December 25th is coming up in this chapter, and I'm just letting y'all know that there won't be any Christmas, since Hylians aren't exactly Christian.

COUNTING STARS

Chapter 29: Raider

Monday, December 24th

After the two-hour road trip, Zelda and I arrive in Lakeside at dusk—which, in the middle of winter, happens to be only four PM. This time around, however, unlike our short time in Ordonia, we have few connections, little knowledge of the area, and no place to stay for the night. And considering the crisis taking place in Castle Town, we don't want to spend any longer than twenty-four hours in this one location.

Daylight dims by the minute as we pull into an empty parking lot beside a wet basketball court, leaning back in our seats and staring up at the clouds through the sunroof as we try to conjure up a plan. "What are we gonna do?" I ask ruefully. "We're expected to find a tiny necklace in a big city. We're lost."

Zelda sends me a consoling smile. "Well, we just got here. We have some time to think."

"I know, but," I say, pausing to search for the right words, "this isn't going to be as easy as Ordonia was. It's ten times bigger and the only people we know are Talo and your birth mother."

At that, Zelda grimaces, looking down at her hand. "Wait a minute—" She raises it, showing me her Triforce mark, as it seems to be… pulsing? "Say that again."

"What part? 'Talo and your birth mother?'"

"Yes—that's it," she breathes, looking at me with budding excitement. "The Triforce is giving us a clue!"

"Really? Is that the special thing yours does? Communicating with the gods?"

"I suppose.…" Zelda grabs my hand, then, looking into my eyes with a sudden seriousness. "You have to think back to Talo—anything that could give us a lead on where this pendant is."

I nod at her, then stare at our locked hands, searching the depths of my memory. Talo, pendant, Lakeside, Talo, pendant, Lakeside… I frown, thinking deeper, focusing.

After a solid two minutes of thought, I give up, meeting Zelda's eyes and shaking my head in disappointment. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can think of that's relevant."

"It's alright," she says. "It isn't over just like that. He lives here, right? Maybe we're supposed to meet up with him."

"Hm." I furrow my brow. "I'm on it."

After dialling up Talo's number and putting the phone to my ear, I sit and wait. On the last ring, he picks up, and I put the call on speaker for Zelda to hear.

"What do you want?"

I blink, surprised by the ferocity of his question. "Uh, Talo?"

"What are you doing with my friend's phone? What have you done with Link?!" he demands frantically.

Zelda and I share a look of concern. "Talo, this is Link," I tell him. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, right," comes his rebuttal. "You aren't Link. You demons have been following me since the fortress. Think I'm stupid? I know this is just a trap!"

Dismayed, I stare at the phone in my hand. "Talo, what're you talking about? I need to see you as soon as possible. It's important."

He's silent for a lengthy moment, long enough for me to consider giving up. Then, finally: "…If you're really Link, meet me at the spot you and I went as kids, the time we came here for vacation. The place where we got mauled by cuccos. Come alone. You'll know if it's really you."

Immediately after finishing, he hangs up.

Zelda's eyes find mine, and she raises an eyebrow. "Mauled by cuccos?"

I nod, remembering clearly what Talo was talking about. I was twelve; he was ten; we came with our fathers to a farm beside Lake Hylia. They were off doing business trying to bargain goats for a cow or two, while Talo and I roamed around the farm and got a little too close to the cucco coop. Now, what was that place called? Jon Jon? Don Don? LeBron LeBron?

Then, it hits me.

"Lon Lon Ranch," I say hushedly, eyes widening. I turn to meet Zelda's expectant gaze, her hands already on the wheel. "Get back on the road. We're going to Malon's."

Lakeside is a peculiar city in terms of its topographical layout. Its eastern edge is bordered by Lake Hylia itself, where million-rupee houses are established on its luxurious beaches. Upper-class homes are stuffed into single-acre lots that constitute the bones and easy structure of the city, while towards the northern reaches, farmlands are abundant. A suburban city devoid of the tall-tower, pedestrian-filled atmosphere found in the likes of Castle Town, Lakeside boasts a simpler, more tranquil luxury life.

