Link's Awakening

Chapter Eighteen: Evidence

I remember feeling more confused than anything as Agahnim led me toward the proof he was going to use to show me that… even know it's hard to wrap my head around the very idea that Koholint Island was nothing but a dream. Not even my dream at that, but of the Wind Fish, and… if it were somehow all true, then how in the world did the two of us end up there in the first place… with my friend being there twelve years longer than I was? I was so sure that Agahnim was wrong, that he had hit his head or something, but what if it were all true?

With rain still falling, and the heavy cloud cover blocking the moonlight, the fire that flickered in the wizard's hand was the only way to see, making Link unsure if he had even been to this part of the island yet. Waves could be heard crashing somewhere nearby, so they had to be somewhere near the coast, but on an island that could have still meant any number of places. The terrain was a mixture of sparse grasses and white sand, kind of like an in between of the shore and more grassy areas like where Mabe Village was. However, instead of leading him toward the beach, the young man was surprised when a small house appeared in the orange light.

"Where are we?" Link asked as they got closer to the building. "What is this place?"

"Come inside, and I'll show you." Agahnim replied, pushing open the unlocked door. "Personally, I found this place by accident, but it should be enough to convince you."

The young man had seen some pretty old and neglected places around Koholint Island so far, but upon entering the cottage, the word old gained a completely new definition. Every step across the rotted, dried wood floor felt like the young man was going to break through, and with as much as the walls creaked from the wind, it seemed like they were in competition with the dried-up thatch roof to see which would break down under the storm first. Thankfully, nothing collapsed on top of them, and actually… for as old and neglected as this cottage was, it wasn't even leaking.

"Take a look around, Junior." The wizard continued, using his fire to light some old candles that somehow still worked. "I won't say anything else, just take your time."

At first glance, this place looked like any other small home of the common folk, just a lot older and out of use, but the young man knew better than to think that his friend would bring him there for nothing. So he started searching, beginning with the first item that couldn't be inspected with just looking… an old wardrobe. Walking over to the dried wooden piece of furniture, Link opened it, and discovered that aside from a lot of dust and beach sand that had blown in, the whole thing was filled with… dresses?

Yes, there was a whole row of handmade dresses hanging up, along with shoes and boots, a few hats… so a girl lived in that house a long time ago? So what? What did that have to do with the island possibly being not real? The wizard hadn't reacted to anything so far, so Link continued looking around, moving over to the old bed where a large trunk was sitting at the foot. It wasn't locked, so the young man opened the lid, but there wasn't much inside, other than some loose papers that might have been drawings, but… they had fallen apart over time. There was also a book of some kind, which actually turned out to be an old journal, or a diary that was written in handwriting that was so neat and elegant that it had to belong to a woman.

Skimming through the pages after bringing them closer to the candlelight, Link found that most of the entries were about the island, but written as if she were seeing these things for the first time, almost as if… as if the owner of this house had been a castaway herself. The people of Mabe Village helped her build the cottage once she realized that she was going to be there for a long time, and she liked the local mushroom festival, but then every so often one of the entries would be completely different.

The writer would go from talking about things like the delicious honey from Animal Village, and then take a depressed tone while describing another chosen hero who was trying to rescue her. Each one described how this rescuer made all kinds of boasts, claiming that he was the one who was going to free her and win her hand, but then each entry ended the same way… with a somber notation at the bottom stating that the chosen hero had failed, and that she was going to have to be on the island for even longer.

"Interesting, yes?" Agahnim asked, walking over to join him. "Why don't you skip ahead, and read the very last entry?"

Why not? As happy as the young man was to have found his friend again, he was eager to get to the point of why they were at this cottage, so he turned to the last page that had writing on it, and began to read:

Another chosen hero visited me today, boasting that I would soon be free of the curse that trapped me here, but we shall see how long this one lasts… he has passed the first trial and visited me again, claiming that my freedom is at hand and that he would win my hand… he has passed the second trial and I felt so guilty about leading the others on that I confessed I don't feel that way about him. No one passes the third test, and I didn't want him to die with false hope… he passed the third trial, I can't believe it… maybe Link really can set me free after all these years.

