Chapter 2 - Guidance
Outside, the night was clear and blue. The wind felt strong against Link's body and the sails above were filled and taut. As he made his way across the deck, a familiar voice drifted from above and aft.
"Restless night there, Link?"
The boy turned to see Gonzo gently manning the helm. He looked bored. "Yeah."
"You didn't fight with Miss Tetra again, did ya?"
"Nah, it's not that. Me and her have been getting along good lately."
"That's good," Link tried to see Gonzo's expression through the sail-filtered light; it sounded like he was smiling, "It's good that you two get along, yeah?"
"I guess."
Gonzo yawned long and deep, his chest sticking out like a barrel. "Hey, Link, the wind feels like she's shifting westerly again. Think you can take care of that, yeah?"
"Sure."
Link ran over to the Red Lions, which was suspended over the side of the ship like a life boat. He hopped in, then braced himself as the boat swayed above the waves below. When it hit the side of the ship with a loud thud, Gonzo's voice sounded both irritated and concerned. "You okay there, Link?"
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"Good. Don't do that again, yeah?"
"Right…."
Link lifted a plank on the bottom of the boat, and pushed aside several items—his bow and quiver, four empty bottles that carried the scent of his grandmother's soup, an unsent letter from some person he didn't remember from Windfall—until he came upon a folded piece of leather. Within it was the Wind Waker.
Baton in hand, Link hopped back onto the ship and made his way to the front-most end. "Ready, Gonzo?"
"Yeah."
Link lifted the Waker into the starting position and closed his eyes. He took several slow, deep breathes. Listening to the wind, he heard the ebbing roar of it as it passed by his ears, the flapping of the sails above as it hit with the force to move the ship across the sea; even his tunic made a sound as the wind flowed through his sleeves and threatened to blow him away like a kite. He listened for the rhythm of the skies, that silent melody that only the most experienced of sailors—or pirates—could become attune to after long nights of solitude upon the open sea. It was the meter of the Goddesses.
When he found it—when his every breath coincided with the ebb and flow of the wind—Link began to conduct. As he raised his hand high above, he felt the air surge through his sleeve and towards the Wind Waker; when he brought it to his right, he used his free hand to keep his hat from flying out into the sea. Finally, he swung the baton westward and the wind surged violently before disappearing all together. Link heard the sound of the sails fall as he opened his eyes.
Gonzo leaned on the wheel as he watched the boy take out a blue compass from one of his pockets. After a while, he put it back into his pocket and looked to the spot on the horizon that he knew to be North.
Slowly he pointed the tip of the Wind Waker toward that direction. Then he said, "There."
Gonzo nearly fell as the sails burst forward and the wheel jerked violently in his hand. The ship was now heading northward again.
The seasoned pirate watched as Link walked down the stairs and towards his boat again. "Boy, I tell you Link, I never get tired of that!"
He smiled beneath his green cap. "Yeah, I guess it's pretty neat."
"Now, if the wind just keeps on like this, then we'll be at Windfall in no time at all. I can't wait to get my hands on some fresh food and drink!"
Link wrapped the Wind Waker in the leather cloth as he spoke. "I wish I could make wind for you, Gonzo, then we'd be there in two days instead of three. All I can do is direct it…"
"Hah, you make it sound like it's nothing. Stop being so darn modest and get some sleep, yeah?"
"Okay."
Link carefully lowered himself into his boat, put away the baton and took out a thin quilt his grandmother had sown for him before he set sail. At the center of it was a blue patch with the white outline of a crawfish on it—a piece of his favorite childhood shirt. He laid down on the bottom of his boat, folded his hat beneath his head and stared at the sky.
Then he said in a voice indistinguishable from the waves below, "I wish you were here, King. Then you could tell me where to go…."
He looked to the carved wooden head of the boat. It swayed with the wind.