Anything But Normal
Image from betexion on pixabay.com
He was five years old.
He liked playing with the toys his parents bought for him from different stores.
He tucked away his favorite ones in his jackets, or coats, or in the pockets of his overalls where so many items fit in.
When his parents wandered off to the best parts of Oak Shire, he naturally came along. He held his parents' hands until they reached a space where he was free to roam wherever he wished.
Oak Shire had a festive town square. Many stores encircled a cobblestone roundabout with three shallow levels. A fountain stood at the top of the roundabout, in the very center.
A sculpture helmed the fountain, consisting of three maidens from a bygone time holding a large jar. The jar's open mouth guided a downpour of water into the fountain, which sloshed into the large disc and flowed within its boundaries.
Trevor often heard the water bubbling and gurgling. He also felt the gritty surface at the bottom of the fountain.
A rush scraped against his skin. It felt like a strong wind with the way it breezed about his person.
At age five, they were just feelings, sensations. Little Trevor Berenson could sense it all, but didn't really understand it all at the same time.
One day in the square, Trevor trotted to the edge of the fountain while his parents weren't looking. They were busy comparing fruits to one another, plopping the best ones in a paper bag they received from a grocery clerk.
Trevor held an action figure of one of his favorite heroes—he forgot which one, but it was someone important, someone special to him. He made the hero fly. Then, the hero slipped away from his fingers and fell into the water.
Trevor's heart leapt as the action figure sank to the bottom of the fountain. He made out the toy's shape, seeing it drowned amongst scores of pennies people flipped into the fountain while making a wish.
Trevor wanted a coin of his own, a way to bring the possession he prized back into his hands. He reached out with tears in his eyes. He was about to call his parents to his side.
He felt the action figure's smooth surface.
It was hard to explain at the time. The action figure just rose.
Trevor sensed the lift against its back. The toy spun upward as a part of the water's surface split open.
Trevor felt the water on his fingertips, though not a drop touched his hands. Suddenly, the action figure was there, back in his grasp.
The water went back to normal. Trevor was silent.
"Trevor Bernard Berenson!"
Trevor's mother scolded the boy as she pulled him away from the fountain. She made guilt-causing statements about kidnapping and strangers, about running into the wrong people or even drowning in the fountain's shallow water.
She told her son to stay close to her or her father next time. It wasn't good for him to be lost.
The boy nodded and stayed silent. He looked back at the fountain as he and his mother joined his stern-looking father at the bottom of the cobblestone roundabout's steps. The fountain's water was normal again.
On that day, Trevor realized that he was anything but normal and wasn't sure what to make of it. Even at age five, it was easy to say something like that.
~*~
"I don't know what else to say."
Navi fluttered by Trevor's head, leaving Link to lead the group on their path down Zora River. The children and fairy decided that maybe it was best for someone to keep watch, to guard the others as they slept.
Link started first, followed by Jerome, followed by Sheila and then Navi. When Trevor tried to volunteer, Navi forbade it.
She said he'd done enough and didn't like that he was going to do more.
"You may have scared every villain in Hyrule away," she said.
Now Navi looked Trevor in the eye, turning her back to the path ahead. Trevor wished she would move.
He wished Link could say they reached Zora's Domain sooner, or Jerome could mention that he can control fire without needing a flame nearby. He wished for anything other than what Navi had to say.
"You can control water," said Navi. "I mean, let's just get that out of the way."
Trevor sighed. "Yeah. I can."
"And you always knew?"
"I always knew."
"Why did you hide it?"
"There wasn't really a chance for me to show it." Trevor scratched his head, trying to find an itch somewhere in his growing brown mane. "Everyone else has their thing. Link can fight with, like, anything. Sheila is psychic. Jerome controls fire. And me? Well, I got a big mouth and can think fast on my feet. Do I need to control water too?"
Navi pressed her hands on her hips. Trevor didn't know how she could move with her wings and keep her pose at the same time.
"You treat it like it's a bad thing," Navi said.
"Sometimes? It is. Can we not have this talk, please? Are we there yet? At Zora's Domain? I really want to get there pronto. Then, we can get the stone and go home. Please."
Navi's mouth hung open. It was as if she'd lost the words in the space between herself and Trevor.
Trevor didn't care for the fairy's opinion. He wanted nothing else from her, or anyone for that matter. Before he could say it out loud, Navi heeded his feelings. She fluttered back to the front of the pack, back by Link's side.
Everyone remained silent.
The rest of the trip was almost a blur. The ground they traveled on was a distance away from the riverside.
For Trevor, it was all too close. The current vibrated on his skin. His ears picked up every sound, gurgle, bubble and plop.
From the first day he'd used his powers at age five, Trevor had always felt this connection, this burden, this curse. The memory of his first use of his powers never stopped haunting him.
The group crossed a wooden bridge before stopping at a waterfall. A powerful white downpour roared as the children stood on an arched bridge of stone covered in moss.
It didn't look like the group could travel any further. Trevor hated the tingling sensations the waterfall brought to him. He trembled, as if a cold wind had hit him.
"How do we get in?" Link wondered aloud.
