THE FINAL DAY
-24 Hours Remain-

Romani was already awake by the time her guest arose for the day. "Hi, Grasshopper!" she sang from the table, where she was eating her breakfast. "Want to take a walk today? There's a funny man who lives a little way down Milk Road. He's really weird!"

The boy nodded his assent, already knowing whom Romani was talking about.

The pair rode their horses down the road the boy had already traveled countless times before. They stopped to chat with Tingle, who was just as confoundingly strange as ever. He was not one for long conversation, however, and soon reinflated his balloon and took his leave. Romani and her friend continued on to Termina Field, emerging into the expansive area near a large, dead tree, around which a massive and ugly vulture circled. Romani pulled out her bow, and with a brusque,"I'll take care of him," shot the bird down with a few arrows. "He's always bothering me," she informed the boy, "so if I shoot him to the ground he leaves me alone for awhile." She furrowed her brow. "He always seems to come back, though!"

They rode around the grassy area south of Clock Town for awhile, savoring the balmy air, ignoring - or trying to ignore - the impossibly large moon grimacing malevolently at all of Termina. Every so often the earth shook threateningly, startling the horses as they grazed on the sweet clover growing in the field. When one particularly forceful tremor knocked Romani off her feet, she got up and scowled at the moon. "Why won't you just … go away!" she screeched, cradling her left palm, which she'd scraped and was now bleeding a bit. The moon, of course, did not stop scowling down at them, and Romani burst into tears. "I hate that moon! Why does it have to ruin everything?" she sobbed, flopping into the grass and ripping the little green blades out of the ground.

The boy watched her, feeling pangs of sympathy. He, too, wanted to throw up his hands or stomp the ground or cry, but if he were to give in to these desires, would it affect his determination or resolve? How could he keep pressing onwards towards his goal if he were to indulge such weaknesses?

At the same time, he felt waves of guilt wash over him. How selfish he was, to be sitting here, enjoying three days of friendship and relaxation, when Romani was so scared, and when there were unbelievably important things to be done!

Immediately following this thought was a memory of Tatl's words: no one was being harmed by this. He looked at Romani, who had quieted down, and knelt beside her. He wanted to tell her, he wanted her to know, so very badly. But no, there was no way a child could understand, could believe him. This anguish and frustration she was experiencing – it wasn't real, was it? It could not exist, because the only time it would exist would be the time he did not pull out his ocarina at the end of the three days and play that haunting melody. But those tears on her flushed cheeks looked very real indeed. Was his tarrying harming people?

He stood again, helped her to her feet, and resolved to enjoy this final day with her, by exploring Termina together, and seeing this dangerous, beautiful land through her innocent eyes.

-.-.-.-

It was a somber evening back on the ranch. Romani and the boy helped Cremia prepare dinner, but it was a difficult undertaking. The moon was so close that one could see the bulging, spidery veins in its yellow eyes, and the tremors rocking the earth had become quite severe. It was the general impression of the people of Termina that they were not long for this world; those who had openly scoffed at the idea of the moon crashing to the ground now quietly accepted their gruesome fate. Some tried to escape by taking to the sea, but for most, the unknowns of this journey were such cold comfort that they opted for the certainty of death, instead. The boy felt the pain from all this hopelessness and resignation to destruction, and fought the swelling in his heart as hard as he could.

Romani refused to go to sleep that night, which would have been difficult anyway with all the quaking, and instead resolved to stay up with her sister, her new friend, her dog, and her horse, until the end came.

It was one of the most difficult nights the boy had ever endured. They sat out front, all eyes facing Clock Town and the evil presence above it. The little white dog slept at Romani's feet, moaning in his sleep occasionally, or awaking with a start when the ground shook. Romani drifted back and forth between sleep and sleeplessness, her head lolling uneasily while she slept, her lip bitten in an attempt to stop the tears from pouring down her face when she was awake. Around midnight, Cremia departed amidst muffled sobs, saying that she could not stand it any longer.

And still, the boy remained, awake and alert, comforting his friend every now and again. He dared not slumber, but instead stayed steadfast and unshakeable, even though everything else around him was falling apart.

-.-.-.-

When the sky began pinkening with dim rays of light in the distance, the boy stood. "Where are you going?" Romani asked groggily, regarding him with blurry eyes.

He looked at her fondly for a moment. She got to her feet. "Don't leave me, please," she pleaded, eyes welling up with tears again. He reached for her and she dove into his arms, whispering, "I don't want to be alone."

Just then, a tiny flicker of white light appeared beside them. Tatl. The boy smiled, realizing he could, just this once, grant Romani her wish.

"I'll see you again soon," he told her softly.

Retrieving a purple object from his pocket, he inhaled deeply and blew into it.

Eerie, timeless notes spilled from Link's ocarina, and Termina knew no more.