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It was about three in the afternoon; it was a normal day in the Hyrule Castle market, the place bustling with activity. People hurried around the town center going about their daily business. There were merchants displaying their wares, and shoppers haggling for lower prices. Nobody really paid attention to each other; they had their own to problems to worry about. Consequently, no one paid any attention to the girl who watched from the shadows. She sat on the cold, hard cobblestones of the alley that was located between two buildings and behind a pile of old crates. The girl was about twelve years old. She was short and thin, her growth stunted by malnourishment. A scar ran diagonally from just above her left eyebrow and up into her scalp. Her knee-length blonde hair was frayed and matted from years of neglect. Her once vibrant blue eyes were now dull and lifeless. The girl wore what was once a beautiful yellow dress, but was now only a mess of smelly, tattered rags. She was happy to have anything to wear. She had stolen this particular dress from some merchant months ago. She didn't enjoy stealing, but it was her only choice.

The girl watched the people go about their daily routines. Men and women shopped for various goods, and children played happily in the streets. She wished she could be as carefree as those other children. They didn't have to worry about finding food and shelter; they could enjoy their lives. The girl would give anything to be able to live like that, just for one day. Sometimes she wondered why she was alive at all. If there was any justice in the world, she would've died and been freed from this suffering long ago. But she couldn't do that. She wanted to live. She prayed day and night that she would be able to live a normal life someday, to have food, a family, and friends. Right now, all she needed was food. She was so hungry; she hadn't eaten in four days. She could worry about improving the rest of her life later.

The girl stood up and walked past the crates and out of the alley. She slowly walked out from the streets and into the town center. She saw people walking past her without giving her so much as a glance. She looked for a nice-looking person, maybe someone would give her money so she could buy some food. A young man walked by, and she tried to get his attention. "Spare a rupee for a hungry child?" she said meekly. The man gave her a cold stare.

"Sorry, I don't have anything," said the man, devoid of emotion. He continued walking towards a merchant's cart where he bought some kind of pastry and began to eat it. Filthy liar, thought the girl. She saw another man approach, and she attempted to get his attention also.

"Sir..." she mumbled. The man shoved the girl as he walked past, knocking her to the ground.

"Get out of my way you little runt," the man said harshly. The girl stood up off the ground and ran back into the alley. Maybe begging people wouldn't work today. Sometimes people gave her money, and other times she had days like this. She didn't have the patience to ask people for money today. She was too hungry; she needed food now. She would have to steal again. The girl watched one of the merchants and studied his routines. This man had a cart filled with loaves of bread and dozens of kinds of cured meats and sausages. It all looked so good, her mouth was watering. Now she needed to find a diversion so she could steal some food from that man.

The girl walked out of her alley and stealthily approached the merchant's cart. As usual, no one gave any notice to her. When she was only a few paces from the cart, the girl hid behind a pile of boxes that the merchant had thrown there. He continued selling his goods without even noticing the girl who was watching him. She needed a diversion.

A middle-aged woman walked up to the cart and examined some of the foods. She pointed to one of the products and said something that the girl couldn't hear. The merchant responded and the woman's face gained and expression of dissatisfaction. She began to yell at the merchant, complaining about the price. The merchant shouted back and began a heated argument. This was the girl's chance. She ran from behind the boxes and to the cart. She ducked down behind the side of the cart so no one would see her. The merchant and the woman were still arguing. With lighting speed, the girl snatched a large cured sausage and a loaf of bread and bolted back to her alley. The two people continued to argue, never even noticing the girl who stole the food.

The girl ran through the streets and back into her secluded alley. She sat down behind her crates and eyed the food that she'd gotten. She stole a loaf of bread and a large, salami-like smoked sausage. She decided to eat the bread first. The girl ripped a large hunk from the loaf and quickly devoured it. This bread was soft and warm, it must've been baked only a short while ago. It tasted so good. It was so satisfying to finally put some food in her stomach after days of hunger. In what seemed to her like only a few seconds, the girl completely consumed the loaf of bread. Now it was time for the sausage. She unwrapped the paper from the smoky-scented salami. It smelled so heavenly. It had been such a long time since she'd had real meat. The girl took a bite of the sausage and savored its smoky flavor. For a moment, she almost forgot that she was a homeless peasant. She took a few more bites of the salami until she felt satisfied. This was a fairly large sausage, so it would last for a while. At least she didn't have to worry about food for the next few days. She wrapped the paper back around the sausage and placed it next to her in the crate.

