Image Credit To: Zelda Dungeon.net

A winged creature swooped down towards Trevor. Trevor's body stiffened as he closed his eyes.

His heart pounded as the presence crept closer. He thought of how he needed to beg for his life.

This is it, he thought. I'm never going to go home. Why me? Why...?

"I didn't think myself to be so frightening."

Trevor paused. His fear left him at the sound of the familiar, wise voice.

He heard a soft ruffle of feathers. A brief, peaceful hoot.

"Then again—"

Kaepora Gaebora the owl calmly perched himself on the grass, observing a startled Trevor with keen blue eyes. He gave his wide wings one last flap before tucking them against his sides.

"Maybe," said Kaepora, "I'm not anyone you will ever be used to, Trevor Berenson."

Trevor's heart drummed for another couple more beats before slowing. He sighed and slouched against the fence again, as if he lost all his energy.

"You can't do that!" he said. "That freaked me out!"

"I apologize for startling you."

Kaepora turned his head upside down. His eyes and forehead were where his ruffled chin should have been and vice versa.

Trevor's gut flipped. The owl made nothing better, but Trevor didn't say anything.

"You're alone out here," said Kaepora. "I wouldn't suggest making a habit of it."

Trevor glowered out towards Hyrule Field. "Whatever," he muttered. "Fine."

"You're in low spirits, Trevor. And a bit out of yourself. Is there a reason for this, young man?"

"I...don't want to talk about it."

Kaepora turned his right side up, much to Trevor's relief, and hopped closer to him. Instead of making eye contact with the boy, the large owl gazed out at the countryside as well.

"Would I be right in guessing," Kaepora said, "That you feel...lost?"

"Well," said Trevor. "This isn't my hometown. It's a completely different place. I'm wearing different clothes and I've been here for a week or so. Actually, I don't even remember how many days I've spent here!" Trevor threw his arms up in the air, finally able to show his full frustration. "And...my Mom and Dad are probably worried to death, I had so much left to do back home and—"

Kaepora closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hooted softly before rustling his feathers with his beak.

"It's difficult being in a strange land, isn't it?" said Kaepora.

"Yeah, it is. And having no way to get back is..."

"Even worse? Do you really find Hyrule difficult to embrace?" Kaepora kept his eyes on the land. "For...all my lifetime, I've seen Hyrule change. Its people have been at war and at peace. I've seen children at birth. I've seen boys and girls, like you, growing into men and women with families of their own. They live their lives before their hair turns grey from age...I've seen plenty of lives end as well. Of the many experiences I've witnessed in this realm, one truth prevails: Hyrule is their home and for the rest of the world around it, this nation is a beacon. It's the center of existence for reasons that even I am still discovering to this very day."

Kaepora finally turned to face Trevor. The wisdom in his eyes was stronger than ever.

"Hyrule represents good. There is a reason we must protect it. It is wonderful when you look at Hyrule's beauty and understand it. Look around. Isn't Hyrule beautiful, Trevor?"

Trevor shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, sure. I guess it is."

"I urge you to look, Trevor, look out at the land. See it for what it is. Stay in the moment."

Trevor looked out at the field again. Its grass had a glow to it, covered in beautiful gardens of flowers. The breeze guided petals as they waved back and forth. A flock of birds flew in the distance. Snow covered several mountain peaks. There were other parts of the land Trevor agreed were beautiful. Some parts he simply couldn't explain without using just that word: beautiful. A vision of beauty.

"It's not bad," said Trevor. "It...I feel really calm when I'm by myself. So I can think."

"Your thoughts are not on this place." Kaepora Gaebora hopped to stand between Trevor and Hyrule Field. "I understand. Jerome's mind couldn't recall your home. Sheila is probably thinking of your missing friend—were you thinking of her, by chance?" Trevor hung his head without a word. "I see...Link, on the other hand...I feel for him the most. He has a heavy burden. One I can actually relate to, believe it or not. He had to leave his home after losing his father. He had to take a sword to battle an unknown evil and save a land he barely knows. Destiny called him and he answered. He knew that no one else could take up the task but him...though I see that there are others who need to be by his side until the journey is finished."

