Daniel waited for a face to appear on his tablet. Eventually, the loading icon disappeared and was replaced by the friendly, old face of Pastor Rauru. The title of pastor, to all who knew him, was not as much a term of respect as of love, although that is not to say that respect was absent in the church's congregation. Both qualities were greatly present in his church, and any newcomers were sure to find such admiration quickly.

"Daniel! What brings you to call me?" Rauru asked with a warm smile.

"Well, I was thinking about that song you asked me to write, and I had an idea for it. It's simple, but effective, and I think you'll like it."

Rauru looked curiously at Daniel. "You always have ideas, don't you? Now is this a musical idea or a lyrical idea, for I'm afraid you'll lose me if you go off about music theory, like you do with Link." His smile flickered, and his face became just a bit more serious. "How is Link, by the way?"

Daniel smiled wryly. "He's doing better."

"Good to hear. I'll keep him in my prayers. Now how about that idea?" He pointed to Daniel encouragingly, palm upward.

"Well, you know how people say that you cannot have good without evil?"

"Yeah."

"So the lyrics would start like that, you know, 'What is good without evil?' and repeat over a stanza of simple minor one to major four chords for a while, then-"

Rauru laughed. "You lost me at 'stanza.'"

Daniel laughed earnestly along with him. "You see, as far as lyrics go, we'll have that sort of idea circulating throughout the entire song. We'll start with the good without evil and then we'll branch out to love without hate, life without death, the usual."

"And then?"

"The final line will be, 'What is Jesus without sin?'."

A short silence. "So," Rauru started thoughtfully, "you're trying to reinforce the idea that, despite his countless miracles, teachings, and simple good deeds on this earth, his inevitable destiny was the cross?"

"Yes!" Daniel exclaimed, eyes twinkling. Rauru had guessed exactly what he was trying to express.

"Great theological point," Rauru said, leaning back in his chair. "However, the connotation of the sentence, 'What is Jesus without sin,' might throw the congregation off a little."

"Isn't it good to be thrown off your guard, to have your understanding stretched and compromised, now and again? We don't need a docile church, now, do we?"

"No, we don't," Rauru agreed, nodding slowly and looking into the distance. He had his fingertips pressed together. "When a church gets too compliant, too trusting in ritual and not in thought, dogmas begin to form. I believe that will be a good song. And I have no doubt your music will be exceptional as well, being popular in churches all over this hemisphere of Skyloft."

"Thanks."

"No, thank you. You do as much to keep the church alive as I do, or maybe more."

"Flattery won't be necessary," Daniel said politely, though he knew that Rauru's gratitude was genuine.

"Oh, please," Rauru said, laughing. "Isn't it Link's first day of school today?"

Daniel took some time to adjust to the change of subject. "Yeah. Well, not actual school, just orientation."

"You worried about how he'll fare, after what he's been through?"

"No, not really. Academics have always come easy to him."

Rauru lowered his head a bit. "What about his social situation? His closest friends were all left behind on Hyrule."

"That'll be fine as well, I'm pretty sure. He's always treasured his friends, but he's never been overly dependent on them."

Rauru's head tilted downward even more. "But are they dependent on him?"

"Damn it, Rauru!" Daniel said, half in frustration and half in sarcasm. "Can you just let me believe everything's okay, just for a second?"

"Don't deceive yourself," Rauru said calmly, with no condescension. "Self-consolation is one thing. Deliberate ignorance is another. The key to serenity is not remaining calm when you believe all is right, for such a thing is easy, but rather finding peace of mind when you believe all is awry. Knowledge of the truth should not be sacrificed for the sake of temporary happiness. Permanent happiness comes from changing that truth for the better, not dismissing it."

Daniel sighed. "Thanks. You should use that in a sermon sometime."

Rauru smiled. "I would, aside from the fact that I don't remember what I said."

"Oh, you're just being humble."

"It was a moment of inspiration. I doubt I could repeat it as eloquently as I did just then."

"But you still retained the general idea, did you not?"

"You sound like you want to write a song about it."

"Maybe. If you write a sermon about it."

"Perhaps I will, sometime," Rauru said, chuckling.

At that moment, Daniel spied the icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. "Link's calling me," he said.

"Oh, I'd better let you go then."

"Alright." Daniel pressed a button, and Rauru's face faded to reveal Link's.

"Hey Link," Daniel said.

"Hey," he replied cheerily. That was a good sign.

"So it went well, I'm guessing?"

"Yeah. You should meet this principal. She's uh..." He laughed. "She's interesting."

"I'm sure I will soon. But why so exuberant?"

Link smiled cleverly. "Seems like I found friends here sooner than I thought I would."

"Oh, and friends of the opposite gender, I can assume, by the look on your face."

Link blushed. "I'm usually pretty impervious to female charm, but I'm afraid this girl is different."

"How so?" Daniel questioned teasingly.

"I don't know. She just strikes me as...as...Can you not interrogate me about this?"

"Okay. But at least tell me her name."

Link sighed dramatically. "It's Zelda. There. You happy?"

"For now." Daniel grinned and switched off his tablet.