She leaned against the wall of the building and started to daydream. She wondered what it would be like to have a normal life. She imagined having friends and a family. She fell into a fantasy world where she had no problems, and where reality had no meaning. It was so much better in her daydreams. She wished they would come true some day. That was the only thing that kept her alive: hope that her life would someday get better.
 

 

Link was in a beautiful meadow filled with colorful flowers. Also with him was a young girl who was about the same age as him. The girl was the same size as him, only a little thinner. They ran and played in the field like small children, without a care in the world. The girl's long, golden hair swayed as she sprinted through the meadow. Link bent over, picked a flower, and gave it to the girl. She smiled and said, "Thank you." They played all over this beautiful clearing, inventing games when they started to get bored. Link and the girl had never had so much fun. Then they saw an adult woman approached them. The blonde-haired woman gave Link and the girl a warm smile. but her soft blue eyes revealed sadness, a sadness deep inside her that she was trying to hide. "It's time to go," said the woman in a kind voice. "Play time is over." Link and the girl both gave looks of disapproval. "It's time to go home now," added the woman. They didn't want to go home. They were just fine right here.

"Why do we have to go home?" complained Link.

"You're looking for something," replied the woman. "Something you lost." Link gave her a quizzical look. He didn't remember losing anything. "And you, too," said the woman to the little girl. "You have also lost something. You both need to find what you have lost."

"What? What have we lost?" asked the girl.

"You know what I am talking about," replied the woman. Link and the girl gave sighs of frustration. Why was the woman being so cryptic? "You both know that long ago you lost something deeply important to you, something you cannot live without." The children still didn't understand, there was nothing that they were missing. They had everything they wanted right here. "It is time to leave now."

"No, I don't want to leave," protested the girl. "I want to stay here."

"But you must leave," insisted the woman. "You have to embark on a quest...to find what you lost...to find what you need...to find what you have always wanted but could never obtain...to find the truth.."

Link woke up, startled. He was having that dream again. He wondered to himself why he was always tormented by strange dreams. He knew that this dream meant something; it wasn't like normal dreams. He felt the same way now as he did when he'd dreamt of Ganondorf. That had turned out to be a premonition; was this dream also a premonition? Link had no idea. He didn't wanted to worry about dreams again. Still, this dream puzzled him. What was that woman talking about? He really didn't remember losing anything. Who was that woman, anyway? She looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who she was. And who was that girl? He had never seen her before in his life. Link scolded himself for dreaming about another girl. Zelda would have a fit if she ever found out. Of course, it was perfectly innocent. That girl was a friend to him in the dream. Link had friends that were girls but weren't girlfriends. Still, it would probably be best if he didn't tell Zelda about the dream. He didn't want her worrying or getting jealous.

Link thought about the woman's words. She said that he had lost something. Now he felt like he did. Link was getting that feeling again, that feeling of cold emptiness. He got that empty feeling sometimes, like something was missing from his life. He always thought that Zelda would fill that empty space, that she would make him feel complete. And she did sometimes. Most of the time, Link felt like there wasn't anything else he needed in his life. But right now, he felt empty. He had lost something. He knew it. He had lost something that was crucial to his being, as if he had lost part of his soul. But what could it be? Link tried to think. Nothing. He couldn't think of anything that could've caused that empty feeling. He had to stop thinking about this right now. It was still dark, and he was tired. He needed sleep. He was sick of staring at the ceiling all night, he wanted just one night of peaceful rest. He would talk to Saria about this tomorrow. She always seemed to have the right answers; she always knew what to say to make him feel better.
 

