Summary: Link finds an extract from Mila's journal that she put on his Tab, and it forms the basis for the first chapter of 'A Link to the Future.' Link and Mipha briefly reflect on his experience after Link shares it with her.

You're not hungry?" said Mipha as she watched Link pick at his fish, not really eating any. "Or is it still overcooked?"

Mipha and Link were having lunch together at their house. Mipha had finished eating, but Link couldn't eat. He had just returned from the future and was still shaken by the whole experience. Plus, he had just had lunch with his adult children. He had quietly given thanks to Hylia for the entire trip home. And now it was time to tell Mipha what had happened.

He never wanted to have any secrets from her, but he didn't look forward to the usual conversation afterward. They were not conversations, really. They were Mipha getting hurt and angry at the same time and letting it all out on him for being reckless. Not that he didn't deserve it. Usually, he did. But this time felt different. He took a deep breath and prepared himself.

"No, the fish is fine," said Link. "It's my appetite. I only just ate lunch. I need to explain."

"You ate alone at Spool Bight?" said Mipha looking closely at him. "Tell me what happened, Link. I knew something was wrong when you returned in such an overly affectionate mood, especially as a Hylian again. It reminds me of that time at East Reservoir Lake before we were married when a different 'you' from the future showed up. You were overly emotional then, too."

"Yes, well, that's actually a very apt comparison," said Link.

Mipha gave him a look.

"No, it's really still me," Link added quickly. "This was pretty bad, though. Probably the worst that ever happened to us. But it was such a small mistake. I was careless, I admit it. But I still have trouble believing the consequences could be so severe. Anyway, the main thing is that everything is fine now. There's nothing to worry about now."

"What are you talking about?" said Mipha. "You're getting me worried and upset by hinting at things. Can you just tell me what you did and what happened?"

"Yes," said Link. "Well, when I got to the area by Spool Bight, I saw what I thought was a Luminous Stone newly exposed in a crevice in the cliffside. I know you like Luminous Stones, and I wanted you to have a piece of it for good luck. So, I tried to chip off a piece. But it turned out to be a defective TimeShift Stone that shattered when I struck it. Who knows who left it there? It was buried until now. But the end result of activating the TimeShift Stone was that I was propelled into the future. I spent the last few weeks 140 years in the future and was only just now able to return to the present. As to my appetite, I had lunch just before I returned."

Mipha looked at him, and he wasn't sure what she was thinking.

"Are you sure it wasn't all a dream?" said Mipha. "Did you fall asleep there? You did just give me a piece of stone, so that part must be true."

Now Link stopped to think. Could it have been a dream? It would have been the longest and most detailed dream in his whole life. But he did sleep there and wake up later. What evidence was there? He had struck a stone, and it shattered. He fell unconscious and woke up now with broken pieces of rock there. He couldn't prove any of the rest of his story had happened. But, no, it couldn't have been a dream.

"It wasn't a dream," said Link. "It was way too real. But I can't prove it wasn't yet. Perhaps we should just drop the subject for now?"

"Alright," said Mipha. "It sounds pretty fantastic."

It was after breakfast, when he was putting his things away in their room, that he noticed an additional folder had been added to his Tab. When he accessed it, there was a note and a longer document included in the folder. He pressed the image of the note, and it opened for him to read.

Dearest Dad,

Lapha has told us of her plan to send you home, and we've all agreed to it.

The surprise of seeing you alive again after all these years has meant a lot to all of us. It brought back memories of happy times together that we hadn't thought of in ages.

Our first instinct was to wish for you to live on with us here. We had so much catching up to do and things in our lives we wanted to share with you. And we thought you might be happy to have the chance to be with all of us and your grandchildren. And, frankly, at first, we didn't think you would have any choice.

But after Lapha came up with a way to send you back and talking it over further, we realized the right thing to do was to give you back your life with Mom. She is the person you truly belong with. And it is what you would do for us if the situation were reversed. We know you always put your family first.

So, farewell, Dad, and may all our lives now take a turn for the better. We know Mom's and yours will. And we believe, by the grace and goodness of Hylia, that ours will too. Now that we know you are still alive, it's time to do things over and do them right.

We all love you, and we wish you and Mom the best. You were, are, the best parents in Hyrule.

Love past, present, and future,

Mila, Midon, Link, Lapha

P.S. Lapha told us you might think everything that happened was a dream since she had programmed her stone to return you to the exact time after you struck the first stone. So, she said this note on your Tab would be something you could look at and remember it all really happened. Well, it occurred in a timeline that no longer exists now if you're reading this when you're back.

Also, with Lapha's help, I, Mila, included a small part of a journal I kept after we all thought you were lost at sea. It tells some of what happened to Mom and the rest of us during that time. Without my notes, of course, you would have no way of knowing about that period in our lives. Feel free to use any part of it in your own writing. I know you enjoy keeping a journal. Be well, Dad. You're the best!

