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

Chapter IV: The Hero's Burden

The sun shined bright through my windows as wind made the curtain fly over my face. I could hear the trees rustling in the wind and the birds sing their morning songs. 

Waking up inside of my warm, cozy bed must have been the best feeling that I had felt in years. Although, I was still so tired and didn't feel like getting up yet. I pulled the covers up above my head to block out the sun from my eyes. I was terrified. I began thinking that I was going to have to leave the forest. After all, I'm not a Kokiri, and I can't live here forever. I had no idea what I was going to do with myself. 

An hour passed as I lay comfortably in my bed. I could hear bunches of the Kokiri begin to gather and cook breakfast for us all. My stomach growled, signaling it was time to get up and eat.

I sat up and grabbed my tunic on the table beside me. When I put it on, I noticed how small it had gotten. My arms were barely covered by the sleeves and my body felt like it was being squeezed super tightly. Not to mention, it barely even covered half of my legs. I tried putting on my hat, but it also barely fit. I couldn't remember if it felt like this yesterday. I also began to notice the holes that riddled the old tunic. I figured that I could ask Saria if she could have one of the guys make me a brand new one. This happened a lot growing up, so I'm sure they'd be happy to do it again, especially since I just got back. 

As I was strapping up my old boots, I heard someone climbing up the ladder. I paused for a second and waited for who ever it was to pull the curtain back.

"Hey, Link, breakfast is ready!" Saria said as she pulled back the curtain.

"Alright, I'll be over in a few." I said as I stood up.

Saria stared at me and laughed a little bit. "Ha! They were right!" 

"Huh?" I said, genuinely confused. 

She laughed again. "Well everyone was saying how small your tunic looked last night... and I guess I didn't notice until now." 

"Yeah...  you think there's any extra?" I said as I scratched my head.

"Wait here. Let me go get it for you!" 

"Thanks." 

Saria then exited my house and climbed down the latter. I felt a little embarrassed too.  

That was a relief, I didn't even have to wait a few days, or have to wear my tunic that was, now that I realize it, way to small for me. I sat on my bed in my under-sized tunic as I waited for Saria to return.

Minutes later, I heard the sound of footsteps climbing up the ladder of my house. Saria pulled the curtain as she held my new tunic behind her back. 

"Here we are!" She said as she revealed the new tunic from behind her. "This is the biggest one we've ever made. We also added the white under-garments." 

My heart dropped. "White under-garments?" I said as I tried to act puzzled, although I knew exactly what it was.

"Yeah! Kind of like... you know... how it used to look."

"Alright." I said as I took the folded new tunic from her hands. To be honest, I totally forgot that there were clothes under my tunic in the other... world... per say." 

A slight silence fell between me and Saria. She could tell memories of my troubled past had begun to surface. As usual, she decided to break the silence.

"I'll go outside, tell me when you have it on so I can be the first one to see!" Saria said with excitement.

As I undressed, I studied the multiple scars that I had been given. My injuries from my days as the Hero stained my body like red wine on a white shirt. My legs were covered by scars that were clearly large gashes. Some of the ones I remembered, some I didn't. There were also others that must have been from Termina. I then looked to my arms, which also must have endured the same fate. I began looking at my new tunic, staring and noticing how much it looked like... my old tunic. Saria was right. I picked it up, put the newly tailored white undershirt and leggings on, and slid the new tunic over my head. However, It was a little big, so I decided to look in the mirror.