 

The girl woke up and looked around; she was disoriented and confused. She looked around and saw her crate and the dark alley. She was still here, that must've just been a dream. She leaned against the wall and sighed. She was so happy there. She didn't have to worry about anything in that dream. It was just like she wanted, to be normal and carefree...like the other children she always saw. For a moment, the girl thought her problems were over; then she woke up. Why was life so cruel to her? Why did she have to have a dream like that? Waking up just made her feel miserable again. She yearned to go back into that dream, where she didn't have to worry about anything.

She wondered who that boy was that she saw in her dream. She felt so happy when she was with him. He seemed like a friend, like someone she could trust. She felt safe when she was with him. The girl also wondered about that woman who was in her dream, who was she? The girl didn't remember ever seeing that woman before, either. The girl was confused by what that woman had said. What had she lost? The girl could think of a millions things that she could have lost. After all, she had no friends, no family, and no home. She had lost all those things. Of course, she couldn't actually remember losing all those things. She never even remembered having them. This was all she knew. Her whole life was living in the streets begging for food. Oh well, there was nothing she could do about that now.

She was hungry again. She thanked the gods that she had gotten that large sausage, now she would have something to eat. She felt around the place where she'd stashed her food; there was nothing there. She stood up and looked in her immediate area. She didn't see her food anywhere. Where could it possibly be? Who would want to steal food from a homeless girl? It had to be somewhere. She upturned crates trying to find it; it wasn't very easy to hide a large smoked sausage. Her searching revealed no food. She sat down in despair, wondering how it could've disappeared.

Then the girl heard a noise coming from deeper inside the alley. It sounded like rustling and gnawing. She stood up and slowly walked down the alley. A small dog was lying on the ground, chewing on her food. The paper wrapping was torn to shreds and the sausage itself was almost gone. She wondered how this dog could've gotten her food without her knowing. She knelt down and tried to make friends with the dog. "Please, that's mine," she said in a high voice. The dog looked at her. The girl slowly moved her hand towards the sausage. The dog growled viciously and flared its teeth. "That's mine, give it back!" she pleaded, as if the dog could understand her. The dog growled even louder as she moved her hand closer to the sausage. When she had almost reached it, the dog snapped and attacked her. Its teeth sank into her left hand, causing large puncture wounds. The girl shrieked in pain and drew her hand back. The dog grabbed the sausage in its mouth and ran away, leaving the torn paper behind.

The girl looked at her injured hand. Blood was oozing from the three painful bite marks. The skin around the punctures was already starting to become pink and swollen. It hurt so much, and she had to stop the bleeding. She buried her hand in her tattered dress and applied pressure to her hand, causing more pain. She winced as she pressed against the bite marks. What a great way to end the day. She thought that she would have some food for at least a few days, and now this happens. What did she do to deserve this? She leaned back down into her box and tried not to think about her throbbing hand or her rumbling stomach. She tried to think of pleasant things, but it didn't work. All she could think of was her poverty and misfortune. Why did she have to be poor and homeless in the first place? Had she done something to anger the gods? She couldn't help but feel sorry for herself. What did it matter anymore? Her only food had been taken by some filthy mutt. She sank into the dark pit of depression and self-pity again. What was she going to do now? She kept trying and trying, but she always failed. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered. She was alone; no one cared about her. She didn't even have a name. At least, she couldn't ever remember having one. She had decided long ago to make a name for herself: Solo. It was perfect, it described her entire existence. She was solo, living by herself and for herself. No one else had ever given a damn about her, she could only depend on herself. Solo had nothing anymore, she wished she could either be saved from this hellish existence, or just die. Solo curled up into a ball and cried.
 

 

Link opened his eyes and squinted because of the bright sunlight; it was finally morning. It was just his luck that he fell back asleep only an hour before he woke up. He was used to losing sleep, anyways. Breakfast would make him feel better. Link sat up and slowly got out of his bed. He searched around on the floor for some clothes to wear. Saria always bugged Link about never using his dresser drawers, but Link couldn't see any point in it. It was easier just to pile all of his clothes on the floor. He picked through the strewn tunics until he found one that smelled relatively clean. He pulled it over his head and fastened his belt. This wasn't too dirty, he could wear it for another day. Link looked in the mirror and tried to fix his hair. It stuck up in all directions as it always did after he slept. He smoothed it with his hands until it looked more decent. He had no idea where his comb went; Saria had "organized" his things yesterday and he was still trying to find all the stuff she had misplaced.

