Authors note: There's a lot of debate into whether Darunia died in the Fire Temple. So for this story, just presume that Link thinks Darunia is dead.
A Stranger's Encounter
Evening was beginning to settle in, the only light now in the form of a beautiful, deep crimson stretching across the Western skyline. Tomorrow would be another pleasant day.
As the light melted steadily behind the westward forest, the night's sky above it became a deep blue. It was a clear evening so the Gerudo Blade constellation was clearly visible. The Zora Scale constellation, which was only visible in mid-summertime, was also just coming into view from the North, shining brightly in a circular shape with three particularly bright stars in the middle representing the Zora emblem. Below it, the silhouette of Hyrule Castle could just be made out in the fizzling light left of the day.
Even though it was now getting into the late evening, a warm breeze still cut through the air, light yet refreshing. The ranch was silent all but from the occasional sound of a cow or a horse from the barn at the other side of the house. Malon stood by one of the first floor windows, resting her arm on the frame, her eyes closed as the evening breeze blew gently on her face. Her strawberry blonde hair swung gently with the breeze; it was normally straight but was beginning to curl at the ends after the warmth and stress of the day. She could hear Ingo downstairs snoring loudly. Malon had made stew for them both for supper as usual and once she had finished washing up the crockery, departed quickly to her room before the vile man could make her scrub the floor or dust the furnishings. The former farmhand used to show some sense of kindness but evil had invaded his mind, forcing Malon's father from the ranch and taking it for himself.
This left Malon alone. She wondered where her father was now; she rarely heard from him. She often thought of leaving the ranch and going to look for him but before he had left, he had made her promise not to leave. "You'll be safer here," he said. "I'll be back soon," he said. It had been a year since then and three months since his last letter. She opened her eyes and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Oh, how she missed him. She brushed the tear away. 'Must stay strong,' she thought to herself.
Suddenly she saw a figure in the last of the sunset. She squinted, forcing her eyes to adjust to the moonlight. A silhouette was jumping over the western fence of the ranch. She smiled; she knew that hat. She turned from the window and left her room quietly, careful not to wake Ingo who was snoring loudly at the kitchen table, a glass mug of hot Lon Lon Milk in his hand...