Disclaimer ~ Nintendo owns Zelda and Link and all the other stuff they have copyrighted and trademarked and whatever.
Chapter LIII * Lonely No More
Marissa's eyes fluttered open. She was exhausted... her body ached and she immediately sensed the dull pressure of fatigue pressed against her head like a weight.
She was looking up into the sky. She saw the leafy green treetops and heard the birds cheerfully singing. The sun was high in the blue cloudless sky and it warmed her chilled skin.
Instantly, she knew where she was. Earth.
At first, her heart sunk into despair. She missed Hyrule already... but she knew this was the way it had to be.
Sitting up, she balanced with her hands behind her and her leg bent. She strained to remember everything that had happened, afraid that somehow the events would stray and she would forget them forever. She couldn't let that happen.
With a sigh, she looked around and saw that she was in her front yard. She looked to her right and saw there was no car in the driveway. Her parents and Jacob were still gone. She wondered what day it was. How long had she been in Hyrule?
Suddenly, she spotted someone jogging towards her. Confused, she stared wondering what was going on. It was a guy. Why was he coming over to her...?
The stranger finally reached her and said, "Hey, it's about time you finally came around..." He outstretched a hand, offering to help her to her feet.
Marissa didn't know what else to do, so she starred up at him and gasped. His eyes... sapphires...
"Are you okay? You've been lying there for at least forty-five minutes now!" he said thoughtfully, smiling gently.
She grasped his hand and he helped pull her up to a standing position.
His hair was a golden blonde and he had the top of it over his forehead spiked up.
Still in a daze she answered, "I'm... fine..."
"Are you sure?" he moved closer to her and she saw that he was roughly three or four inches taller than she was.
She nodded.
"Oh, sorry!" he suddenly apologized. "I'm Leo."
It was getting more mysterious...
"I'm Marissa," she responded.
"My friends and I were going by and we saw you just... laying there. We stopped... they didn't wanna stay, so... I waited. Yow know, to make sure you were okay." He hesitated. He seemed embarrassed.
"Oh... thanks..." A smile suddenly played on her lips.
He looked down at her ankle. "What's that...?" he asked.
Marissa gasped, looking down. "The Zora Tunic..." she murmured, remembering Link wrapping it around her slashed ankle. She bent down and untied it. The royal blue cloth had no signs of ever being stained by blood, while her ankle had a tiny scar.
"Zora Tunic...? From Zelda? I used to love those games!" he laughed at the memory. "I must have played them all a million times!"
Marissa's jaw dropped slightly open. Her eyes fell as she remembered the last thing Link had told her... Her mind raced, and she realized she could remember every detail. Relief and anticipation flooded her as it played over in her mind like a movie...
"In every dimension, the same spirits inhabit the same souls..."
She blinked. And she smiled.
Marissa looked back up at him. He turned and they began walking.
"So... what was your favorite Zelda game?" he asked casually, chuckling a little.
She paused before she answered.
"I believe it..." he had said...
"The Legend of Zelda: Diamond of Eternity."