That feeling of emptiness that Link had last night was beginning to sneak up on him again. It was like a predator, stalking him and hunting him. It waited for the opportune moment to strike; it waited until he was emotionally drained to attack him. Here it was again, that cold void in his soul. That just made him feel more depressed. Link stepped out of his house and slowly walked to Saria's house, trying to enjoy the fresh air. He tried to ignore the empty feeling, but he couldn't. Maybe he could talk to Saria about it. She might not understand his feelings, but at least she listened to him. Link entered Saria's house to see her sitting at the table waiting for him.

"You look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning," said Saria sarcastically. Link forced a smile. He didn't look like his normal self this morning. His face was pale and tired, and his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. He didn't feel very well. "What's wrong?" she asked. Link sat down across from her. The breakfast had already been prepared, Saria was only waiting for Link to get up.

"Nothing's wrong, really," Link sighed. Saria knew he wasn't telling her the truth. Link swirled his oatmeal with the spoon, but he didn't eat it. He didn't feel hungry. Link saw Saria's concerned expression; he couldn't hide anything from her. "I had one of those dreams...again."

"Really? You really seem to have bizarre dreams," said Saria. "Is it making you uncomfortable again?"

"Well...it's not just the dream. It's the feeling that came along with it, how I feel right now. It's kind of...empty, a feeling of emptiness and abandonment. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm missing something. It's like part of my soul is missing. The woman in my dream told me to find what I lost. And I have no idea what I've lost."

Saria sat there, thinking about what Link said. It was very confusing. She wished Link could elaborate, but she knew that Link was already telling her everything he knew. "So you feel empty?" Saria asked. "What do you think the dream has to do with it? It's gotta mean something."

"I really don't know. I'm sure that whatever I lost is what's causing the void inside me. I wish I knew what it was that I'm supposed to be looking for. I'm so confused."

"I'm not really sure what to tell you." Saria said. She didn't really understand what Link was talking about, so she couldn't give him any advice. She shrugged her shoulders. Link expected that, he knew that Saria wouldn't have the solutions to his problems. But at least she listened to him. "Do you have any ideas as to what it could be?" asked Saria.

"I don't know. I'm sure I'll figure it out sometime." Link sat silently for a moment, thinking. He swirled his oatmeal around and decided to finally eat some of it. It tasted okay, albeit slightly cold. "You know, I've always had that empty feeling," said Link, breaking the silence, "as far back as I can remember." Saria was surprised at that comment. She didn't know that Link had always felt like this. She thought that it had just started a few weeks ago when he began having the dreams. Saria gave him a look, indicating for him to elaborate. "The emptiness has always been with me. It's like a shadow; it's always there, but I can't touch it. It follows me, always one step behind or one step ahead. I usually ignore it, but sometimes it doesn't work. It's a predator that's hunting me. I always thought that the emptiness was just my need for some kind of companion, a soul-mate, someone who could understand me. For a while, I started to think that Zelda had finally filled that void in my soul...but she didn't. I mean, I love her and I would never want to lose her, there's just something else I need too."

Saria contemplated Link's words. She thought that maybe he needed a new friend, but that wouldn't work. Even though Link had only a few friends, the ones he had were dear to him. He wasn't one to have countless acquaintances whom he had no emotional connection with. Link preferred to have only a few very close friends. Maybe it was something else that he was missing. "You think you need a soul-mate?" asked Saria.

"I don't know," replied Link. "Probably not. I always thought that either you or Zelda would be my soul-mate. I couldn't think of anyone else being that. Maybe I don't need a soul-mate, maybe I'm just supposed to be this way. Maybe I should just forget about it and try to ignore it. I have enough problems already."

