Free Churro

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

-Aesop

"Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love."

-Lao Tzu

Samus, Ness, Link and Luigi sat in the ice cream parlor together, sharing a huge sundae. For the time being, they were the only patrons, and that was fine by them. They hadn't enjoyed a quiet moment like this in a long time.

The bruising on Luigi's jawline had faded to a similar shade of green as his cap, and the swelling had started to go down. As for the pain, it had receded to a dull ache, but the same couldn't be said for the bruising and pain in his heart. He felt blazing anger, deep sadness and searing betrayal, and he was thisclose to giving up all hope on renewing his friendship with Douglas. If he was gonna act like that, then he wasn't worth Luigi's time.

Sam was starting to mend her own heart in the days following her blowup with Falcon. She spent time in the gym, in the Training Area and with her new friends—her true friends. Also, she called and emailed her adoptive family back home. But in spite of everything, she missed being with Falcon, and she had a hunch that Falcon missed her, in his own strange way. She'd only allowed herself one night to cry for him, and after that, she used—creative methods—to deal with her longing. The longing was emotional as well as physical, of course, but occasionally, a familiar sensation would well up in a certain southerly place. Luckily, it mostly happened at night, so she could just—relieve herself—in private. If it crept up on her early in the morning, then she'd use a warm stream of water from the shower, or even the shower head. And during the day, there were lots of outlets for her angst, so she didn't have to worry about that particular situation arising. But we're getting off topic here.

Sam was still p—ed at Falcon, but she missed him so much. She wasn't afraid to confide this to her buddies, and they were nothing but patient and understanding. As always, Link's feathers were ruffled, but Sam understood that it wasn't out of a selfish desire to have her for himself. He cared deeply for her, but only as a close friend, and he didn't want to see her heart stomped on again.

Speaking of Link, he was still steamed from that match against Fox, particularly with the thing he'd said. He'd gotten downright nasty, and he even went so far as to involve Zelda! Did Fox think that it was okay for him to lambast their loving relationship just because he was considered a better fighter than Link? Did he think it was funny, castigating him like that in front of dozens of people? His first action had been to call Zelda, who assured him that everything that came out of Fox's mouth was complete and utter b.s. He'd spent the following days sparring with Polygons in the Training Area, wishing that MH had invited more swordsmen into the tournament. Quite a few Polygons were handy with a sword, but still—it would've been great to spar with Zelda or Saria or with any other of his friends in Hyrule.

After he was done sparring, Link would sit someplace quiet and play his ocarina. Contrary to Fox's opinion, he'd gotten very good at it. He'd play renditions of his favorite pop tunes, along with the more familiar melodies. The sweet, rich sounds would echo all around him, and he'd lose himself in his ocarina's lovely sound, playing until he ran out of breath.

And as for Ness—these past few days hadn't been much of a joyride, either. With some help from MH, he'd taken care of the four older teens who'd regularly made trouble for him. But now, he had to watch Fox and Falcon continue their "fabulous me" campaign, spurning the Smashers around them just for the heck of it. People had started calling him a "Boy Scout" and told him to "go home and play with [his] yo-yo or something". Then, there was Falcon's disgraceful behavior during and after that Team Battle. The racer zeroed in on the teen instead of helping his teammate, and then blew a fuse with said teammate after they lost! Ness couldn't pass Falcon or Fox in the hallways without them finding something mean to say about him, and they even took jabs at him about his "invisible" dad! They'd toned down the pranks somewhat, but it seemed that those two would never run out of ways to put him on the spot.

So, it was refreshing that the four C tiers could all be together, taking spoonfuls of the ice cream sundae in the middle of the table and leveling them into their mouths while chatting about this and that. There was nobody yelling at them, harassing them, pranking them, degrading them or assaulting them. It was the moments like these that kept them from completely snapping and doing something that would get them kicked out of the tournament or worse.

"Hello," said a perky voice.

The quartet looked up and saw one of the parlor's employees standing at their table, holding a circular tray with four baskets on it.

"Don't be mad," said the employee. "I totally don't mean to harass you guys. It's just that you looked so sad and worn down that I just had to bring you these."

They set down the baskets in front of the quartet.

"These are our freshly-baked churros," the employee exclaimed. "Some of them have caramel filling, some of them have chocolate filling and some of them have vanilla filling. And," they set down several saucers filled with a variety of syrups, "here are some dipping sauces to go with them. You can also dip them in your ice cream." They smiled. "These churros are on the house. My gift to you."

Link, Ness, Samus and Luigi inhaled the churros' aroma before gazing at the employee.

And then they smiled.

"Thank you," they said in unison.

"You're welcome," said the employee before they returned to the counter.