Trevor nodded. "...This place needs protectors. I get it. And we need to find Rebecca. Sure. I'll help with that. I promise. I just wish we knew where to go."

"I would try Zora's Domain." Kaepora's beak seemed to change its shape. Trevor wondered if owls in this world could smile. "Yes, the Zora nation should have it. They live at the waterfall in Zora River, to the northeast."

Zora's Domain. Zora people. To the northeast. Trevor repeated these thoughts to himself so he could relay the information to the others.

"Thanks," he said.

"You're absolutely welcome...appreciate your gifts, young Trevor."

Kaepora Gaebora gave Trevor a strong look. Trevor wondered what a talking owl could do in Hyrule. Could they read minds? Did they know everything about everyone they met? Trevor didn't want to think about it. He rushed back into the ranch and called out to his friends, letting them know what he just discovered. As he rushed away, he heard Kaepora Gaebora's wings flapping until the sound grew distant then faded away.

Trevor told the others what he learned at a rapid pace. His lungs had lost air from the mad dash he made towards the stables.

Navi demanded Trevor to slow down and repeat himself more than once.

"You're such a spaz," she said. "It pays to be calm, you know?"

Trevor almost shot back at her, but kept quiet instead. There wasn't time for arguing.

The group packed their belongings in their satchels. In the middle of preparing, Trevor looked around and noticed Malon's absence.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"Where's who?" Navi inquired in response.

"The farm girl—" Trevor caught himself. "—Malon. Where is she?"

"Now you care about her." Navi put her hands on her hips as if she were a mother scolding her child. "She didn't feel like you said, from what I heard."

Trevor had never wanted to sink further into the ground than he did at this moment. He bowed his head, scratched his scalp and sighed aloud.

"I'll...I'll tell her we have to go," he said. "I'm done packing anyway..." He went with them to see them off, looking sad while standing in a corner of the house's foyer. Cuccos clucked at her feet, picking up food scraps with their beaks from the farmhouse floor. Soon, all the satchels were packed. Malon made it a point to give each child a jar of Lon Lon milk.

When he left the farmhouse, Trevor looked out at the ranch's stable, a vast space brimming with horses that galloped within the borders of its wooden fencing. He knew Malon usually stood in the center on most days, singing an unknown song.

Her voice floated melodically, revealing an unforgettable tune. Trevor often found himself listening to Malon's voice. He dwelled on the song, honestly wanting to know it himself.

It was the type of tune he considered far more beautiful than anything he heard from Link's ocarina. She sang so well that even a couple young horses would come up to her.

One such horse had a dark red hide, a white mane and this gentle pair of kindly eyes. The horse would come up to Malon and nuzzle itself against her, grazing in the grass around the farm girl's feet. It was as if the two were family.

Trevor's thoughts of this felt like they were happening right before his eyes.

When Trevor looked at the stable, Malon was nowhere in sight. He wanted to sink even further down.

"Where is she?" Trevor thought aloud, staring at Malon's usual spot.

Trevor thought of another place. He dashed across the ranch to a small barn on the other side of land. 

He swung the door open while gasping for air and poked his head in. To his delight, Malon sat on a stool, facing a cow chewing on cud.

"Malon, I'm sorry!"

The farm girl's eye widened with surprise and darted around.

"I'm sorry," Trevor repeated. "For what I said. It wasn't nice. I like the ranch. It's so peaceful. But I'm not from here. And I'm homesick. And you're home. So...I get frustrated that I can't go home and I can't do anything about it. That's why I want to do something about it now. But I shouldn't have been mean. I'm so sorry...and I like the cuccos best...um...and we're leaving as soon as we can."