Link closed the note, then opened the document and skimmed through the extract of Mila's journal. It was pretty sad reading. When he eventually prepared this section of his own journal for publication, he used a good deal of Mila's information. It formed the basis for much of the first chapter of this part of his journal that he titled 'A Link to the Future - Part 1'.

In any case, all this showed that it was clearly not a dream. Unless you thought Mila's journal was pure fiction, of course. But he knew that it wasn't. He needed to share this with Mipha. She was in the living room, reading some reports from her meeting with her father this morning.

"I can show you now that it wasn't a dream," said Link. "Mila wrote some notes about what happened and left them on my Tab. It's, um, it's pretty grim reading. It covers my funeral and your life afterward, and so on. You're welcome to read it, of course. But it's depressing and makes me feel even more terrible. Thank Hylia, it didn't happen now."

"I want to read it," said Mipha putting down her reading. "Sit here with me while I do."

Link sat down next to her, handed her his Tab, and read along with her. He kept glancing up at her now and then to see her reaction, but she kept her feelings to herself. Her expression didn't change. Finally, she finished, and he waited for what she would say.

But she didn't say anything. She looked over at him, then reached out and hugged him. He held her, and neither said a word. Then she let go.

"This talks about what happened here after you were lost," said Mipha. "Now tell me your part of the story. What happened to you when you woke up in the future?"

So, Link told her everything that happened when he arrived in the future, and she just listened without interrupting. He ended with his arrival back in the present here.

"Well, all I can say is I'm numb inside right now," said Mipha. "It's like I was asleep in a pond, and after I woke up, someone told me that a lightning strike I never saw just missed me. You feel grateful, lucky even, but chilled and frightened at what almost happened."

"I understand," said Link. "And somehow saying sorry seems utterly and ridiculously inadequate. But I don't know what else to say. I've learned Hyrule can still be a dangerous place, and I need to keep my wits about me at all times. I was too careless and complacent. I won't ever make that mistake again."

"You can't tell the children about this," said Mipha. "Not until they're all grown. You agree?"

"Yes, of course," said Link.

"Now, I'm the one who needs to get out," said Mipha. "Come, let's swim in Ruto Lake. And I need you with me."

They left the house and walked to where they could dive into the lake. Mipha swam on her own at first, diving to the bottom, then shooting to the surface and into the air, getting some exercise. She did that a few times, then she swam over to him, and they put their arms around each other as they floated together.

"I'm not sure what to say," said Link. "I guess you're kind of used to that. I'm just surprised and pleased, of course, you're not more upset."

"It's different for me," said Mipha. "I didn't experience any of it. I never saw the lightning. So, it still seems so unreal, just a story. You lived it, and I didn't. That's what's different. And you were careless maybe, but not willfully reckless. It was bad luck, I guess if you can call it that. So, I'm not upset about that."

Mipha paused for a moment, then looked into Link's eyes.

"But I hope you understand what all the things that happen are telling us," said Mipha. "Your combat and survival skills were vitally important, no doubt about it. Without them, Hyrule would have been lost. But in the end, it is always love that saves you, saves us. The darkness sealing sword needed you to become a more caring person before you were ready, not simply a fighting machine, killing every monster in sight. It was Zelda's love for you that saved you at Ash Swamp. It was Mila's love for you that saved you after your battle with Dark Link. And it was your caring for me that made you save a piece of that stone that enabled you to return here, which itself was thanks to your children's love for you. In the end, love is more powerful than anything else. You do understand, don't you?"

"Yes, I do understand," said Link. "And I think my love of Hyrule and service to Hylia must play a part as well."

Link paused for a moment.

"You read my journal and know something of how I felt after losing you," said Link. "And now I read Mila's journal and got a glimpse of how your life might be after losing me. And all that makes me want to make sure neither of those things ever happens now. I promise to be more careful than ever. I love all of you too much."

"Come, let's go home," said Mipha. "And we can stop at Hylia's shrine on the way and give proper thanks to her again."

When they got home, Mipha read over Mila's journal once again.

"What a terrible life you condemned me to," said Mipha after she finished. "But the children all turned out well. I hope the new future turns out as well or even better for them."

"I hope so too," said Link. "They believed it would, and so do I. But we make the future. It doesn't just happen on its own. You and I need to do our best to create the bright future we want to happen for all of us."

"Yes, you're right," said Mipha. "But now I'm worried about you. I used to worry about the past. Now, are you going to start having nightmares about the future, too?"

Link laughed.

"Well, if I do, one thing remains true," said Link. "My dreams begin when I wake up with you beside me. And nothing can change that."

"Such a sweet tongue," said Mipha as she stroked his cheek. "Now, I am beginning to wonder if it really is the same you."

"Very funny," said Link. "You know, I think I'm feeling hungry. My last meal was quite a long time from now."