Saria sighed. She hated to see Link wallowing in self-pity like this. But there was nothing she could do. She wanted so bad to just wrap her arms around him and tell him that everything would be fine. She wanted to give him her own soul so he wouldn't have to feel empty inside. "Don't feel sorry for yourself," said Saria. It was the only words she could think of. "I'm sure you'll figure this out. It's only a matter of time."

Link unenthusiastically ate another spoonful of the oatmeal. Food wouldn't fill the void in his soul. He slowly and silently finished off his breakfast. "Right now I just need something to take my mind off it," Link said. He looked out the window. The sky was dull and gray, it looked like it would rain soon. But Link didn't care, the weather reflected his mood perfectly. "Maybe I'll go shopping at the market. I guess I'll buy some clothes or something."

"Okay, now I know you're really messed up," Saria said. "Since when did you every like going shopping, and for clothes?"

"Never," Link replied. "But maybe it'll take my mind off my problems for a while."

"Well, you'd better go soon because it looks like it's gonna rain," said Saria, pointing to the dreary sky outside. "I don't think many people will be out when it's raining."

"That doesn't bother me, I like the rain. Maybe I'll buy an umbrella." Saria smiled at him. That was a sensible idea. She didn't want to prevent him from going out. Saria knew that sometimes Link needed time to himself, time to think. Link started to help Saria clean up, he always made it a point to help whenever he could. He would leave for the market as soon as he was done.
 
 

Solo crept around the market, trying to see if there was any way she could swipe some food. It didn't look like today would be a good day. The sky was gray, and it looked like it was going to rain. Only a few merchants were out today, and only one was selling food. This particular food merchant wasn't one that she could easily steal from. He watched people like a hawk and suspected everyone. She would never be able to steal from him in a million years. She had to find some other way to get some food.

Solo walked through the alleys of the town. She saw a shadow emerge from around the corner, and she ducked away to hide. It was a man, one of the townspeople, walking back to his home. He was nibbling on an apple. It looked so delicious; Solo would give anything for it. The man walked past Solo without noticing her, and opened a door to one of the houses. It must've been his home. He tossed the half-eaten apple over his shoulder as he walked into the house and closed the door. Solo made sure no one was looking, and ran over to where the apple landed. It was a small red apple with only a few bites taken out of it. Solo picked up the apple and brushed off the bits of dirt and gravel that clung to it. Three-fourths of the apple remained, at least she would have something in her stomach. She quickly devoured everything but the stem.

This wasn't enough, she needed more food. There had to be some other food around here. Solo walked out of the alleys and through the market. She walked to the outer part of the town, near the Temple of Time. There was a small open area with a large pit. This is where the townspeople dumped their garbage, as well as where the waste from the castle's stables was dumped. It made a large stinking pile of decomposing food scraps and fetid horse droppings. Every week, workers either burned or buried the trash. It was the day before the trash day, so maybe Solo could find something here. She dug around in the pit, searching for scraps of food that weren't completely rancid. A few dogs were also digging around in the garbage looking for food. Solo felt so inhuman, burrowing for trash like an animal. She envied the slop that hogs were fed. She continued digging in the slimy, putrid refuse. There had to be something here, something that resembled food.

She dug deeper until she came across an amorphous blob partially wrapped in a waxy paper. She unwrapped it; it looked like an old piece of cheese. The cheese itself was a dark shade of yellow and slightly hardened. Part of its surface was covered with a hairy, green mold. She had eaten semi-rotten cheese before, she knew that it was okay to eat it if she picked the mold off. Solo would have gotten sick had she tried that with any other food. She dug into the tiny block of cheese with her fingernails and scraped off the bits of mold that clung to it. When she had finished removing the mold, she gazed at the nugget of food in her hand. The piece of cheese was small, about the size of a walnut. She popped the rotting piece of cheese in her mouth and ate it. It tasted like dirty socks, but she didn't care. At least it was something. The cheese wasn't enough, though. She continued digging, hoping to find something else.

After about five more minutes of picking through the rancid, stinking garbage, she decided to give up. It was no use trying to find anything else here. She was so hungry, but was used to it. She climbed out of the garbage pit. Her clothes were smeared and stained by the garbage. She and her dress reeked of rotting trash and fetid horse droppings.

