"Whenever you want to hear my voice, play Saria's Song. You can talk to me anytime…"

That's what she had said. But he couldn't have felt more separated from her at that moment, stretched out in the clean green grass of Hyrule Field, the velvety ink of the night broken only by a starry film overhead.

He remembered when they used to watch the moon together through the trees. There was no moon tonight.

He had felt her hand in his only once before, at least seven years ago… Never again. Never.

She smelled like dry cinnamon and wet earth. Autumny.

Her hair was light like the new growth of a plant, honest and soft.

And those eyes…they were obviously seeds, ready to burst with life. That, or precious stones…or stars…

It had been a long time ago, but he remembered clearly when she taught him her Song. The forest clearing was surprisingly free from evil; no Deku Shrubs or Wolfos would dare lay a root or paw on this sacred ground. He knew all too well it was sacred because of her; he had always been curious as to why the forest spirits paid such special attention to her. Well, now that she was gone, he knew, at least…she was right when she had said the Forest Temple would be important to them both someday…

He closed his eyes against the logic threatening to intercept his dreaming. He knew they were the wrong race, the wrong age, the wrong people in general…the dementia of those dimensions that separated them was just too much to bear. They would never, never truly be together, not in all the time the world had to offer. But that still didn't stop him from thinking about the way she lit up when he'd agree to something she offered, or the way she'd snicker when she turned down Mido, or just the way she say on a tree branch and played the tiny ocarina tucked between her dollish hands…

And as for saving Hyrule? He wasn't doing it for Zelda, for Ruto, for any of the near-dead citizens…as terrible as it sounded, he was only doing it for her. He was only going through this because she bade him to. Carrying out her wishes…it made him feel…closer to her.

At this point, all of the suffering had given him room in his heart for only one. And that was…

Saria.

A little melody played into the night, an obvious product of the forest, fashioned by the clay lips of a legendary instrument, too small and sweet for such a warrior as he. The silence persisted only a moment before she spoke:

"Link…? Can you hear me?"

-Fin-