Following a half hour of the tedious intersections and frequent stops of neighborhood driving, we see the suburbs slowly start to fade away, becoming replaced by the brown-green plains of farmland. With the help of GPS, we arrive at our destination, slowing our pace to drive down the gravel path. A wooden gate with a sign reading Lon Lon Ranch stands just ahead; beyond that, barns stand off in the distance, along with a simple farmhouse up on a hill, smoke leaking from its chimney. As we approach the gate, my eyes fall upon a small figure leaning up against the fence off to our right, barely visible in the gloomy evening.

"That's him," I say, pointing.

Zelda puts the car in park, and we step out into the brisk air.

Hearing our approach, Talo whirls to face us, taking cautionary steps backward. Through the shadow from the hood of his jacket, he stares at us with wide eyes and distrustful unease.

"I told you to come alone!"

I hold up a pacifying hand, taking careful steps forward. "Relax, dude. This is Zelda, my girlfriend."

Talo's eyes shift between me and Zelda, then takes a calming breath before removing his hood, revealing a battered, mud-streaked face. He stares at me dubiously. "You got a girlfriend?"

Zelda grins at me, and I roll my eyes. "Shocking, I know," I grunt.

Talo retains his guarded demeanor, every once in a while stealing a glance behind his back. "I thought you were all stuck in the city."

"We were," says Zelda, "but we escaped."

I nod. "And that's why we're here."

Talo folds his arms. "…Here. Talking to me." The suspicion never leaves his face or tone. "I don't buy it—you demons are tricking me! You're not the real Link! And you're not Link's girlfriend! Link's too chicken to talk to girls!"

"Talo—"

"No! I'm not gonna die today!" He retreats, withdrawing a knife from his pocket, a wild look in his bloodshot eyes.

"Talo, we're not here to kill you," I tell him firmly. "We need your help."

Coming to his senses, Talo fixes us with a look of atypical hardness. "My help," he parrots, hesitating. "With what?"

We speed down the highway, Talo in the backseat. He has his phone held out in front of me, showing me the video he claims that has what we're looking for.

From the dark video on his phone screen, I make out a gaunt, teenaged boy standing pinned to a column by an arrow protruding from his forearm. And there, dangling from his fingers, is a silver chain with a sapphire gemstone.

"That's the pendant," I breathe, eyes widening.

Talo nods. "Keep watching."

Say, Farm Boy… says the skinny lad, his eyes glossy and almost lifeless. Do you know what redeads are?

With a stunning, high-pitched shriek, the boy sheds his skin to reveal rotting, zombie-like flesh, cheeks sinking in, eyes hollowing into holes, teeth bared hungrily. It lashes out, but the arrow holds the zombified kid to the column, giving Talo time to flee.

The footage reaches its end, and Talo pulls his phone back, hands shaking as he gazes at me. "A bunch of things started chasing me out of there," he explains grimly. "And everywhere I go I know I'm being followed. I can hear their footsteps."

"Well," broaches Zelda carefully, "don't you think you could just be hearing things, after such a traumatic experience?"

"I thought so too. But then I took this picture."

He pulls his phone out again, tapping on it a couple times before leaning forward to hold it out in front of us. I squint my eyes to focus, while Zelda takes periodic glances as she tries to stay on the road. At first, the photograph seems to show nothing out of the ordinary; just a shot of a sidewalk and a few storefronts in downtown Lakeside during the nighttime. But then, when I look closer, I see it. In the nearby alleyway, peeking around the corner, a yellow-eyed skull stares into the camera, its skeletal claws digging into the brick wall.

"…Oh."

Talo sags back into his seat, shaking his head. "I haven't told anybody," he sighs. "Not just because I doubt they'd believe me, but because I can't trust anyone now. These demons following me… they could be playing tricks on me."

I nod solemnly, heart rate quickening. The fortress Talo broke into sure seems dangerous. And undoubtedly creepy. But if his story checks out, all we'll have to fight through is a cult of skeleton demons and a redead. Shouldn't be too bad.

"Where exactly are we going, Talo?" Zelda asks, frowning at the road ahead.

"Just keep going north."

She complies, slowing down as the road tapers off into a mere sandy path, the slush and snow all gone. The sudden change of scenery from lush green landscapes to orange-brown sand confirms our departure from the city of Lakeside. Zelda and I share a look of skepticism as we continue down this uncharted path, seeing a range of rocky crags and mountains in the near distance.

