Important Note: This story contains major spoilers of the ending to Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Do not continue unless you have completed the game. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda, any of its games, or anything related to it. All these things belong to Nintendo.
Onto the story!
The Dreamer's Dreamer's Dream
By Son Of Lancelot
Marin stood at the base of the stairs leading up to the Wind Fish's egg. She knew Link was in there. "Any time now," she told herself, "the Wind Fish will awake and grant my wish." She had wished only days before to be able to fly so that she could travel the world singing her most beautiful songs for all to hear. The Wind Fish, being asleep, had not been able to answer her, but she trusted that he heard her. According to her father, Tarin, the Wind Fish could see and hear everything.
"What's taking him so long?" she asked, hopping from one foot to the other. Link had been inside the egg for nearly half an hour, and nothing had happened yet. "I hope he's alright in there," she said. She couldn't imagine that it could possibly be dangerous. After another ten or so minutes, her patience failed her and her worry for Link won out against all common sense. He might have been hurt. "I'm going in!" she said to herself, decisively. There was noone there to hear her say it, but it added to her determination. She knew her father would never approve of what she was about to do, which was why she was glad he wasn't with her. Lifting her skirt to avoid stepping on the front of it, she started up the stairs. She walked quickly at first, but soon ran out of air as the elevation got higher. She had been much higher up multiple times in her life, but climbing 100 stairs was not easy. Somehow, Link had gotten up to the top without stopping. She was not so capable of fulfilling such a task. About halfway up, she stopped to rest for a minute.
"Marin," a mysterious voice said to her. It seemed to be coming from the air all around her, yet part of it was in her head. She knew immediately that it was the Wind Fish that had spoken to her. "Why do you approach the egg?"
Marin, startled by the sudden speaking, did not know what to say. "Please, great one," she said, hoping she hadn't offended the Wind Fish, "Link is inside and I must get to him."
"Do not fear for him, Marin," the voice said. "He is quite all right, I can assure you."
"Please, may I go to him?" Marin asked. She trusted the Wind Fish, he was like a deity to Koholint Island afterall, but she just wanted to be sure.
"That you must not do," the Wind Fish said. "Should you enter my domain, the shadows of the Nightmares will take hold of you and absorb your life force into their own."
"What do you mean?" Marin asked. She had never heard of the Nightmares.
"The Nightmares who have invaded this world. Link has been valiant in his battle against them and must now face them for a final showdown."
"What?" Marin asked. "I thought you said he wasn't in danger."
"Not yet," the Wind Fish said, "but he is strong. I do not expect him to come to any great harm."
"How can you be sure?" Marin asked. The Wind Fish's revelation shocked her greatly.
"I cannot be," said the voice. This frightened Marin even more. She had to get to him. There was nothing that would stop her. Lifting the front of her skirt again, she started running up the stairs. "STOP!" the Wind Fish commanded. His voice was so strong that it shook the ground, causing Marin to nearly fall to her feet. "YOU MUST NOT ENTER! IF YOU DO, THE NIGHTMARES WILL ABSORB YOU AND YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BECOME YOUR TRUE LOVE'S BANE! IS THIS WHAT YOU WISH FOR!" Marin stopped climbing. If she wasn't so shaken with fear, she might have turned and gone back the way she'd come, but as it was, she sat down on the steps, knowing that she could not help Link, no matter how much she wanted to.
"How is it," Marin asked, after several seconds of silence, "that I can speak with you now, yet the records say you are asleep?"
"Ah..." said the Wind Fish. "I should not tell you that."
"Why not?" Marin asked.
"You have enough hardships already. Revealing your fate to you will only increase your worry more."
"What do you mean, 'fate?'"
"Surely I must not say."
"Please tell me," Marin said. He had peaked her curiosity. "Nothing could worry me more than knowing that Link is in danger."
"Very well," the Wind Fish replied, "but I gave you fair warning. Many years ago, I was placed under a curse by an insanely evil monster named Ganon. For a very long time, I have been in a slumber that I cannot wake from. The Nightmares, servants of the darkness, feed on my dreams, rarely allowing me peace."
"How terrible," Marin said, sympathetically.
"Pain and sorrow have been mine for many generations, and only one thing can end it."
"What's that?" Marin asked.
"A hero from the real world," the Wind Fish said.
"The real world?" Marin asked, not understanding.
"The lands, far beyond this island of Koholint," the Wind Fish said, "from which Link came."
"Wait a second," Marin said. "Let me get this straight. The real world is the world beyond this island. So what does that make us? Fake?"
"Already I fear I have said too much," the Wind Fish said.