Samus

Wow. Who knew that something as simple as a free churro could have such an effect on me? I mean, ever since the beginning of all of this, I've been emotionally buffeted. A promising relationship went up in smoke, and I know that Ridley is still waiting in the wings. But somehow, with these free churros, it doesn't matter anymore. Maybe it's like comfort food, designed to help someone feel better. Or maybe it's a sign, a hidden sign, that someone still gives a d—n about us. I want to laugh and cry at the same time. I want to run to that counter and give that employee a big hug. I want to take on Mother Brain ten times over. I want—I want—I want to do anything and everything.

A free churro won't automatically fix this. But it's a good start.

Ness

The smell of sugar and cinnamon fills my nostrils, the churro warm and soft in my fingers. I bite into it, and so many flavors explode in my mouth. A strange peace settles across my body, the tension easing from my muscles and my racing mind slowing. And all because of some baked dough stuffed with filling and dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

How can I describe it? Two people have done all of these things to me and to my friends, and I feel like I just can't take anymore. And then the employee behind the counter comes along and gives us some free churros. It's a seemingly mundane action, but to me, it's a break in the storm. The rain stops, the thunder rolls away and the dark clouds part to reveal the blue sky, rays of sunshine poking through. There's been a sea of crashing waves inside me, and as I take another bite of the churro in my hand, I can feel the waves settle. The sea calms, save for a slight breeze blowing across the surface, and it's once again safe for boats and ships to sail across.

My tongue slides along my lips, savoring the taste of the filling and the granules of sugar and cinnamon it encounters. I notice that the other churros in the baskets are gradually diminishing. There's not as much time as I would like to enjoy this unexpected treat—but I guess that's what makes it so special.

Link

The sight of that employee setting those free churros before us soothed me more than the hours I've spent playing my ocarina. This may sound funny, but I think it's the universe's way of saying that it hasn't completely turned against us. There's still some good in this world. We just—have to look harder to find it.

It feels nice, though—sitting here without having to worry about accidently disturbing a flock of Cuccos, causing them to chase after you and peck you till you want to scream. After what's happened, I feel so raw, and I want to rage against everything and everyone. Then, a perfect stranger comes along and gives us free churros, and I remember—not everyone has been mean to us after the tier list became public knowledge. The whole world doesn't have to suffer for what a select few did. Eating the free churros, I'm reminded to stop for a second and look at the small things in life—my anchors, if you will. And pardon the cliché, but I feel as if the road ahead will be less turbulent.

Luigi

Look at us—waxing lyrical over a popular dessert item.

But it's true. It means more to us than you can ever imagine.

My life has been far from easy. It's been far from perfect. I've spent my childhood being picked on for my reserved nature. I've spent much of my adult life relegated to a secondary role. So many people have sneered at me and hated on me that I've forgotten all of their names. I've even developed a small immunity to that crap. Ever since the tier list was revealed, I've been made a laughingstock, heckled, pelted with food and drinks, called a n—b, called "the last-place loser", humiliated, betrayed and even physically assaulted. But do you know what kept me going through all of those nightmarish months? Besides my big bro and the friends who haven't abandoned me?

My faith. Not in some silly old power-ups. But in myself—and in God. I've told myself time and again that I was destined to rise above this and become an implacable hero like my bro—and I will.

But I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't hurt. I'm like any other person. I bleed. I feel pain. I have a mind of my own. But the haters and bullies don't care about that. They just want to dump on me in order to get their daily power fix. And eventually, it gets to the point where I want to disregard the advice I've dispensed to Ness, Link and Samus and start throwing punches at my antagonists.

Today, I was sitting with the other C tiers in the ice cream parlor, one of our favorite activities, eating a giant sundae and sharing our stories. And then an employee walked over, gave us four baskets of churros and told us that we didn't have to pay for them.

Without any ulterior motive whatsoever, a random ice cream parlor employee gave away some churros, even though charging us for them would've generated some extra revenue.

Wow.

That's all I can say—wow.

The employee's actions today somewhat quelled the hurt and anger within me. My resolve not to give in to senseless violence was strengthened. I could deal with Falcon and Fox without fear of losing it, like I almost did in that hallway. I could shrug off the insults and scathing names tossed in my direction. I could live my life, and I could hope and dream and tend to that little seed still growing inside of me.

When that random ice-cream parlor employee unselfishly gave us those free churros, that one small, simple act of kindness was some much-needed salve for four harried and emotionally overwrought people. It was more relief from the pain than the ice pack I'd applied to my face after my "talk" with Falcon. It was a refreshing change of pace from the cruelty we'd been shown over some recyclable processed tree carcass. It was—reassurance that everything would be all right.

You don't have to save the world to be a hero. And you don't have to fight monsters to be a hero. You don't even have to fight fires or arrest criminals to be a hero. You can be a hero by doing the smallest things, like giving to the poor or needy. Like helping a senior citizen cross the street. Like coaxing a cat down from a tree. Like talking someone down from doing something drastic. Like offering comfort to someone during times of strife.

Like easing the minds of four people by giving them free churros and a smile.


"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hadn't ended."

-Batman Begins (2005)


I really hope someone catches the reference!

Please R&R.