"Alright, come to a stop," Talo says when we're literally in the middle of nowhere. We do, and Zelda and I turn to send him a questioning glance. "Once you pass that rock thing nearby, hang a right. You'll arrive at a mountain with an old staircase. See that, over there? That's it."

We look where he's pointing, and sure enough, a sandstone fortress sits tucked away on an outcropping, almost hidden to the naked eye.

"Well it's been fun risking my life to help you steal some jewelry," says Talo, opening the back door. "But I better be going."

"You're leaving?" I ask, turning toward him.

"Of course I am. I can't go back there—they're trying to kill me." He steps out, then, maintaining eye contact as I roll down the window. "I threw my bike in the trunk, so I'll be fine."

He turns, heading to the back of the car. As he retrieves his getaway vehicle, I stare at my lap, not quite sure what's made me feel a sudden pang of guilt in my chest. Perhaps, just like with Ilia, I am finally realizing how much things have changed. And again, I'm using my childhood friends for the sole purpose of furthering my personal agenda—be it for the greater good or not, I can't deny that I'm taking advantage of our friendship.

I sigh, watching as he saddles onto the seat of his bicycle. Then, before he can take off, I quietly call out, "Hey, Talo."

He turns, raising a pointy eyebrow.

Hesitating, I attempt to quell the forthcoming nostalgic rush of memories from our childhoods spent together. With complete sincerity, I settle for telling him, "Thank you."

Wordlessly, Talo sends me that mischievous smile he always wore, offering me his signature two-finger salute. And then, pushing up the kickstand, he rides off into the night.

I roll up the window and sag back into my seat, dispirited. Shutting the car off, Zelda turns to face me.

"You okay?"

I smile ironically, nodding. "Yeah. I guess that wasn't the reunion I was expecting."

We spend the next ten minutes or so in complete silence, laying back in our reclined seats and staring up at the stars through the sunroof, as the heat blowing from the vents keeps us warm. Neither of us are particularly excited to venture off into a creepy temple, no less at night.

So, we agree to spend the night here in the car, out in the middle of nowhere, and then explore the fortress at dawn.

Tuesday, December 25th

We creep down the long, dark hallway, using our Triforce pieces as a dim source of light. Our footsteps echo and kick up dust from the eroded floor, and every once in a while we hear a faint scuttling sound. I glance at the sandstone walls making up the narrow hall, observing the tribal etchings of scenes from what seems to be an ancient civilization—teepees, hunting of the migrant buffalo, and worshipping rituals of gods make up a fraction of the intricate carvings lining the long walls.

"Well this is terrifying," murmurs Zelda.

I look over to her, her face barely illuminated by the dim light. "I'm right here," I assure her. "Just stay close."

Eventually, we emerge from the descending tunnel into the heart of the fortress. We take cautious steps forward into the bland, dungeon-like room, our eyes drawn toward the large central column. Zelda reaches for my hand, inhaling a sharp breath. I squint my eyes, adjusting them to the gloom—only our Triforces and a few lit torches provide light to this dungeon. But then, I see it: the rotting flesh, the gaunt limbs, the bared teeth of the redead. Its body appears limp, sagging against the column, held up only by the arrow shot through its forearm. And on that upheld hand, dangling from its fingers, is the second pendant.

"It looks… dead," whispers Zelda, glancing my way.

I nod, but remain skeptical. I lead the way forward, stepping carefully, Triforce hand poised. The redead stays motionless, its hollow eyes aimed at the floor.

When we near the pedant, I pry my eyes away from its corrupting sapphire gemstone, ignoring the captivating swirl of light within its shiny blue walls. I gather my courage and deem it best to just snatch it and run. So, heart pumping furiously, I reach forward.

Suddenly the redead stands up straight, black eyes boring into mine, and lets out an ear-splitting scream before I have time to react. Instantly, I'm frozen in place, helplessly watching as the zombie slowly reaches out to tear my face off.

But then, by some miracle, a flying arrow buries into the zombie's head and sends it crippling to the floor. Zelda and I watch, still frozen under the redead's spell, as a skeletal creature carrying a simple wooden bow hobbles up to the collapsed monster. The skeleton's skull is a bit too large for its body, it's posture is hunched over, and its beady eyes glow bright yellow. A stalkoblin, one of the demons that are following Talo. It reaches out and grabs the pendant from the redead, putting it on and letting it hang from the top of its spine.

