Twilight's Call: Vague Destiny

Chapter 3

It had been a rather unproductive day for Link. He'd had a fitful sleep the night before, dozing off just to find himself waking suddenly from an awful nightmare, small droplets of sweat beaded on his forehead.

He'd spent most of the day trying to get a decent amount of rest, but he would always be awakened by dreams... dreams of–her.

Link wouldn't permit himself to say her name out loud, for it brought even greater sorrow upon him. He tried his best not to think about her, but the memories were rather uncontrollable. finally, Link decided to go into the village and do something, anything, to take his mind off of her.

It was already late afternoon, and Link had to squint when he opened his front door and let the afternoon sun shine into his dimly lit home. He dropped down from the ledge and mounted Epona.

As he trotted casually into the village, he recieved a hero's welcome from all the townsfolk. He tried his best to smile and acknowledge every "We missed you Link!" and "Welcome home!" that was thrown at him.

Suddenly, Ilia ran up to Link and embraced him, wearing the brightest smile he'd ever seen.

"Link!" Ilia began, "You came home!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining, her tone ginger and sincere. Link smiled, he had to admit, he was happy to see Ilia again. After all, they had grown up together, and Ilia had always been one of Link's dearest companions since childhood. He hugged her back. "It's good to be home," he smiled.

This was the first morsel of happiness Link had felt in quite a while. He tried his best to savor of it what he could. Just then, Colin ran up to the both of them with a joyous expression on his face.

"Link! You're back!" he exclaimed merrily. "Now will you teach me how to ride a horse? You promised! Remember?" Link smiled. He must admit, it did make him feel a little better to be home.

"Eh, now's not the best time, Colin... maybe another day?"

A look of disappointment crossed Colin's face. "Ok..." he replied with a bit less enthusiasm. His disappointment was short-lived, however, as he ran off to play with the other children.

Gradually, the welcoming crowd digressed, and the townsfolk returned to their daily tasks. Soon, it was only Link and Ilia standing on the small dirt path near the entrance of the village.

"Shall we take a walk?" Ilia asked, smiling.

Link was a bit reluctant to accept the offer. Not because he didn't want to spend time with Ilia, but because he was still feeling down, and didn't think Ilia was the best person to pour his heart out to at the moment.

"You know, Ilia? I'm actually really exhausted from the journey here, and you wouldn't mind if I got some rest instead, would you?"

Ilia's face fell a bit. "No, it's alright. I understand. Maybe tomorrow," she replied. She turned and headed back to her house by the ranch. The sun was setting, and Link turned back and headed for his own house, his heart sinking, for what little joy had entered his day was now fading.

He sulked down to the spring and sat in the sand, letting his feet dip softly in the water. He gazed up at the dim sky, reflecting upon his great adventures with Midna. He succumbed to the memories and let his saddness take over, his despair envelope him, until he finally wept. Eventually his weeping developed into sobbing and he lost control. He struck the water with his palm in anger and rage, and he cried out in self-pity to the stars now sparkling overhead. He rested his forehead on his knees and slowly regained control over himself once more.

How can I live like this? he thought in despair, How can I live without her?