"Does it?" Marin asked, her curiosity winning over her better judgment. There was no going back now. She suspected what was coming and she'd rather know than be left in wondering for the rest of her life.
"Very nearly," the Wind Fish said, "but not quite." Marin was shocked by these words to the point where she could not speak. Finally, after about a minute, she recovered enough to talk.
"How is that possible?" she asked.
"You are a dream," the Wind Fish said.
"WHAT!" Marin said. She had thought he would say she was fake, but she was not at all prepared to hear that she was a dream. It didn't make sense. She was capable of thinking, feeling, and doing everything that anyone else was capable of doing. She was even capable of dreaming. Did that mean that her dreams were just dreams within another dream? "There must be some mistake," Marin said. "I'm just as real as Link is."
"In your own perception, yes," the Wind Fish said. "Dream and reality can sometimes connect very closely, something that normal thoughts and imaginings are not capable of doing. Because of this, Link was able to enter this world, but he can only escape when the dream ends."
"When the dream ends?" Marin asked.
"When the Nightmares are defeated and I am able to wake up, Link too will be freed from this island. He is merrily sharing my dream."
"But... dreams," Marin said. "When we wake up, they cease to exist."
"Precisely," the Wind Fish said.
"No!" Marin said. "That can't be right! You mean to tell me that I, my father, and everyone on this island will disappear!"
"I warned you not to venture into this," the Wind Fish said.
"That can't be!" Marin shouted. "That-" she faltered for the words.
"Even now," the Wind Fish said, "I am stirring in my sleep, beginning to wake. It is because of this that I am able to communicate with you."
"You're waking up!" Marin shouted. She looked at her hands, half-expecting them to be gone, or at least transparent.
"Link has just found the Nightmares within the egg. He will fight now, and soon all will end."
"No," Marin said, tears coming to her eyes. "It can't be true!"
"How I wish it did not have to be this way," the Wind Fish said, "but all dreams end when the dreamer awakes."
"Wait," Marin said, trying to collect her thoughts. "Wish," she said. "I heard something about wishing once."
"Yes," the Wind Fish said. "'Should one express his or her deepest wish to me, it will be granted.' That is what the writings say."
"Then," Marin said. "I can save myself, right? All I have to do is wish it?"
"Your memory fails you," the Wind Fish said. "Do you not remember? You have already stated your wish."
"Right!" Marin said, remembering it vaguely. It was hard for her to focus on anything. Every second, her thoughts seemed to become more scrambled. Was it an effect of the Wind Fish's stirring, or her own anxiety? "What was my wish again?"
"'I wish, oh Great One, that I could fly, and sing the most beautiful songs for all the world to hear. I know there is more beyond this island. Link is proof of that. I wish to sing to his world.'" the Wind Fish said, repeating Marin's words exactly as she'd said them.
"Right," Marin said. She remembered it clearly now. She concluded that the shock of the revelation of her disappearing was the cause of her stupor. Slowly, her thoughts were returning to her.
"Your choice was wise," the Wind Fish said.
"How?" Marin asked. "What's the point if I'll disappear? If I could do my wish over, I would wish to not disappear."
"Do you not see?" the Wind Fish said. "You did not wish for such directly, but your wish states clearly enough your desire to sing to Link's world- the real world."
"I did," Marin said, amazed at her own luck. "Then, I won't disappear."
"Perhaps not," the Wind Fish said, "but we cannot be certain."
"What?" Marin asked. "But you just said-"
"I did not say you would not disappear. How exactly your wish will be granted, I do not know. It is not my place to grant the wish so easily. The wishes told to me by my dreams are my own wishes, which must be discovered to come true. Unless I work toward fulfilling your wish, and the wishes of various others before you, the wishes will not come true."
"But the writings say they 'will.'"
"Certainly," the Wind Fish said. "I will make them so."
A sudden flash of light filled the sky, blinding Marin for an instant, yet it seemed like an eternity. "What was that?" she asked.
"Link has defeated the Nightmares," the Wind Fish said.
"So quickly?" Marin asked. They hadn't really been talking for very long.
"Yes," the Wind Fish said. "He is strong. It does not surprise me much."
"But that means-" She couldn't bring herself to say what she knew must come true.
"That I will wake soon," the Wind Fish said, completing her sentence. "Yes. And then this dream will end, and fade into nothing more than memory."
"Memory," Marin said. She still had so many questions to ask, yet knew she did not have much time. Therefore, she had to ask this one. "'Before a dream or a thought occurs, it does not exist in any form, but following its occurrence, it becomes embedded in the memory of the one who thought or dreamt it.'" she quoted from another of the writings.