Solo began to walk back to her alley. She tried to avoid people, ashamed of herself. There was a clap of thunder in the distance. Solo felt a few drops of water fall onto her face. It was starting to rain. She had to get back to her alley before it started pouring. The rain grew to a heavy drizzle as she made her way back to the alley. When Solo rounded the corner to her familiar place, she saw people there. There were two men, some kind of workers, doing something at the house which formed one of the walls of her alley. They were working on the house, and loading her empty crates onto a large cart. Solo stood there, watching the men. One of them gave her a frustrated look. "What are you doing here, kid?" he said in a condescending tone. Solo just stared at him; she couldn't speak. These people were invading what poor excuse for a home that she had. "Get out of here and go home," shouted the man, waving Solo away.

She sullenly left the street and wandered aimlessly through the town. The drizzle had now grown into a steady rain. She had nowhere to go now. Solo decided to stop wandering. She sat down on the steps near the temple. Thunder roared and lightning streaked through the sky. The rain increased to a heavy downpour. There was nowhere for Solo to go. She had once tried to go into the temple, but the people there kicked her out because of her disheveled appearance. A lot of good religion ever did for her. Solo hugged her legs to her chest. A deluge of giant rain drops pelted her from above. She was completely soaked from head to toe. The temperature had dropped drastically, and the wind had picked up. Solo tried to curl up to keep warm. She saw the merchants scurrying to pack up their things before they were ruined.

Solo shivered and her teeth chattered. She was so wet, and so cold. She would give so much to be inside a house near a warm fire. She instinctively rubbed her arms over herself, trying to keep warm. The cold rain combined with the wind chilled her to the bone. She tried to think of someplace warn. She lay down on the ground, trying to ignore the pouring rain. Small streams of water ran through the streets of the town. Puddles formed in the many low spots on the cobblestone roads. Most of the merchants had closed up now; only a few people were out walking around. Solo was tired, she wanted to go to sleep. It was so cold.

Her eyes grew heavy, ready to drift into sleep. She thought she saw a familiar person in the town center. There was a small boy sitting on the edge of the fountain, holding an umbrella. He just sat there, staring blankly. He looked familiar to Solo. He had blonde hair and wore strange-looking green clothes. He looked just like the boy that Solo had dreamed about. Maybe he was, but she didn't care. She was so tired, half-asleep and half-awake. She could've been dreaming right now. Solo didn't see any point to wondering who this boy was; all she cared about was getting indoors. But she knew that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

The boy stood up and began to aimlessly walked around the town center. Solo wondered what he was doing. People usually had things to do and places to go to, this boy had neither. As the boy grew closer to her position, Solo slid through the mud and behind a small bush. She didn't want that boy coming across her and seeing her like this. She didn't want anyone to see her. She never let anyone get close to her. She felt so ashamed, so dirty, so inhuman. As the boy wandered closer, Solo prayed that he wouldn't see her. She didn't want to be shunned and rejected by yet another person.
 
 

Link walked through the market. Saria was right, it did rain. He had taken his own advice and bought an umbrella when he had first arrived in the market. Now it was raining heavily. All the merchants were closing up because of the weather. So much for his shopping. He decided to just wander through the town. It would give him time to think. His feet splashed through the tiny puddles as he wandered through the town.

The rain didn't seem to be letting up at all. It hadn't gotten any heavier, but it hadn't gotten any lighter, either. Link purposely splashed through the puddles. He kicked a rock into a bush near some steps and heard a yelp. That caught his attention. Link curiously approached the bush, looking for the source of the sound. Maybe he had accidentally hit a dog or something with the rock. He hoped it wasn't hurt. As Link drew closer to the bush, he saw two blue eyes staring at him through the foliage. It wasn't a dog, it was a person. It looked like a girl. Before he could reach the bush, a figure bolted out from behind it. In a sudden flash, Link saw a girl run away from the bush and into the streets.
 
