A Shed of Hope

Epilogue: Link

I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling of my bedroom. Zelda’s parents made me leave the throne room as they spoke with Zelda alone. I don’t know what to think, what they said about me. I sit up and brush my hand through my hair. I still can't believe that the Song of Time worked and that both, Zelda and I got sent back in time and were able to stop Estrella before she got too far. But I can't take it anymore; I hate not sleeping with someone else . . .

            A smile spreads across my face as I slip on my boots and travel down the familiar hallways of the castle. I'm the only one out and about this time of night, but I don’t care. I walk down the hallways to Zelda’s room and knock. When nobody answers, I open the door quietly and peek inside. Zelda lies in bed, her golden hair draped across the pillow, sleeping peacefully. I walk to the side of the bed and slip my boots off. Sliding under the covers with her, I let my fingers stroke her cheek. At this touch, she jolts awake, but calms down once she sees that it’s me.

            “Good evening, Link,” she says with a yawn.

            “Hello,” I reply, brushing my fingers through her hair and gently untangling any knots I find.

            “What are you doing here?”

            “Couldn’t sleep,” I reply, sticking my hand under the pillow to prop myself up just a little. “What did your parents talk to you about after I left?”

            She yawns again, “About whether they’ll allow you and me to be together.”

            “And,” I ask, eager for information.

            “They said they’ll think about it,” she replies, smiling a little, “and that basically means ‘yes’ when coming from my parents.”

            I kiss her, pulling her closer and absorbing her warmth. I always felt so cold without her, always incomplete. But when I'm with her, I feel whole again, feel like I'm needed; feel like I have a place in the world.

            When we break apart, Zelda is the first to speak. “Goodnight, Link.”

            “Goodnight, Zel,” I reply, kissing her forehead before pulling her even closer. Her head lies against my chest, her hand wrapped in mine. I wrap my arms around her and close my eyes, letting sleep take me over.

Eleven Years Later

The door to the bedroom opens silently, like it’s not happening at all. Torchlight seeps into the bedroom, but the two people in the bed don’t stir. Satisfied with the outcome, a ten-year-old boy tiptoes to the far side of the bed. The boy silently climbs onto the bed, careful not to wake the man that sleeps peacefully next to his wife. Finally breaking the silence, the boy starts bouncing up and down on top of the man, making the man’s eyes jerk open.

            “Wake up, Dad,” the boy cries, his bouncing waking up the woman that sleeps in the man’s arms.

            “Your son’s awake,” Zelda says in my ear.

            “How come he's my son,” I complain, rubbing my eyes and looking at the boy that sits on top of me. He looks like an exact copy of me, though I can place features here and there that belong to Zelda.

            “Come on, Dad,” Wes continues to cry. “You promised you would teach me today!”

            I yawn, throwing the covers off of me and slipping on my frayed, old boots. I throw on a green tunic and strap on my belt, seeing as I already have my pants on. I yawn once more and brush my fingers through my hair.

            “Link,” Zelda says, catching my attention. I look over at her as she sits up and brushes stray strands of hair out of her face. “Just don’t kill him with the Master Sword.” She smiles and I can't help but smile back. Her smile has not lost its contagiousness in the eleven years we've been together.

            “Don’t worry,” I say, ruffling Wes’s hair as I walk towards the door. I hear the thump of Wes sliding off of the bed and following me. “I won't. After all, it is just his first lesson.”

            Wes runs ahead of me, excited for his first lesson in the ways of a sword. I follow him out to the fields where the horses run, as the area is grassy and Wes won't get hurt if he falls. I hand him a wooden sword and start showing him the proper grip, ignoring Epona as she nudges me with her nose, wanting a ride. I learned many things over the years and more during my journey with Zelda. I learned what love is, what sacrifice is all about, how to fuel my determination, but most of all, I learned what courage really is. Courage is about being brave, but being brave is not about being fearless. Being brave is accepting your fears. Being brave is looking your fears in the eye and saying to yourself, ‘I will always be afraid of that, but I will not let it stop me!’ Being brave is never letting your fears get in the way of what you are determined to do. Everyone is afraid of something. The only difference is that there are people who are willing to face their fears while others cower down in front of them. Being brave is facing your fears even though it scares you. Being brave is what courage is all about. You just have to find the strength inside of you. Lucky for me, I found my strength inside of Zelda. That one shed of hope is what helped through my journey from being a blacksmith to being the hero that Zelda sees. I was always capable of being a hero; I just did not know that I had that potential until it was all over. A shed of hope can help even in the darkest and most desperate times. All you have to do is take advantage of that hope and let it fuel you into making things right once again. A shed of hope can do much more than what you think.