The Legend of Zelda: What Comes After - The Final Tale of The Hero of Time

Chapter II: Are You Happy?

"Are you happy?"

Those three words stuck in my head for the entire morning. Halvard's ominous voice wrung in my mind like the bells on the Temple of Time. I began to wonder about the last time I had heard those bells...

The morning was calm and there was a slight breeze in the air as Epona and I traveled through the forest. Although Epona and I had just eaten, I still felt hungry. Of course the small left overs from the stable we passed by a few days ago weren't going to last very long, so I had to conserve as much as possible. Epona and I were moving at a slow pace because it was, after all, still the morning, and I didn't want to push Epona so early in the day, especially since we had a long day of traveling ahead of us.

"Are you happy?" I heard again.

 I couldn't get this moment out of my head, it was all I could think about. I didn't consider answering this question at this point because I was still looking for Navi, so I kept my eyes wide open and looked up and down every tree we passed by. However, I couldn't help but think about how abruptly Halvard disappeared after he asked me this strange question.

"Did I really go into this long of a trance when he asked me that I didn't even notice him walk away?" I questioned myself aloud, strictly because I had not spoken in a few hours.

As hours of horseback traveling went by, the doubt that I was going to find Navi quickly took control of me, especially considering how far away we were from the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods. To be honest, I still didn't even know where the hell we were. I hoped that we were getting closer, but I wasn't completely sure.

Soon enough, the afternoon came about, and the forest was as quiet as ever. The wind constantly blew among the trees, making them wave from side to side. Each swift move of the tree's branches had me looking from side to side, hoping that Navi would appear from behind one of them. I began to lose hope in myself again. 

As the hours went by, I continued to feel like I was going nowhere. Only passing by an endless shroud of trees that lead to nothing. Suddenly, I looked to my left and I could see something. It appeared to be a small hut with a white cloth hanging over it. Somehow... it looked familiar to me. 

"Epona, left." I said nervously as I patted her on the left side of her mane to notion her to turn.  

"Wait a minute." I said as I got a glimpse of the cloth. "That's the Hylian crest, and that's my blanket!" I cried joyfully as I remembered that I had made a small camp sight prior to my arrival to Termina. 

I threw my head back, closed my eyes, and smiled. As I soaked up the little sunlight that peered through the tall trees, I prayed and thanked the goddesses for somehow directing me to this small campsite I made before. This finally meant that I was getting home... or at least closer to it. As Epona and I drew near my old, small, makeshift campsite, I began to laugh. It was so relieving to see that after all this time, I actually was making progress. All the weight of the feeling of being totally lost in the wilderness was lifted off my shoulders. However, the joy that I experienced for that moment quickly disappeared after my realization came back to me. I had been traveling all this way, all this time, and still never found my beloved companion, Navi. 

Epona trotted to the middle of the small campsite. Attempting to cheer myself up, I hopped off Epona and patted her on the head. 

"We're gonna make it. We did it, girl." I said softly. 

Because we found this area, I decided it was a good idea to let Epona get some rest. I took her lead and strung it onto a tree branch outside of the small hut. 

I began to walk around the campsite to assure myself this was really happening. I walked over to the hut where the blanket lay and picked it up. It was damp and looked as if it had been sitting out here untouched for years. While looking at the worn blanket, it scared me to think of how long it had been since I made this little campsite. In an attempt to dry off the blanket, I shook it. As I waved the blanket in the wind, a small piece of paper fell from inside of it. I picked up the folded piece of paper and opened it.