Turning to look at us, the stalkoblin seems to… laugh. Only a deep hissing sound, but mocking enough. Then, it spins around and hobbles off down toward another hall, disappearing into the shadows within.

Finally, Zelda and I are released from our invisible bonds, and we nearly fall over upon regaining control of our bodies.

"Gods," Zelda breathes, looking my way worriedly. "What happened to us?"

I shrug, heart thudding heavily, and look down to where the stalkoblin had run. "Hypnotized," I say.

Zelda shivers, then nudges me forward. "We've got to get that pendant back."

I nod.

We stampede down the dark hall and come into a large, cubical chamber, that thieving stalkoblin nowhere to be found. Slowing ourselves to a guarded walking pace, we look around the room, noting its uncharacteristic grandeur for such an ancient establishment—two rows of three floor-to-ceiling columns, plentiful torches set up on the walls to bathe the chamber in flickering firelight, and a dusty maroon carpet running from the hallway we came from to the very back.

There, upon a marble throne, sits a towering skeleton, adorned only in leather boots, a long ratted scarf, and a bland crown placed atop its skull. A round shield and a heavy broadsword lie propped up against the arms of the marble throne, at the ready. Bright yellow irises burn through the black eye sockets as the being gazes down evenly upon us.

Zelda stifles a gasp, and I reach out to give her hand a comforting squeeze. I'm right here, I tell her mentally with a reassuring glance.

Taking us both by surprise, in a gravelly, croaking voice, the skeleton speaks.

"You who bring light into darkness," it begins steadily, "I am the king of the Ikana Kingdom, Igos du Ikana."

I frown questioningly. Besides the requirement of having a throne, this place doesn't seem like much of a kingdom; maybe it has a much bigger history than we know about. Come to think of it, this is the first time we've heard of monsters being found outside the barricades of Castle Town. Could that mean these creatures are existing autonomously, apart from Yuga and his dark army?

As the skeleton king shifts its gaze ever so slightly, I know for certain that it's looking at our glowing hands. "Oh, insolent ones who have brought the unthinkable into a land as dark as Ikana…" The king stands from its throne, its long scarf billowing out behind its ribcage as it reaches its full, imposing height. "You shall see with your own eyes… just what kind of thing true darkness really is."

Suddenly, multiple stalkoblins emerge from the shadows, coggling toward me and Zelda while munching at the air with their beastly jaws. Zelda and I stand back-to-back, rotating ourselves as the skeleton grunts surround us, six of them in total.

"Uh, Link?" squeaks Zelda.

"Yeah?"

"What's the plan?"

I gulp. "Um… kick their skulls off their bodies?"

"I played soccer in PE once," she says.

"That'll do."

Taking action, I spin in a circle, shooting beams of electricity into each of their ribcages; they thrash about, chattering their teeth. Leaping into the air, I twist my body sideways and swing my leg out, managing to kick off two electrocuted stalkoblins' skulls before landing on my knee, then get up and kick off the skull of a third.

I whirl around to face the other three, only to find them already reduced to a pile of bones.

I blink back surprise as Zelda catches her breath, staring down at her work with her fists still upraised. She turns to me, a look of amazement on her face.

"Did I just do that?"

I nod, grinning with pride. "You sure did." Her Triforce has certainly done its part in enhancing her athleticism.

Emboldened, Zelda and I turn to face the skeletal king, who remains seated on the throne. If it were possible for a skull to contort its face to show amusement, Igos certainly does just that. At first I'm confused, but then I realize why.

The stalkoblins' remains start to rumble, and piece by piece, their bones reassemble until they're up on their feet again. Zelda gasps; we resume our back-to-back battle stance as the skeleton grunts circle us, gnawing their jaws hungrily.

"What do we do? They'll just keep coming back to life!" she cries, kicking away an aggressive stalkoblin.

I shoot out another round of electric beams, shocking the creatures to buy us some time. "Not entirely sure right now..." I curl my fingers around the skull off one skeleton, ripping it off its hinges and throwing it at another.

We continue to fend off the grunts, growing increasingly anxious with their persistence.

"Link, look at this!"

I risk it and steal a glance behind me—one of the stalkoblins has the pendant, just dangling from its spine. My eyes widen. I knock off two more skulls before turning and firing another beam at our target. Stunned, the stalkoblin is rendered helpless, and Zelda leaps up to send it a skull-cracking kick. The skeleton collapses in a heap of bones, and I rush over to swoop up the fallen pendant.

