Broken Bonds
By GreatAngemon
Breathe in… breathe out… breathe through the pain. That's it, just keep breathing.
And that's all I did, the entire day. Breathe. I said hello to a few family members, shook some relatives' hands. I had a piece of cake. But the only constant through my day was the breathing. In… out… in… out…
That was the hardest day of my life. People had told me that it would be the wedding. Or the day my first kid was born. But those were happy days to me. The happiest days of my life. This… this was just something I had to endure. I had to endure, because Tetra would have wanted me to be strong.
And so I breathed. And breathed. And breathed.
That was five years ago, and still I need to breathe sometimes. I just stop whatever I'm doing and breathe… in… out. So that's been my life ever since Tetra died. All alone, in my house full of broken bonds and promises.
Her sister, Zelda, moved in with me. She had felt the same pain I had. She had been closer to her sister than anyone.
And so, we lived together. Not in a, "She shacked up with him, the hussy," sort of way, but more in the, "Oh, they must be really lonely," sort of way.
It wasn't anything big. She had one room, I had another. We shared everything else. The kitchen, the living room. Everything.
"Link," she calls to me from the living room. "Link, where're the new batteries? The remote's dead."
I walk out of my bedroom, smiling slightly. "You bought them," I say. "You did the shopping. Why do I have to find everything?"
"Because you're oh so good at it," she jokes. I open a drawer on the island in the kitchen and pull out a few batteries.
"Here you go," I say, tossing them at her. They cascade onto her head.
"Aahh!" she says, covering her face. "That wasn't very nice."
"Isn't my job to be nice," I say sweetly. She sticks her tongue out at me.
"I'm going to go take a shower," I tell her, walking down the hallway.
"Uh-huh," she says distractedly, fiddling with the remote. "Have fun."
I open the door to the bathroom and pull a towel out of the cabinet. Pulling the curtain of the shower back, I pull off my shirt. As I turn the hot water knob, I pull off my pants.
Then, as I step into the tub, I feel it. The undeniable urge to stand still and breathe. And so I stop moving. I just stand there. But it passes, and I pull the curtain closed. Then a new feeling, one I haven't felt in five years, springs up in me.
The urge to cry. And it's as irresistible as the urge to breathe. And I break down. I fall down onto my knees, and the tears pour, flowing through the gates that had held them back for five long years. I know I scream, but it's all I can do. Scream and cry.
I hear a soft knocking on the door. "Link?" I hear Zelda say gently. "Is everything alright?"
I try and pull myself together. "Its fine," I manage to choke out. "I just stubbed my toe." But she knows I'm lying. She opens the door, making me extremely glad I'd managed to convince Tetra to get the curtain with the pattern, not the clear one.
"Link, what's wrong?" she asks.
"Nothing?" I say, poking my head out of the curtain.
"Link, tell me what's upset you?"
"I'm not upset."
She gazes shrewdly at me. "Link, your eyes are all puffy. I know you've been crying."
"I told you, I…"
"It's about Tetra, isn't it?" She doesn't say it loudly, or in an, "I know what's wrong, so shut up," way. It was soft; gentle, and understanding. And I turn off the water. She slings my towel over the curtain rod, and sits down on the toilet seat.
As I put the towel around my waist, she says, "I know how much you miss her. I miss her too. But…" her words catch in her throat, until she manages to croak, "…she's gone."
I stare at her, but I can't bring myself to say anything. I walk to the bathroom door, but as my hand closes over the door knob I feel her arms close around me in a hug.
It wasn't a, "Let me help you," hug. It was deeper than that. It was a, "Please help me too," hug. And so I hugged her.
And she starts crying. I cry, my tears running into her beautiful golden hair, so reminiscent of Tetra's.
"Link," she sobs. "Link…"
I just hold her, unable to say anything. It had been so long. So long since I'd let any of my true emotions out. So long since I'd had anyone I could talk to.
"I miss her so much."
She looks up into my eyes and slowly brought her face towards mine…
To be continued?
Authors note: Also, this is my response to leahisadinosaur's challenge at the RLt.