Playmates
by Queenie Z
Link furrowed his brow in concentration as he crawled along the ground on all fours, messing his hands and clothes with dirt. Though the boy had just passed his third birthday, he already considered himself something of a bug catching master - he knew all of best places to find them, from the blades of tall grass near the ranch to the colorful forest flowers by the spring. He scanned the ground for a moment longer; then, he saw a small rock nearby, and with a proud little grin he crawled over and lifted it. His face lit up in delight when he found the biggest, shiniest beetle he'd ever seen, and he grabbed it, holding it loosely in his tiny hands as he rose to his feet and ran back towards his playmate.
"I gots it!" he cried, "I gots a beetle!"
The old man in the shiny metal suit lifted his gaze from his seat on a nearby stump, chuckling quietly as the boy approached him. "Did you now?" he said with a small, amused smile.
"Uh-huh!" Link lifted his fist to show him the beetle squirming around inside. "See?"
The man nodded. "Your senses are sharp, little one." He placed a gentle hand on his head. "They will serve you well one day."
Link giggled as he laid the beetle down on the man's knee, joining the nearly half a dozen other bugs he had given him, including a caterpillar, a mantis, a pair of butterflies resting on his grayed golden hair, and a ladybug. "Wait here," he said as he turned to run off once more, "I'm gonna go find a walkin' stick!"
"Wait, child," said the man, stopping him in his tracks with an outstretched hand, "are you not going to put these poor creatures back where they belong?"
"Huh?" The boy turned, looking at his friend with a confused look.
"These insects belong to the forest," said the man as he gently gathered the bugs that crawled on his shoulders and legs. He cupped them in his hands, then offered them to Link. "I believe they would very much like to return home soon."
With a tiny finger on his lip, Link considered the old man's words. Then, he smiled at him. "Okay," he said, taking the bugs in his own hands and waddling over to a patch of grass before placing them down on the ground. He waved as he watched them scurry away into the woods. "Bye-bye, buggies!"
The man's smile grew wider, and he motioned for Link to return to him. "Very good," he said, scooping him up in his arms and sitting him down on his lap. "This world will be in dire need of a heart as kind as yours."
Link lifted his head, looking into the man's face; though his cheeks were marked with funny-looking scars and his right eye was covered by a dark patch, he didn't seem very scary at all. "Waddya mean by that?" he asked.
At that, the man paused slightly, his brow wrinkling and his gaze lowering. Even the toddler in his lap could see the melancholy in his worn features, which looked as though he had been sad about something for a long, long time. After a moment, however, he closed his remaining eye, and his expression became more peaceful.
"...The gods have blessed you," he said, "and They have planned for you a great and noble destiny. You will be chosen one day to carry out Their work, and you will go on to perform incredible deeds that only you could ever accomplish."
The man returned his gaze to Link; then, he placed his left palm against that of the boy's. Link's eyes widened slightly as the dark birthmark on his hand began to glow faintly.
"Grow strong, my child," said the man in a warm, tender voice. "Though you will not remember me, we will meet again someday."
Link's eyes remained fixed on the mark on his hand, entranced by the beautiful golden light it emitted. Then, slowly, he felt his eyelids begin to droop, and the vision of the man holding him began to dim...
The sound of birds chirping and eggs sizzling stirred young Link, and he scrunched his face in discomfort. Then, he opened his eyes to see a hairy pair of legs standing next to the stove. With a yawn, he sat up in his futon and rubbed at his eyes.
Hearing him stir, the boy's father turned to him after flipping over the last of the fried eggs in the skillet. "Well, look who's finally awake," he chuckled, his dark, unshaven cheeks wrinkling as he grinned.
Link ignored him, however, as he looked around the room, his eyes still half shut. "...Where'd he go?" he asked, his voice touched with sleepiness.
His father raised an eyebrow. "Where'd who go?"
"The nice man," he muttered, "with the metal shirt."
With a snort, his father sat the skillet off of the stovetop. "Ha! You're dreamin'," he said somewhat gruffly as he walked over to Link, bent over, and picked him up, letting his head droop lazily on his shoulder. "Now come on, ya stinker, breakfast is just about ready."
Link groaned slightly, wrapping his little arms clumsily around his father's neck but seemingly refusing to wake up fully. With an amused sigh, the dark haired man continued to carry him around for a while, bouncing him a little in an attempt to rouse him. When he caught a glimpse out of the window of the front door, however, he stopped, narrowing his eyes at what appeared to be a set of dog tracks - or perhaps wolf tracks - leading away from their home.
He scowled slightly to himself in worry - what a nuisance these wild forest animals were! He instinctually tightened his grip on his son as he made a mental note to talk to the mayor about their little problem.