Chapter 2: The City of Hyrule
He awoke when the dawn met his face through the small window of his room. Stretching, he gazed at the small space he called his own before rising out of bed.
Splashing his face with cold water was the way he began every day, as it usually woke him up and snapped him to attention. His hair, a red, mangled mess in the mornings, easily gave in to a few strokes from his trusted comb. After this ritual, he was out the door and on his way to start his work.
He waved casually to the old landlady who lived downstairs, her name having escaped his memory on more than one occasion. She called after him, asking for help with something, but he pretended not to hear. Despite the keen nature of his hearing, he had always found life easier when he told others he could barely hear a sound. He felt no guilt in this deception.
When the door opened and he stepped out into the town, the bustle hadn’t yet arrived and the cool breeze of night still lingered in the air. A few eager shopkeepers were already halfway through setting up their tents along the street or cleaning their shops. He was far less apt to be quite so early in the morning.
He passed the Goron traders: hulking, hardened folk who usually sold spices and precious gems. He strolled by a Zora fisherman who barely spoke a word. His fish were always the best, but by far the most expensive.
The other Hylian shopkeepers all offered a polite nod as he walked by, then talked amongst themselves to share opinions of jealousy and irritation. His was a booming business for reasons they could not understand.
The doors to his shop opened with the twist of a golden key, and every day he stepped inside he was reminded of the first day he had opened those doors so many years before.
He was meticulous when it came to cleaning the shop in the morning, and when he set up his merchandise he was always careful to arrange it so it was both eye-catching and organized. No bit of dust or tiny insect was safe from his clever eye.
When he finally took a spot behind a large wooden stand at the back of the store, he watched patiently as the traffic outside began to steadily increase. He saw from the large windows of his shop the Hylian women pulling their children along as they shopped for food. He watched as soldiers patrolled the streets, wondering why they even bothered with so little crime or trouble in the city. He looked as other shopkeepers attempted to trick easy prey into believing they had something their customers couldn’t get anywhere else. All of it made him smile.
It was the highlight of his day when a little girl came and asked to try on a mask.
“I would like a mask to scare my big brother,” she asked sternly. Her golden curls stirred within him a smile. Children would always fill him with joy regardless of their intention or desire.
“I have many scary masks,” he said, “but I wonder which one your brother would be most frightened of?” He asked this question as if he didn’t already know.
As she pondered he giggled before finally ending his charade. With a motion of his finger and a large, toothy grin, he pulled a ghoulish mask from behind a curtain. At the sight she leaped up and down with excitement. It was the right one, of course it was.
She paid with the 20 rupees herself, and handed the sparkling gems to him eagerly before he handed her the mask in return. She thanked him, pulling the mask over her face and instantly transforming into another creature entirely. The little girl ran outside, laughing, before she disappeared from view into the sea of strangers beyond. He could swear he heard a little boy scream with fright not a minute after.
Others came and made their purchases. Some were attending parties, others wished to place a mask upon their scarecrows to keep the birds at bay. Children were always enamored with the masks, some silly and others frightening. An old man came toward the end, and said only that he wished to be another person. To him he gave a special mask, and watched with glee as the old man tried it on and left quite different than he was when he had entered.
And so the day progressed in the Castle Hyrule town. The Happy Mask shop sat in the shadow of the castle above, and the salesman wished it always would. He wondered in that moment, if he’d get his wish.
