Hello treasured reader! I must regretfully say you've stumbled upon the final chapter of

Reminiscence is Calling!

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14: Epilogue

"Oof!" Zelda grunted as she dropped a heavy cardboard box full of books into an empty foyer. She stood up straight and stretched her back, feeling it crack. She dropped her hands and glanced down at the box she was carrying. On the top was the white yearbook from high school. Zelda smirked and knelt down, picking the book up. She thumbed through the pages again, stopping on the "Senior Picks" page.

She sighed after a few moments and threw the book back in the box, "guess I won't need those anymore. I should probably throw them out or something…"

"Don't do that!" called a male voice from the doorway. Zelda looked up and saw Sheik standing in it, holding another cardboard box labeled Kitchen. He walked past her swiftly, and Zelda heard a box hit a surface, and she guessed Sheik had placed the box on the table. When he came back, he knelt beside Zelda.

"These hold precious memories, Mom. Don't get rid of them."

Zelda smiled and ruffled Sheik's hair. She thought back to the day when he had gone missing, and how she, Link, and Midna found him.

The four of them sat around Link's kitchen table, mugs of steaming hot chocolate in front of them. They were all wrapped in towels except for Link, who had changed. He had offered to give the rest of them dry clothes, but they had all politely refused.

Sheik was crying, muttering apology after apology. Zelda sat across from him, transfixed. She could say nothing, only stare. Was that really her son sitting in front of her? Or was it a dream, with Fate playing cruel tricks on her. Midna sat quietly next to Zelda, watching the mother and son intently. Link did the same, but he evidently got frustrated by the lack of conversation.

"Sheik," he said softly, "how about you tell us what happened? It's okay, calm down. Your mother isn't angry. In fact, none of us are. We're just worried. So just tell us what happened."

Sheik hiccupped, but calmed down a bit. He wiped his running nose and his eyes on his sleeves. The adults waited intently for him to speak.

There was a knock on the doorframe, and both mother and son turned to see who was there. It was Marin, smiling from ear to ear. She held a box in her hand as well, this one read Bathroom/ Utilities. Zelda smiled and stood, waving her over to take the box from her friend's hands.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, Zellie! I've got this one, and Midna's grabbing another. We figured you could use the help!"

Zelda smiled warmly, "Alright, thank you Marin. The bathroom's up the stairs, first door on your left."

Marin nodded and walked/skipped past Zelda, who couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Sheik had left to go grab another box, and Zelda decided to do the same.

"I don't know how I came up with the idea," began Sheik, "all I know is that I was angry. Really, really angry. When I saw Mom crying after she had come back from Link's house, I felt it was all his fault. He was destroying everything Mom and I worked so hard to fix. I though that she'd be depressed and upset all the time again, like when Dad died."

Sheik took a deep breathe, the tears returning. Zelda snapped out of her daze enough to reach across the wooden table and take her son's hand comfortingly. He smiled slightly, and continued,

"So I felt I had to do something, anything, to put things back to the way they were. I figured the best way to do so was to confront Link head on, but I didn't know when I could do so. For a while, I just waited,"

Sheik glanced up at Link regretfully. Something in his eyes said that all was not forgiven, but that the two were closer than ever before. Sheik regretted his actions, and Zelda smiled slightly. He would never run away like that again.

A few hours later, it seemed that everyone had stopped by Zelda's house. There were a lot of boxes to move, but with a lot of people, a task that would've taken all day took only a couple of hours. Everyone was gathered in Zelda's kitchen, a space that was too small for the amount of people it held. It was small, yes, but state of the art with a stainless steel refrigerator, granite counter tops, and linoleum floor, all newly installed. Zelda looked among the faces of her friends, Mr. Tarin (Marin's hubby), Marin, Midna, Mr. Twilli (Midna's hubby), Anju, Kafei, Romani, Mr. Lait (Romani's hubby), Malon, Saria, Ruto, and Fi. They were all laughing and just having a good time.

Zelda sighed in contentment, when she noticed Sheik wasn't in the room. Slightly nervous, she slipped out of the kitchen and into the Living Room. He wasn't there, but Zelda heard a soft thump coming from the second floor. She ascended the steps, and walked down the carpeted hallway to the room on the end, Sheik's room. She poked her head in, and there Sheik was. He was sorting through all the boxes with his things in them, looking for something.

"Hey, big guy," Zelda said softly. Sheik looked up and smiled, leaning back on his heels.

"Hey Mom," Zelda entered the room and sat down on a chair in the corner, which had been brought in by Kafei.