I close my fingers over it, then grab Zelda's arm. "Come on!"

Looking over my shoulder, I catch sight of Igos hurtling a round shield at us just in time for me to grab Zelda and duck. The shield flies over us and collides with one of the pillars, crushing it and sending crumbling stone to the floor. Overhead, the ceiling opens up, letting an angled ray of sunlight spill into the chamber.

One of the stalkoblins, caught in the beams of light, suddenly grows rigid and freezes in place. Zelda looks at it as we rise to our feet, then winds up and kicks at its skull. Immediately, the bones of the monster get incinerated, its ashes skirting along the floor.

"That's it," she says, pointing to the retreating stalkoblins. "Light. It kills them!"

"Look out!" I cry, seeing Igos has left its throne and is now charging at us with a heavy broadsword. I pull Zelda behind me as the skeleton stops just before the patch of sunlight, swiping at us with its blade. We leap backward, just out of reach.

I've got to push it into the sun.

Making a run for it is out of the question at this point. Igos' legs are too long, and I could do without its army of skeletal henchmen hunting is down for the rest of our lives.

"Here," calls Zelda, lobbing the metal shield in the air for me to catch. "Knock over some more pillars with that. I'll distract him!"

"If you get yourself killed, I'll kill you!"

"Same!"

At once, she and I split up, with her drawing nearer to the towering skeleton in order to keep its attention away from me. I dash across the room, summoning the strength deep within to slam the shield into the corroded columns, effectively knocking them to rubble. I move swiftly from pillar to pillar, soon flooding the chamber with light. By the time I demolish the last of them, I look over at Zelda, currently executing graceful dodges around every one of Igos' swipes of its rusty broadsword.

My jaw drops as I marvel at her incredible agility and battle prowess—without ever having fought before. Not willing to risk anything, though, I hurry to her side, joining her against the undead king. When he swipes at me, I roll out of the way as she returns a flurry of jabs and kicks to the ribcage. When he swings at her, she jumps to the side and I throw a heavy shield bash to its side, knocking it back a significant distance until it becomes caught in the rays of sunlight.

Its yellow eyes shrinking, bones growing rigid, Igos du Ikana stares blankly forward, frozen and awaiting its sentence to permanent death.

Panting, Zelda and I stand side-by-side, the adrenaline finally starting to drain. When neither of us makes a move, she turns my way, still catching her breath.

"Are you gonna finish it?"

I smirk. "Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn't let you murder a giant skeleton?"

Kneeling down, I hold the shield up parallel to the ground as a little booster, then gesture toward the colossal being.

Zelda folds her arms, smiling cutely. "And they say chivalry's dead."

With that, she vaults off the shield, jumping high enough to twist and send a kick right to the skull, reducing the undead king to a heap of ashes.

"So, uh, you said I'm safe now?"

I nod. "We took care of it."

Talo's entire body relaxes as he heaves a sigh of relief, sending me a smile of gratitude. "Man, I dunno how you do it. You always seem to fix everything for everyone." He kicks at the snow idly, hands behind his back. "Thanks. And thanks for stopping by to see me again. You could've just left after getting what you wanted."

I smile, staying quiet.

"So you got that necklace, huh?" he asks after a moment of silence. "What's it even do?"

I hesitate, gesturing awkwardly as I grapple for words. "Well, there's three of them in Hyrule, and we got two. All I can say is that they're magical and they're gonna help us fight Yuga."

"Wait, that's what your big goal is?" His eyes widen as he stares up at me. "You're going to fight that dude?"

I shrug, downplaying it. "Everyone is, kind of. People are trying to resist."

"Okay. But don't be stupid. I saw what those pigs and lizards did to those policemen."

We stand on the sidewalk in front of the house of his guardian, Renado, a friend of his father's who'd offered to take the young man under his care. Doing so allowed Talo to attend the school of his dreams, following in my own footsteps. Zelda waits in the car across the street, having opted to let us old friends reconnect alone.

He follows my gaze to the blonde in the driver's seat, then looks up at me smugly. "I never thought I'd see you have the courage to get a girlfriend."

I smirk back. "It wasn't easy." For multiple reasons.

