I sat under a tree, holding my legs and staring at the ground, as I did every day. Around me, four children ran around, laughing and playing. They were all the same size as me, and all wearing the dull white clothing I wore. We all shared the same haircut, with the exact same color, a dull orange-brown shade. I don't know what their faces looked like. I never saw, they were always turned away when I lifted my head.

There were two girls and two boys. They were in perfect harmony, perfect happiness, together. But though they would always play with each other, none approached me. None asked if I wanted to join.

I was an outsider, the weird kid that thought too much. I sat under the tree, and under the mask of isolation that constricted my heart. I sat there and thought. I thought about the world outside of the Moon Children's Grotto, the place where we were raised until adulthood.

We were the only five left. All others had grown up and joined the Elders. I was also old enough to leave, but when the Elders tried to take me away, I resisted. I wanted this life. I wanted to punish myself for whatever I had done to deserve this loneliness.

And so I remained there, sitting under the tree and watching the other Moon Children play.

In the Grotto, time doesn't change our physical appearances. We remain the same until we leave.

Well, the same physically. I know that the mind continues to change, even as a single year passes to the next.

The change is subtle at first. When I was taken here, the other Moon Children accepted me, and we played like normal children would. I saw their faces. They all had amber eyes that shone with happiness. Their faces were pale, but not too pale. One was a boy, the other two girls. Even the girls had the same short haircut that I did.

But I realized that over the years, as our minds grew closer to maturity, they had begun to drift away from me. They were ignoring me more and more with each passing day, but they stayed close together as they always had.

I was different somehow. I knew it. They knew it. We didn't know what, but it was enough to cause this. I knew they didn't realize what they were doing, but it hurt me nonetheless. That was the first time I felt the stab of pain in my heart that was now all too familiar.

By the time we had reached maturity age, they ignored me completely. I had taken to sitting under the tree, staring at the grass. I wore a mask I had carved out from the trunk of the tree. It was a simple thing, just a vaguely heart-shaped piece of bark with no eyeholes or anything, but I wore it nonstop. I considered it a gift from the tree. It was like me. On the outside, it was very plain, an unassuming piece of a larger whole. On the inside, though, full of life, but slowly and gradually fading away.

When the other three left, I remained. I watched as the next generation of Moon Children grew, and then the next. The generations blurred together as time passed. I was always the outsider. Nobody ever asked who I was, nobody ever asked if I wanted to join them.

I smiled and looked up, at the current Moon Children playing around me. My mask looked mostly the same as it had when I received it, save for a few thin, shallow grooves that wound around where the eyeholes would be, but it felt odd on my face, like it was dead inside. Just like me.

The Moon Children continued playing, ignoring me as usual. I looked back down, at a little drawing I had done in the dirt. It was a face. I didn't really know why I drew it, and my limited skill at drawing made it hard to identify what it even looked like. All I knew is that it was angular, and had some kind of markings on its cheeks, shaped a little like triangles.

I continued drawing, making a shape like an elongated 8 with pointed tips. After a little more detail was added, it seemed to be some kind of sword. If I remembered correctly from lessons by the Elders, it was called a helix-edge.

I heard footsteps that sounded heavier than the Moon Children, but I ignored them, figuring they had just moved a little closer to the tree.

The footsteps stopped and I continued to draw.

"You're very good at drawing." a voice said. I looked up, startled. Somebody had actually talked to me!

There, standing in front of me, was a tall being. It was distinctly male, and definitely not one of the Elders.

I opened my mouth in shock, though it was hidden by my mask. The being had the same helix-edged sword, and the same face, as the picture I was drawing.

He smiled and sat down cross-legged, putting his sword down on the ground next to him. "Hello. My name is Oni, though most people call me Fierce. What is your name?'' he said. I looked up at his face. Even sitting, he still towered over me. I guessed his height at about 12-15 feet.

I cleared my throat and answered, still a little shocked. ''Majora.''

Fierce smiled and shifted his position a little. "Majora. That's a very powerful name, and it comes from a very powerful being.'' He smiled again. "I hear you've been here awhile, far longer than any other Moon Children."