"What-cha doing?" Zelda asked.

"Looking for that figurine Dad gave me."

"The one of the ninja?"

"Yeah."

Zelda smiled, recalling Sheik's 8th birthday when he had received the present from his father. She remembered him ripping apart the colorful wrapping paper in a frenzy, only to rest eyes on a Sheikan styled ninja, complete with shuriken and daggers.

He had thrown a fit in excitement.

After that, the two were inseparable, and the ninja became Sheik's most prized possession. Zelda decided to help him look, and began shifting through the box closest to her, her thoughts far away, delving into the past.

"I had a lot of fun at the Arcade. I really did, but my mind was distracted. Mr. Dotour tried his best to keep me happy, but I didn't listen. I knew what I had to do, so when Mr. Dotour went to the bathroom, I left."

Zelda inhaled sharply, she knew this already, but that didn't stop the shock from settling into her system. Her son had never been so devious, when did he change? Sheik paused to gather his breath, and Zelda removed his hand from hers, lifting her mug to her face and sipping her hot chocolate. It was surreal. At the same time this was happening, she was off having fun with Link. Had she been a bad mother? Should she have called Mr. Dotour and informed him of the situation so that Sheik could know? Would that have changed anything? Probably not, but still Zelda felt guilty.

"Aha! Found it!" Zelda's hand snagged the familiar rough plastic of the ninja. Its paint chipping and one leg missing, it looked like it had gone through the slaughterhouse. Yet Sheik still loved it dearly. Zelda thanked the goddesses that he was still innocent in that respect. She wouldn't know what to do if one day Sheik became more interested in girls than plastic ninjas. But those were thoughts for another time.

Sheik cried for joy and took the figurine from his mother. If he had been a girl, he probably would've hugged the poor thing, but instead he got to his feet and ran out of his room, his thoughts dancing along in some imaginary jungle with his toy. Zelda chuckled and got to her feet as well. Her paranoia from that night wasn't fully gone, but it was getting better, especially now that the problem with Link had been solved.

The remaining two days in Faron had actually been peaceful, and the group had gone to a skydiving lesson. Zelda had a chronic fear of heights so she didn't join them, instead she had chosen a 'Mommy and Me Day' with Sheik. The two of them had spent a rejuvenating day at a museum before flying back to Castle Town the next day. Link had seen them off of course, and it was at that moment, when Link hugged Zelda good bye, that she had decided to make a difficult decision.

"I hopped in a cab," said Sheik, "and made my way to a grocery store. Using the directory there, I found Link's house. The taxi had left however, and the house wasn't far from where I was so I walked. I arrived just as Link was leaving. He was all dressed up, so I thought he was going on a date, and my anger boiled over. It was like he had kicked me while I was down. I was so angry; I decided to wait until he came back. But he didn't come back. Not until you found me."

Sheik's eyes watered and they threatened to spill over. Zelda practically leaped out of her chair as she made her way to her son, pulling him into a bear hug. He cried softly into her chest, hiccupping again every now and then. He was so vulnerable, like he would just break. Midna couldn't keep silent any more and she rubbed her hand on Sheik's back as she said,

"Sheik, you're such an idiot."

Her words at first rang harshly, but anyone who knew Midna could tell her real intention. It was her way of forgiving Sheik, and this admittance cheered the young boy up immensely. He wiped his eyes and nose on the back of his hand again, and looked up at Midna with large puppy dog eyes.

"Y-you're not mad?"

"Of course not, stupid! Now come here and give me a hug."

Sheik obliged and suddenly there was a three way hug. Zelda could feel Link's presence stiffen behind her, and she knew he felt awkward just standing there. Sheik must've felt it too, because after a few moments, he turned to Link.

"Mr. Link," the boy said softly, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble, I swear. It's just… Mom's all I have left."

Zelda could feel her eyes prick at Sheik's touching comment, and Link nodded slowly, a small smile on his face. He knelt down in front of Sheik, placing his hands on his shoulders.

"Sheik, I think I owe you an apology too. I hurt your mom today, a fact I'm not proud of. I don't think I deserve either of you, you are wonderful people. So, I will leave if you want me to."

Zelda turned her head quickly to meet Link's eyes. What was he saying? He was going to leave again? No, not again. Once was already too much.

Link turned towards her and met Zelda's gaze evenly. She tried to find something, anything that would mean he would stay. She found none. It was all up to Sheik now.