"That is correct," the Wind Fish said.
"Does that mean," Marin said, a flicker of hope shining in her eyes, "that even after the dream ends, I, and all the inhabitants of this island, will not truly cease to exist, but just exist in a lesser state?"
"You are extremely wise," the Wind Fish said. "It will be hard to lose you, Marin. I think that of all the memories of this dream, you will be my favorite. Yes, I do believe you are correct. How exactly things will be for you after my awakening, I do not know, but once a memory is made, it remains forever, even if it is never again retrieved or thought of."
"Then, even if I cannot, will you sing in my place? That way, my wish can be fulfilled."
"I am afraid that my voice is lacking in talent," the Wind Fish said, "but I know Link is a fine singer, as you have experienced yourself. When I wake, so too will he, and all that he has experienced here will remain in his memory, just as it will in mine. Perhaps through him, your wish will be fulfilled."
"Tell him," Marin said. "Tell him to make my dream come true, that it will not be forgotten."
"I will," the Wind Fish said. "Now, Marin, if you will allow me to, I must speak with the hero prior to our awakening. Every second it becomes harder to remain asleep, and I so desire to wake up. Farewell, my friend."
Marin didn't want to say anything. Just minutes before, it had been so difficult for her to accept her fate, that she knew must come, but the Wind Fish's words had helped to comfort her. Whatever would become of her, she trusted the Wind Fish's words, and Link's love. He had declared it to her at the beach, some weeks before, and she knew it would remain forever true. "Farewell," she finally said, almost inaudibly, yet the Wind Fish heard. He heard everything in his own dream, afterall.
Several minutes passed, in which Marin just sat on the stairs, waiting for the end to come. "Marin!" a voice called up to her. Turning, she saw her father, Tarin standing at the base of the stairs. "What are you doing up there?" Normally, Marin would have tried to come up with some excuse, but she doubted there would be any time for that. Standing up, she hurried down the stairs as quickly as she could. Her father stood at the bottom, waiting for her.
"Just hold on another few seconds," Marin whispered, hoping the Wind Fish would listen. Finally, she reached the bottom of the stairs. Then, almost stumbling on the last step, she threw her arms around her father. "I love you Daddy," she said. Tarin was very surprised by her strange behavior. She hadn't called him Daddy in several years. Not quite understanding, but thinking that now was not the time for scolding Marin, Tarin returned the embrace.
Within seconds, everything started to change. The land around them began to lose its color, slowly fading into darkness. "What's going on?" Tarin asked, noticing it.
"It's okay," Marin said. Already, she could sense a lack in her feeling. Her father seemed to become less real as the seconds passed. She even felt herself fading away. She was glad to have her last seconds be in the arms of someone she loved so dearly. If only Link could have been there too. Finally, she could feel nothing, yet somehow, she was still able to think. Looking in front of her, she noticed that her father was gone. She tried to look down at her hands, but found this impossible. Her body had disappeared. "How?" she wondered to herself. "I'm still alive, yet there's nothing there." She could not speak these words, as she had no mouth with which to do so. "Now what?" she asked, completely confused. All her thoughts and memories still remained with her, as if they had somehow split from what had been her body. "Do I just remain in this empty darkness forever? Just dreaming of my memories? Well, that's a boring existence!" Then, without warning, she felt a pull from somewhere. Something was drawing her out of the darkness. Or was she being pulled further in? She could not tell, as she could not see what was happening. She couldn't even feel herself moving in any specific direction, yet she was undeniably moving.
"You are a very interesting girl, Marin," came the voice of the Wind Fish. She had no ears with which to hear it, but it came smoothly and clear into her mind. "I'm glad we can be friends."
"Marin," came another voice. This one, she knew, was Link's, yet it sounded sad. "Marin," he repeated. She could feel his saddness enter her mind along with his thoughts. She knew his pain and suffering at knowing he would never see her again. "I miss you already." His thoughts were not directed directly to her. Or at least, they weren't intended to be. To Link, she was only a memory. To the Wind Fish, however, she was still a living being.
"Link," Marin thought to him, yet she doubted that it would reach him. "I know how you feel." Link's sorrows continued. She did not know how, but somehow, her thoughts had effected him. She could feel it.
"Let me be your wings," the Wind Fish thought to her. "Let Link be your voice. Together, we will make your wish come true.
"Come, my friend. Let my thoughts be your thoughts, and my feelings be your feelings. See the world through my eyes. I will do my best to teach Link the things I know, so that you may also see through his eyes. That way, your experience will continue forever."
The End!