Link jumped at the sound of her voice. "Mipha?" he asked.
"I… You can hear me?" Her soft voice seemed to come from a spot right in front of him, but he couldn't see anything there. He reached out but felt nothing.
"Where are you?"
"I'm right here." He felt icy fingers wrap around his hand. "In front of you."
Link gasped. Because suddenly, there she was, her hand wrapped around his.
She was slightly see-through and glowed with a faint green light, but it was definitely her. Floating in the air around her were bluish-green flames, like the ones that had surrounded her when he'd seen her in the Divine Beast. As he watched, though, her form seemed to solidify before him, the color of her scales becoming a more vibrant pink, closer to what they'd been in life.
"Can you see me now?" she asked. He nodded, staring at her.
She smiled. "I'm glad."
"H—how are you here? I thought—" He glanced in Vah Ruta's direction.
"I'm there too," Mipha said. "But remember, you and I are connected now. Part of me is always here with you, watching over you."
"Your power," Link said quietly, and she nodded.
"I gave you my Grace, and now I will always be here to heal you when you need me." She tilted her head and smiled. "Just like I promised so long ago. Remember?"
He nodded. That was one memory he did have. "So...just now. Did you…?"
"I don't know what I did, exactly," Mipha said quietly. She moved to sit next to him but kept her hand on his as if she was afraid that he'd disappear if she let go.
Or maybe, that she would.
"I just knew you'd been remembering me, and so I reached out and showed you."
Link's fingers tightened on hers as a little flame of hope ignited in his chest. "C—can you do it again? Can you show me more of our memories?"
Mipha frowned. "I can try. What do you want to see?"
"Anything," Link said immediately. Mipha smiled.
"Well, that narrows it down." She closed her eyes. He watched as the spot where her skin touched his started to glow blue, the way it did when she used to heal him.
"How about when we first met?" she asked, her eyes still closed. "It's one of my favorites."
Link didn't answer, his eyes glued to her face.
Mipha shifted, reaching out with her other hand to touch his cheek. He shivered. Her fingers were translucent, but they felt so real and so cold. They almost burned his skin.
They sat there for a while. Link thought he felt something press against his mind for a second, but then it disappeared.
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. But there was nothing. Nothing was happening.
He could feel her cold fingers, the wind against his cheek, and the scratchy fabric of the blanket. But no memories came.
"Uh… are you doing it?" he asked.
Mipha sighed. Her hand fell off his cheek, and he opened his eyes. She was sitting there looking at him sadly. "Nothing?"
He shook his head.
"Maybe the memory needs to be close to the surface already for me to draw it out," she said, regretful. "I'm sorry, Link." She squeezed his hand.
Link looked down. Of course, it couldn't be so easy.
She tapped his chin, prompting him to look up at her. When he did, she gave him a little smile. "Like I said, though. I'm always with you. If you ever dream of me again, I'll be here."
Link blushed as their eyes met. Then he blinked, confused. Was she...becoming more transparent? The hand that held his felt less solid.
"You're...disappearing," he said, panic washing over him. He didn't want her to leave!
She sighed and looked down at herself. "I suppose it was too much to hope that I'd be able to stay like this indefinitely. Don't worry, Link. You should go back to sleep anyway. Even when you can't see or hear me, I'm here." She touched his chest right where his heart was and held his gaze for a long moment. Her image was fading rapidly now. Even her voice was getting fainter, harder to hear. "Maybe we'll be able to talk like this again sometime," she said with a soft, sad smile that made his heart clench.
Then she let go of his arm and disappeared.
"Mipha?" he asked, reaching out to the place she'd been. But his hands only touched empty air.
For a moment, he thought he heard a whisper of her voice on the wind, but he couldn't make out the words. Then even that was gone, and Link was alone.