I looked down. "Nobody will talk to me. I've spent centuries waiting, but it's always the same. I stay here, next to the tree, and they play around me. I've stopped watching them now, I just spend my time thinking.''

Fierce smiled again. "Well, I'll talk to you. I've heard a lot about you from a friend of mine. He says he's been watching you."

I smiled back and searched my mind for memories of somebody who had been watching me. I found a few vague recollections, from occasional times when I've looked up and around the Grotto.

"Was he the person in the robes who sometimes was standing at the edge of the Grotto? He was short. Is he one of the Elders, like you?" I asked. Fierce laughed in response.

"If by the Elders you mean members of your tribe, yes, he is one. But I'm not, I'm just a messenger, come to talk to you."

I tilted my head a little, confused. "If you're just a messenger, why are you dressed for battle, and carrying a sword of that size?''

Fierce laughed again. "You are a very observant boy, Majora. It's true that I'm not just a messenger. Yes, I am a warrior. I protect my home from invaders and enemies. But when one of the members of your tribe, the 'man in robes' you see occasionally, told me about you, I was intrigued and decided to meet you."

"And how do I compare to your previous opinion of me?'' I asked. Fierce laughed again.

"My, you certainly have a deceptive appearance. How have you gained such a mature mindset?''

I shrugged. ''Memories. I pick up pieces, slivers of dreams and thoughts. They're everywhere, and I sense many different individuals.''

Fierce stayed silent, just sitting there looking at me thoughtfully. He sat up and opened his mouth, closed it, rethinking his words, then opened it again. ''That's a very...unusual power, Majora. Not many have had it.''

I didn't really react. ''I didn't think so. I've asked the Elders who come here and observe me about it. They just cringe and walk away usually. Does your friend have that ability?''

"If he does, I'm not aware of it. He's a very secretive man.''

I nodded in response. ''You didn't just come because you wanted to meet me. He told you to take me to him.''

Fierce straightened a little. "Yes, he did… I told him I'd mention it, but I wouldn't press if you rejected."

"Well, I have no intention of leaving the Grotto. I'll talk to you, because it's nice to have somebody who actually will listen, but I won't leave." To prove my point, I drew a curved line in the dirt between us.

Fierce smiled. "It's alright, I wasn't expecting you to. Tell me, though, if you want somebody to talk to, why stay? Why keep yourself isolated?''

I frowned. "You wouldn't understand. It's difficult to explain…"

"You know, keeping yourself isolated like this is bad for your mentality." Fierce continued. "I've seen it happen before. It twists your mind, causes you to make decisions that have less than desirable consequences."

"Maybe so, but you said yourself that I'm different. I can learn and gain power even when totally cut off from anything else. Maybe my mind is immune to the effects, or maybe I've already been driven mad by it. But does it really matter either way?''

Fierce smiled in response. "You're not insane, I can see that quite clearly. But I think it's best for you to end your isolation. You can only learn so much with your method, and you definitely need to learn more, if your mask is a true mimic of the power you contain.''

I touched my mask, wondering what he meant. I shivered with surprise. It was much smoother than it had been before he arrived.

I took it off and looked at it. It was a far different shape than it had been before. It was a perfect heart, with small bumps along its edges. It was perfectly smooth, except for two circles where the eyes would be and two curved ovals, each surrounding a circle.

I stared at it, mouth open. "What happened to it?''

Fierce shifted his position again. "You can see how much it has changed since I came here. Isn't that proof enough that you cannot stay here forever?"

I looked at him and put the mask back on. It felt different, more comfortable over my face than it had before. "Maybe it's warning me not to listen to you. Maybe it's telling me you want to use me for your own purposes.''

Fierce nodded and took his sword with a hand, then stood up. "Possible, you can't rule anything out. It's time for me to leave now, but please, think my offer over."

I watched him getting up, mulling over the possibilities in my head. "How long do I have to decide?"

Fierce smiled again. "I'd say...a week. That way, you have plenty of time, but not enough for you to completely revert to your regular routine."

I nodded, and he smiled again. He crossed two fingers, made an X over his heart, then pushed his fingers a few inches forward, toward me, and uncrossed them and turned around.

"Choose what you want. And whatever your decision is, I bid you good luck, Majora.'' he said, and walked away.