"Link?" He asked, genuinely confused. "Agahnim, what is this? What does this all mean?"

In response, the wizard simply told him to examine the inside cover of the book for the owner's name, and when the young man turned there, he was even more startled to read the words: This is the diary of Princess Zelda of Hyrule. But how could that be? If anything, the fact that one of the many Princess Zeldas of his home kingdom had been on the island, proved that it was a real place, didn't it?

"Junior, do you remember the story your mother used to tell us when we were little?" Agahnim asked. "About how the original Princess Zelda was cursed with eternal sleep, and your father eventually set her free? Now, think hard for a second… think about the parts where your father actually talked to the Princess between the challenges."

Still not quite understanding what the point was, Link thought back to the story he had heard a hundred times, specifically remembering how his mother chuckled a bit when the Princess rejected his father while they were talking on that island… that island… while Link Senior and the original Princess Zelda were sitting on the beach… the beach of beautiful Koholint Island. But that was impossible… how could she have been there just twenty years ago? This place was far older than that… unless what Agahnim said about time on the island was true.

"No, this can't be true." The young man said, dropping the book back into the trunk. "No, this has to be fake, or you're playing a joke on me, which one is it."

"I was hoping you would be satisfied here." The wizard replied with a long sigh. "But don't worry, Junior, I have one more thing to show you… come along."

Putting out the candles with a snap of his free hand, Agahnim lead Link back outside into the rain, this time moving toward the sound of crashing waves until they reached a place on the beach that he hadn't explored yet. Moving back to an area that was hidden behind a palm tree and some large rocks, the young man watched intently as his friend came back out dragging a large wooden raft with an oar tied to it. The homemade craft looked old, but nowhere near as much as the cottage, and then the wizard dropped it at Link's feet.

"I didn't want to believe it at first either, Junior." Agahnim said, untying the oar. "So I built this raft in an attempt to escape, and uh… you know what, just get on and paddle yourself away from this island as hard and as fast as you can."

The idea of floating off into the open sea on such a small raft didn't sound very smart, especially during a rainstorm, but Link reluctantly agreed, figuring that if he really did manage to get away, he could come back to rescue his friend eventually. Not wanting to admit how unsure he was, the young man shoved the raft into the water, and started paddling regardless of the storm. Looking back at his friend, who could be seen waving goodbye to him in the flickering light, he turned forward and paddled straight ahead, heading out into the darkness for several minutes while the waves moved him up and down… not nearly as bad as the storm that wrecked his boat, but it was still… hey, what was that up ahead?

Barely visible against the dark gray cloud cover, there was a huge shape of solid darkness that he struggled to see through the rain in his eyes, but Link kept going, refusing to allow himself to be turned back toward Koholint Island, and… hey, what was that toward the bottom of the shape? Was that… a camp fire? A camp fire on the beach of another island? Was Koholint part of a longer chain of islands, he wondered as he got closer over the next few minutes? Maybe they would know the way back to Hyrule.

His strength renewed with the knowledge that the wizard was wrong, the young man paddled toward the island, wiping rain from his eyes after every few strokes of the oar, and now starting to see some of the new island's features as he approached, namely the palm trees and the sand that he could see in the light of the small fire. Closer and closer he got, filled with hope that someone there would be able to help him find the way home, especially when it appeared that someone was there, standing next to the fire, and… waving at him? Could this person really see that good in the dark.

Closer and closer, Link was breathing heavily as he paddled, nearly falling off the raft when it ran aground, and then crawling up to the mysterious person, and… and then having all of his hopes dashed in less than a second. But how could this be? No, it just wasn't possible, the young man had paddled completely straight, following the shape of the darkened clouds since there were no stars, but… no…

"Consider yourself lucky, Junior." Agahnim said with a smirk. "When I tried that, I got all the way back to Mabe Village before I realized that it was the same place."