 

As soon as the boy had approached the bush, Solo ran from behind it. The rock he had kicked hit her on the left cheek. She would probably get a bruise. Solo ran away from the boy as quickly as she could. He didn't seem to mean any harm, but she didn't want his help. She didn't want anyone to see what a pitiful excuse for a person she was. She gave a quick glance behind her. The boy was still in pursuit, shouting that he wasn't going to hurt her. Solo weaved through the streets of the village, trying to lose the boy. Solo winced as she stubbed her toe on an upturned cobblestone. She wished that she had shoes.

Solo turned around a corner and ran through another one of the village's twisting alleys. The rain began to get heavier. She repeatedly slipped and almost stumbled on the muddy streets. She heard the boy chasing her. Don't let him catch up with me, she thought. I don't want him to see me like this. She ran through across the street and into the other side of the town. Solo sprinted into another alley and hid in the shadows, trying not to make a sound. The wind picked up and the heavy rain became a deluge. The lightning-streaked sky seemed to open up, letting torrents of water fall from the heavens. Solo curled up and hoped the boy wouldn't find her here. She felt a sharp stinging sensation on her face. Another sting across her legs. The stings kept occurring, becoming more and more frequent. She looked into the streets and saw tiny glistening balls pile up on the ground. It was hail. Tiny pellets of hail pelted everything, and Solo tried desperately to protect herself from the icy projectiles.
 

 

The torrential downpour and stinging hail had severely reduced the visibility. Link tried to see where that girl went. He had lost sight of her when she turned a corner. He slowly walked to where he last saw the girl, but couldn't find any sign of her. The heavy rain and tiny hailstones pelted Link from above; he had to try to get out of this storm. The umbrella wasn't doing him much good right now. Link quickly ran underneath the overhang of one of the many houses. At least the hail wouldn't hit him here.

While he stood there, waiting for the rain to die down, Link tried to think of where that girl could've gone. He hoped that she had just gone home. That girl looked so familiar to him. She looked like that girl he had seen in his dream. Her hair was unmistakable. No, she couldn't be the girl from his dream. That girl wasn't real; she was just a figment of his imagination. The girl he was chasing just happened to have a resemblance to the one from his dream. He hoped that that girl was okay. She was probably inside her house now. But there was something about her that made Link feel uneasy. By the looks of her, the girl was obviously poor. Maybe she didn't have a home. No, that wasn't possible. There weren't any homeless people here, were there? Link had never seen any homeless people in the village, that girl was probably just from a poor family.

The barrage of hailstones finally died down. The rain continued, but at a lighter rate. Link went out from under the overhang and walked down the alley towards the town center. Saria was probably worried sick about him. He had to get home. Link slowly made his way through the town and towards the exit.
 

 

Solo sat in the alley and hoped the boy wouldn't see her. To her surprise, he stopped beneath an overhang to the house across from her. Solo hid behind a wooden post that belonged to one of the houses. The boy just stood there, not even looking for her. Maybe he had finally given up. Solo silently breathed a sigh of relief. She wondered who he was. He definitely looked like the boy from her dream, his clothes were a dead giveaway. When the hail finally stopped, the boy walked away from the overhang, he wasn't looking for her anymore.

Solo had a strange feeling about this boy. She wondered who he was and where he came from. There was only one way to find out. She quietly sneaked out from behind the post and peeked her head around the corner. She saw the boy in green clothes leisurely walking towards the exit of the market. Solo stealthily followed the boy, making sure not to make any noises that would get his attention. He seemed entirely focused on walking, never looking around or anything. This was good for Solo, it made following him easier.

Solo weaved around hiding places to make sure the boy didn't see her if he decided to turn around. The boy kept going without even noticing that he was being followed. As the boy exited the castle walls and crossed the drawbridge, Solo wondered where he lived. Maybe he was from Kakariko. She tried to keep a large amount of distance in Hyrule Field, as there weren't a lot of places to hide in this open area. Solo was surprised when the boy didn't cross the stream that led to Kakariko Village. She wondered where he lived. She wasn't aware of any other villages in the area. She continued to follow the boy, hoping he didn't turn around. She didn't like the idea of stalking him, but she had to know who he was. This was the boy from her dream; he was real.