There was yelling from downstairs that broke Zelda out of her trance. She went down to investigate and found Kafei and Mr. Twili locked in an arm wrestle on the kitchen table. She looked at Midna, who gave her an impish grin. It must've been her idea. The two men were in a stalemate, but it seemed to Zelda that Mr. Twili would win. The guy was built, and (no offense intended) Kafei paled in comparison. A few moments later, Mr. Twili pushed Kafei's arm to side, winning the match. Everyone yelled out, either in joy or saying Mr. Twili had cheated (which was very unlikely). Zelda couldn't help but laugh herself. She had somehow started an impromptu party. Anju was consoling her husband, when Zelda saw her whisper something in his ear. He broke out in a grin and ran over to Zelda.

"Zelda, do you have any champagne?"

"What? Um, maybe… Why?"

Kafei just smiled, and glanced back at Anju. Whatever the diminutive man was thinking, it was probably important. So, Zelda made her way over to the fridge. She opened it and brought out the single bottle of champagne. She grabbed some glasses out of a box, washed them off, and handed them out. Her friends kept giving her questioning looks, but of course all she could do was shrug, unsure of what the need for the beverage was anyway. Sheik was sitting at a table with the figurine, and, on the spur of the moment, Zelda handed him glass too. Once everyone had their glasses, she filled them with champagne. Sheik got less than everyone else of course, but nonetheless, he still got some.

Everyone turned to look at her expectantly, but she just gestured to Kafei, who cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Excuse me, everyone. I have an announcement to make," said the young purple haired man, "but Anju just informed me that… We're having a child!"

Everyone was stunned for a brief moment before there were shouts of congratulations and pats on the backs all around. The frenzy of joy swallowed everyone, and Anju was surrounded, as was Kafei. The woman took Anju's champagne away and gave it to one of the men. They led her to the sitting room and sat her on the only chair there. Zelda was pushed along with them, and watched as her friends began questioning the poor girl. Zelda smiled, suddenly feeling all warm and fuzzy inside at the companionship bursting in her house.

There was a ring of the doorbell echoing through the house that Zelda just barely made out. She heard someone get up from the kitchen table and run out into the foyer. Sheik ran past the sitting room and to the door. Zelda poked her head out as Sheik opened it, and her eyes widened when she saw who was standing there.

Sheik smiled lamely, "Mr. Link, sorry. But can you leave? Just for a bit? I don't think you should be gone forever, something tells me that would make Mom sad. But you can see us off if you want in two days."

Link nodded, a flash of sadness in his eyes, and then it was gone. He kindly let them stay until they finished their drinks, but after that he ushered them out the door, which shut with a strange sense of finality. The trio said nothing as they made their way back to the hotel in a taxi. Zelda felt she should say something to Sheik. Tell him he was wrong, that Link should stay. But in her heart, she agreed with her son. That Link being gone for awhile, but not forever, was the best choice. She hadn't come to Faron for a new love… first she needed to strengthen the one she had. The love she had for her son.

How could she have not known? How did she not notice that both she and Sheik were still hurting? Somehow, they had fooled themselves into thinking they had healed, when they really hadn't. Link had been the catalyst needed to get the two back on the right track.

Zelda's soul had never felt lighter and a smile plastered itself on her face. She knew now was not the time to smile, but she couldn't hold it back. She was free.

"Mr. Link!" cried Sheik. The young boy pounced on the older man, knocking him to the ground. Link laughed jovially, as if the two had never parted. Zelda stood rooted firmly to the ground. What could she do? She was still in shock. Link was at her door? How did he find out about her big decision to move to South Faron? How did he find her address? More importantly, what took him so long? Zelda and Sheik had healed months ago!

Zelda turned her head to look into the sitting room, where Marin sat, trying (but failing) to not look suspicious. When she noticed Zelda looking at her, she grinned from ear to ear. She made a shooing motion with her hand, telling Zelda to get moving. Zelda nodded lamely, and walked out into the foyer.

Link was standing there, laughing with Sheik, the hate from the boy long gone. Link held Sheik's ninja figurine tightly in his hand, almost possessively, and if someone who didn't know better saw them, they would think they were brothers. Wait no; they were closer then brothers now. They were more like a father and a son.

THE END.

Wahhhhhhhh! This is the last chapter! I can't say how much fun I had writing this story for you guys! This just makes me even more excited for my next story to come out. Oh my gosh I need to get on that! I have plenty of time now that school is out for the summer. Please, if you guys enjoyed (or even hated) this story, please leave a comment telling me so. They are greatly appreciated. For readers like you, I want to be a better writer. Thanks so much for reading Reminiscence is Calling! See you later!