Navi looked down at the stone bridge's surface. "I have a feeling a certain way will work," she said, pointing beneath Link's feet.
When the children looked down, they saw a familiar symbol carved into the stone; Three triangles joined together to make one, untouched by the moss, unscathed by erosion or nature's aging effects.
This was the Triforce, the center of their quest. Wherever its symbol was found, the influence of Hyrule's Royal Family followed.
Link pulled out his ocarina. It was a gift he received from his best friend Saria, a girl who lived in the Kokiri Forest.
Every time Link played the instrument, a peculiar beauty followed. A melody rose from the ocarina, full of majesty and gentleness.
Everyone and everything stood still. The song was at the center of everything.
At first, the waterfall persisted in its rush, remaining the same as it always appeared. Then, Trevor felt the split.
The waterfall's flow felt like many strands of hair. The strands pulled apart from one another, splitting down the middle. Soon, everything dwindled and an open doorway revealed itself.
"Wow," Sheila murmured. "Amazing."
"Yeah," said Jerome. "That's not bad at all."
"Where do you think we'll find the Spiritual Stone?" Trevor asked.
"We'll have to ask when we get inside."
Link tucked the ocarina away into his satchel. There was a gap between the waterfall and the stone bridge, so everyone had to jump across.
Link took the lead, taking a few steps back until he was on the bridge's other edge. His friends moved out of the way so he could dash towards the doorway with a good running start.
With ease, he soared over the gap and landed onto the path within the doorway's margins. He moved further into the entryway to make room for the others.
Jerome and Sheila followed. Trevor's best friend made a powerful bound into the entry way. Sheila shivered a bit, but Navi's encouragement helped her make it across as well.
She leapt like a gazelle, as if she grew crystal like wings and could fly herself. Everyone was on the other side of the gap—except for Trevor.
He knew he couldn't look down. The river was deep down below and Trevor felt the cushion of depth that would have prevented his death if he were to take an unfortunate plunge.
Still, who knew what would happen on the way down? His stomach still whirled around inside him, refusing to sit still.
His heart still climbed up his throat and it took all of his focus to keep it down and rooted in his chest. Trevor looked at the other side and knew he had to make it.
He took a step back. His friends watched him from the entryway's ledge, making enough room for him to land. None of them smiled—they were probably still thinking of the night before, of the strangeness surrounding him and the way he kept it a secret from everyone.
What did they think of him? Did he want to know?
When he summoned his courage, Trevor dashed ahead. When he jumped off the stone bridge, he stretched himself over the gap.
When he reached out to the other side, his fingers felt the ledge before they even clutched it. When his fingers couldn't secure themselves on the smooth stone edge, Trevor yelled. His feet dangled in the air, high above the river below.
Trevor heard gasps from up above. Frantic footsteps rushed toward him.
Link and Jerome offered their hands to help him up. Each of them clutched a part of Trevor's arm, fighting to yank him from danger. That was when Trevor's skin crawled.
The waterfall was closing in. He felt the roar more than he heard it. A rumble surged through his body, like a beast gaining on him.
Link and Jerome felt it as well—Link shouted at Jerome to hurry, then said something else. Trevor didn't hear it—the waterfall started closing in on him before he could pick up the words.
He tried to hold back, but there wasn't a choice in the matter. Again, Trevor thought of home.
He thought of his parents, of Oak Shire and the square. He thought of how everything was normal before this.
As the fierce white curtain of water closed in on him, Jerome and Link, Trevor had already began. He closed his eyes, allowing the sensations to take over.
The roar became distant. It was as if the imaginary beast gaining on them forgot its own voice and stopped just so it could remember.
Everything grew quiet. As the world grew still, tears fell down Trevor's cheeks. They knew far too much about him now.
They didn't know everything. All his friends could see how he stopped the waterfall.
All they saw was the way he saved others and could save himself. What would happen if they knew the truth?
Would they accept him if they knew he almost killed someone?
Jerome and Link pulled him on the ledge. When he made onto the entryway, Trevor knew he didn't have to look at their faces to know how they felt.
They saw what he felt; the waterfall standing still, as if all time stopped. A moment afterward, the curtain closed. The roar returned and the entire group stood in silence. Trevor felt all their eyes upon him.
Trevor almost flinched when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Link. His eyes drooped with a sadness Trevor seemed to know all too well.
"Are you alright?" the Kokiri asked.
Trevor nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I...I'm sorry."
"Let's keep going."
The group quietly agreed and forged ahead. They traveled through a dark tunnel before a light greeted them at the end of it. Blue hues tinted the light.
When the children emerged from the tunnel, they found themselves in a glistening underwater cavern. Their stony surroundings looked silver in some parts, glimmering like piles of brand new coins.
Before they could dwell on the looks of Zora's Domain, the children were interrupted by marching in the distance. Several footsteps rushed toward the Domain's entrance, belonging to strange scaled figures in coral helmets.
Their sharp spears pointed at them, as if they were beacons that sensed their presence. One of the scaled figures stood up front, leading the others. When the figures halted, they did so at the command of the leader, who dug his heels into the path and stretched out his free arm to cue their stop.
"And who," asked the leader. "Might you be?"
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