Still Here

by write-or-left

In a world where his memories are scattered, his friends dead, and his love taken, the hero struggles to keep his grip in the gray.

So, yeah. I am an avid Zelink fan. But I heard this song, and after playing Breath of the Wild for the 87th time, I just had to. This is about Link after having regained his partial memory, and realizing that he and Mipha had been in love, then falling into despair at what he'd lost.

I suggest listening to the song Still Here, by Digital Daggers, for which this is named and based on, and from which the following lyrics are taken. (I do not own Zelda or Digital Daggers or their music). Enjoy!

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Musing through memories, losing my grip in the gray

—he turned in a sea of nothing, faces and names and places and memories no more than blurry images—

Numbing the senses, I feel you slipping away

—he turned and turned, but he could not find her, no matter how hard he tried to speak, to feel, to hear, to remember—

Fighting to hold on, clinging to just one more day

—he turned and everywhere she disappeared, the grass, the water, the stone—

Love turns to ashes

—her body blew away in the wind—

With all that I wish I could say

"Mipha—"

I'd die to be where you are

—Link knelt at her grave—

I try to be where you are

—the knife clattered to the stone floor of his house, gleaming silver in the moonlight, reflecting anguished blue eyes back—

Every night, I dream you're still here

—he sits in a cave, the cold fire reflecting in his eyes—

The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear

—her hands cupped his cheeks, and he swear he felt their touch—

When I awake you'll disappear, back to the shadows with all I hold dear

—he wakes in a cold cave, laying in his side, stark sunlight banishing her touch, her warmth, her voice and the others—

With all I hold dear

I dream you're still here

I dream you're still here

music*

Hidden companion, phantom be still in my heart

—he walks in a field, her ghost by his side, his heart aching—

Make me a promise that time won't erase us, that we were not lost from the start

—he stands by her statue, trying, desperately, with all his strength, to remember, to recall—

I'd die to be where you are

I try to be where you are

Every night, I dream you're still here

—he walks among the fireflies in the forest, eyes unfocused—

The ghost by my side, so perfectly clear

—she was beside him, her lips moving, her hand raising to touch a firefly—

When I awake you'll disappear, back to the shadows with all I hold dear, with all I hold dear

—she vanished, and he stood in that same forest, the sunlight bright on his upturned face, on the tear tracks glittering there—

I dream you're still here

(every night I dream you're still, every night I dream you're still here)

I dream you're still here

Ever slightly out of reach (I dream you're still here)

—he reaches a hand to her, to where she'd been, and he could so clearly see her, her golden eyes, her graceful figure, and her hand raised to meet his—

But it breaks so easily, ah ah,

—she broke into mist and dew, their fingers inches apart—

I try to protect you, I can't let you fade,

—he clenched his fists, falling to his knees, his lips parted in a wordless cry as his hands grabbed at the morning dew in the grass, scrabbling, trying, trying to find her, to put her back together—

I feel you slipping, I feel you slipping away

—her gold eyes faded away, her red scales drained of color, her smile seeping into the gray, and he could not remember her exact voice, and he bent his head as a wordless sound escaped his lips—

Every night, I dream you're still here

the ghost by my side, so perfectly clear

When I awake you'll disappear

back to the shadows with all I hold dear

With all I hold dear

—the days blurred together in the gray—

I dream you're still here (I dream you're still here)

I dream you're still here

(Every night I dream you're still, every night I dream you're still here)

—he sat by the fire, empty—

I dream you're still here

(Every night I dream you're still, every night I dream you're still here)

—maybe if he closed his eyes. . .—

(Ever slightly out of reach)

I dream you're still here

(Every night I dream you're still, every night I dream you're still here)

—a tear slipped through—

(But it breaks so easily)

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Sooo. . . Too much? Not enough? Just right? Let me knowww. Hope you guys like it (it's only been eating at the edges of my consciousness for the last couple months, screaming to be written)

PS: this is also (finally) written, edited, and posted at exactly 2:51am.