I never used to be this way, but it's hard not to slip when you have faces of disgust and despair staring at you every breathing second of your life. So I look a little bit different from everyone else and you can see the fine lines of my ribs and abdomen – so what? Apparently 'so what' meant the world to everyone else here in Hyrule.
My name is Grog. Brother of my 'pretty-faced innocent' sister Anju, and son of Mutoh, or as everyone else refers to him as, the Carpenters' Boss. Cuccos are my calling; they seem to understand me better than anyone else. Even so, Cojiro knows me best. Cojiro is special, just like me, different from the rest, but I am the only one to see that in him – the rest refer to us as freaks.
"A blue cucco?" People would say. "Is that even safe? Is that natural? Is it a freak mutation?"
Of course it is safe, I mean, I should know, shouldn't I? I've raised him from an egg the moment I saw him stand out from the white eggs surrounding him. The mother cucco immediately came to attack me – thinking of it now makes me laugh. As she flustered her wings at me, I gently lifted her, calming her down. I hushed her, telling her that it was alright and that I was taking the egg. When I tried to take Cojiro again, she let me.
I was so excited for Cojiro to hatch; I remember bouncing up and down excited as I saw the egg rock back and forth. I ran outside, hollering for my father to come and see Cojiro hatch. Immediately I had noticed the stares.
At this time, my father was working on a new project that he refused to tell me the title off. He was pushing his workers to the limit – but I don't blame him, they were all overweight and lazy anyways. That isn't what bothered me, though. What had bothered me was the fact that the workers stopped in their tracks just to stare at me. The villagers, too even, their big beady eyes were all on me.
"Is that Mutoh's son?" I heard them whisper as I stared, horrified. "No wonder why he doesn't talk about him too much. Look at his hair. Look at his bones. Look at how pale he is. Is he sick? Is there something wrong with him?"
My father said nothing… he simply sent his workers back to work and turned the other shoulder. Meanwhile, Anju was leaning outside of the cracked door hissing at me to get back inside and that I should have known better than going outside with my condition.
What are they even talking about, 'my condition'? There is nothing wrong with me. Sure my look can be a bit intimidating – heck, people even call me "that punk kid." I'm not ashamed of it, I think I should embrace it. My father tells me to take a special medicine brewed for me every morning, he says it will make me better, make me normal. I ask you, what is normal? We have Zoras, the people who breathe water, and Gorons, the people who have this crazy obsession over rocks, so what's so wrong with a person who is a little pale and intimidating?
My father and sister pushed and pushed at me to take my medicine on a daily basis, but I always faked it. They shoved me inside when I wanted out, they laughed when my 'problem' was mentioned and said that it was a joke and that I was just shy so I stayed inside with the cuccos all day. They were embarrassed, disgusted, and ashamed of who I was.
Being cabin fevered is horrible. Not speaking to a single soul is worse. Too much time to yourself can really impact how a person thinks and behaves. To escape, I'd sneak out at night by slipping between the bars where we kept the cow at night. All I'd do is sit outside at the tree by the entrance of my Kakariko Village. Not one person visited me, or let alone talked to me. Except one night when a curious young boy in green clothing approached me.
He said his name was Link and wanted to know who I was. I didn't tell him anything other than the fact that I find everyone, including my own mother and father, to be disgusting. I sent him on his way, and I could see the reluctance in his face as he walked away. Perhaps, he did care, but what difference is one little boy's opinion going to make?
I don't even remember when, I don't even remember fully remembered why, but one day I had reached my limit. All I remember is my father pushing me back into the house, telling me the world was not ready yet. Anju placed her hand on my shoulder to calm me down, but my eyes were already twitching in anger and my fists were clenched tight.
I threw my hand to and pushed her aside, Anju squealed as she caught her balance. I stormed over to the cucco pen in our house and ripped the door open, destroying the enclosure. Anju, being allergic, ran to the furthest corner and covered her mouth and nose, yelling at me, questioning what I was doing. I didn't care what she thought.
I grabbed my cuccos and opened the door, throwing them outside in anger. They flew immediately around the town, feeling free as they stretched their wings. With the door wide open and the town staring, I walked out of my house with my hands at my side. I stormed past my father who just gawked at me, past all the staring faces and left the village with no protection. I knew my travels would take me longer than the day and that creatures come out at night, but it was a risk I was willing to take.
I went to the place where I knew freaks like me would fit in. A place where only those who knew their way around wouldn't get lost. Before I reached there, I had to pass through a weird place called Kokiri forest. All of the people living there wore the same green clothes that the boy Link had worn and they were all – kids. Not one adult. I didn't understand their life style.
I ignored them and climbed the vines and ran into the tunnel leading to the Lost Woods. At the entrance, I had no idea where I was going. Surely, I would be lost and never heard of again. Something in my gut told me to turn left, so I did. What I found there intrigued me.
It was so simple. Two tree stumps, one large, one small, with a gleam of light breaking in from the trees above. I immediately knew that this was the place for me. As I sat down in front of the stump, I felt my own back begin to jitter. I didn't recognize the feeling at first, it had been so long, but as my face wet I knew I was crying. I slouched my shoulders and stretched my arms out to rest them on my knees, leaning my head between my crouched body.
At the sound of a little girl's voice, I looked up. Her hair was tied in two great big balled pigtails with a little head band in. She smiled at me, not seeming to notice any difference between herself and I. Asking what she wanted, she simply smiled and said that she wanted to be my friend. I had never had a friend before.
Her name is Fado, and she visited me every day, to see how I was doing and to talk – just talk. It made me feel normal. I liked that. It was during one of our talks that I remembered that I had forgotten Cojiro.
Oh Cojiro, I'm so sorry for leaving you behind. Please forgive me, though I feel we will see each other again. Ha Ha – sorry, I just remembered that my sister is allergic to cucoos and that I set them free and that my father will likely not help her round them up. I hope she swells up at their touch – Ha Ha – she deserves it. As does everyone else, except Fado, she understands.