"That's cool, that you're doing so well over there. Aside from the monsters and gang lords and terrorists and all that. But yeah. You deserve it."

"Thank you," I tell him. "Back before all that happened, I always wished I could've brought you and Ilia with me."

"You're tellin' me," he scoffs with an ironic grin. "I hate it here."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Rich kids, man. They're all punks," he explains, shaking his head. "And sure, I'm getting an actual education, but I came here for basketball, and—and I didn't even make the team."

"Wow. I'm really sorry, Talo."

"Yeah, yeah. It's whatever." He lowers his head. "I think I'll just move back home sometime soon. I miss my dad. My old life."

"It's a little stale without you there."

"What, you went there?"

"Just to get the first necklace. We, uh… stole it." I pause, and swallow. "From Mayor Bo."

"You're a dead man."

"And you will be too if you snitch."

"Hey, snitches get bitches."

"That's not the phrase. Like, at all."

He grins, then tosses his gaze askance, releasing a heavy sigh. "Well... I guess I should pack up my things and head on back to the slums."

I shrug. "Well, if that's what you really want. I'm sure Ilia would be happy to have a friend back."

Then, with that mischievous twinkle in his eye, he raises a finger. "Orrrr…"

I quirk a brow. "What."

"If I recall, that backseat in your car is very roomy. If you know what I mean."

I look between him with his wiggling eyebrows and the little red Camry across the street, then promptly utter my response. "No."

"Listen," he practically pleads, "I'm looking for some excitement. I don't care where you're going next, let me come with! I'm useful, too—I can still run a four-five forty yard dash!"

"That's great. If we ever need a wide receiver, I'll call you. But my answer is no."

He pouts, then, and I'm uncertain if it's authentic or not.

"Look, bro," I add, "you know I miss hanging out with you. But there's no way I'm dragging you into this mess. You could get killed."

He sags his shoulders in defeat, giving an acceptant nod. "Okay. I understand. I really should just go back home."

I put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to cheer him up. "If you need anything, just call. Alright?"

He nods again and sends me a smile, but it soon falls. "Are you ever gonna come back?"

The question catches me off guard, and I bite my lip in thought, a somewhat saddened expression on my face.

Talo presses his lips, solemnly. "I didn't think so."

With a sad smile, I pat him reassuringly. "We should probably get going now. Seeya, bud. Thanks again."

"You've never been good at goodbyes," he quips, saluting his farewell.

I grin at my childhood best friend, then turn away and walk back to the car.

After spending a long time staring out the window in silence, idly watching the trees and landscapes rush by, I finally tear my gaze away and look over at Zelda. "So, um, I forgot to ask…"

She raises a brow.

"Ordonia, yesterday. So, you're… my girlfriend now?"

Zelda smirks. "Well, if that's not what you want, then—"

"Wait, no!" I interrupt through an awkward chuckle. "I do want that. Obviously. I just thought I had some trust to earn back first."

That adorable smirk remains on her lips as she glances over at me, those pretty eyes meeting mine. "You do. But that doesn't mean we can't officially be together."

I grin, grabbing her non-driving hand and rubbing it gently. "Awesome. My first girlfriend." She smiles at me; I pause. "You know, Talo's right. I never used to talk to girls. Only Ilia, but I never thought about dating her. It's surprising that the first girl I laid eyes on in the whole big city happened to be the one I'd fall in love with."

"Well, as we know, there was probably some divine intervention going on to make that happen."

I blink. "Huh. I never thought of it that way. That's kinda messed up, manipulating our lives like that." Then my lips twist into a smile. "But I can't complain."

Zelda relaxes into her seat after turning into the carpool lane and setting the cruise control. Meeting my eyes, she tells me, "You're my first boyfriend as well."

My eyebrows shoot up. "Actually?"

"Yeah. Why, is that surprising?"

"Yes. I mean, you're the most beautiful girl anyone's ever seen, and there's plenty of rich dudes to choose from at the academy."

"Money doesn't make someone a good person," she says. "And thank you."

"Of course." I bring her hand up to my lips and kiss the back of it affectionately. "I love you, Zel."

To that, she visibly melts, her smile widening into a smitten grin. She looks as if she's about to say something in reply, something I've been wanting to hear, but only ends up sighing. Still smiling, she responds with: "I know."

Though it was not the response I wanted to hear, I can live with the fact that she at least considered it.