

Vicky patted his back, "It's hard for me too," she said, "I've been living with a secret all my life."

"And what is that?"

"Well if I tell you it wouldn't be a secret, would it?"

Link smiled, "I guess."

Vicky wiped away one more tear, "I've been keeping that story in for so long. You're the first I've ever told it to."

"You can tell me anything. I'm your friend."

Matt stuck his head into the room and smiled, "Hey, I wanted to say that the pork is ready. Come whenever you feel like it."

Matt, Link, and Vicky sat at the table, eating their plates of pork. They were talking and laughing and sharing their day. But it wasn't long before Link found himself looking at Vicky every minute. At one point she caught him.

"Why are you staring at me, Link?" she said.

He didn't answer. Instead he got up from the table, went to his room, and returned with a picture in his hand. He slid it across the table to Vicky, "It's a picture of my mother."

Vicky took up the picture, "It's...nice. She's really pretty. She looks like you a lot. She looks just like..." she paused and trailed off.

Link nodded, "Finish it, Vicky."

Vicky smiled nervously, "She looks just like...me."

Matt shook his head solemnly, "It's about time you knew the truth."

Link looked at Matt astonishingly, "What do you mean? You know why she looks like my mother?"

He nodded, "Yeah...I know. The three goddesses sort of brought back your mother."

"What do you mean sort of?"

"I mean...they brought her back...in a way...a very special way," he smiled, " Link...Vicky is the reincarnation of your mother. You mother's soul has been recycled in her body."