Malon's eyes ticked back and forth as Trevor blabbed at her, as if she needed to escape. Trevor didn't blame her; he seemed to come across as crazy. Malon looked like she was thinking the same thing until he mentioned the group having to leave. 

After that, her eyes turned glossy, making her blink several times. As Malon bowed her head, Trevor's stomach swiveled into a guilty knot.

Then, to his surprise, Malon lifted her face and wore a new smile.

"Do you all like milk?" Malon asked. "I got a couple buckets full from Betsey here—" she gently patted the cow beside her. "I have to fill up a ton of jars—Papa isn't really much about being awake on this day of the week. I could use some extra hands."

The knot in Trevor's gut rapidly unraveled. "I can be your extra hands," he declared.

"Wonderful! Grab a bucket."

Trevor wanted to carry both buckets of milk to the farmhouse, but Malon wouldn't have it ("No offense, Green Eyes, but I'm not looking to do extra work!"). They hauled the milk over to the farmhouse and into the kitchen.

When she saw the rest of the group with their bags, her expression dimmed again and Trevor hated seeing that.

"I can get you all enough food for the trip," Malon said while hiding the sadness at the counter. "A loaf of bread for each of you all should do. And we can't keep all the milk. There's plenty of cows that will give us some before the next delivery."

Malon filled four glass jars with the milk from Betsey. Trevor helped seal them with cork, laboring to make sure they stayed snug and secure. He glanced in Malon's direction every so often, wondering what was on her mind.

Trevor didn't know if she was upset, sad, frustrated or happy. Every one of those emotions probably went through her. She probably sorted through them all, trying to know which feeling felt best for the moment.

"So," Malon said suddenly. "You liked the cuccos best, huh?" Her voice was bright, even as her gaze focused on filling the final milk jar.

"Yeah," said Trevor. "I helped hatch one of them after all."

Malon chuckled while bringing the jar of milk over to Trevor. "He was going to hatch without you," she said. "He was going to do whatever it took to be alive and out in the world!"

"I helped a little."

"...No, you didn't."

"Fine, I didn't."

"But you're a good caretaker. The cucco's really happy! Thank you so much."

Malon sealed the last of the Lon Lon milk herself. She offered it to Trevor as if it were the greatest gift in all Hyrule—no, in all the world.

"Drink it before the end of the day," she said, "Or else it'll spoil."

"Thanks."

Trevor took the milk jar and held it against his chest. His eagerness to leave grew, but Malon's dim expression gave him second thoughts. He wanted to speak again so the farm girl could be at ease, but she beat him to the punch.

"I'm going to miss you."

Malon gazed at the jars while drumming her fingers on the wooden countertop. She stared out the room's only window, which revealed another sight of the ranch's green pastures.

"All of us?" Trevor asked, looking out the same window with her. He realized he liked the horses as well and wished he'd had a chance to ride one of them.

Malon's face looked thoughtful before she smirked and answered. "Yeah. Even you, Green Eyes." Malon placed a hand on Trevor's arm. Warmth coursed through Trevor's body.

"The next time you think of this place," said Malon "Come back and visit us as soon as you can, you hear?"

"If we could, we would...but I don't think we're coming back."

"Oh." Malon sighed. "That's how life goes...people come and go and sometimes they move on to the better place. I guess it's Oak Shire, for you."

"Oak Shire's home," Trevor said. "But it's not the only good place. Lon Lon Ranch is nice too. I wouldn't have minded making a home out of this."

"You're far too kind, Trevor Berenson of Oak Shire, Illinois."

Without warning, Malon wrapped her arms around Trevor and squeezed him tight. Trevor returned the embrace.

His shirt dampened in the parts Malon nuzzled her face against. Trevor wished there was a way to wipe away the tears she shed.

"Safe travels," she whispered into Trevor's ear. "Don't forget Lon Lon Ranch when you go home, OK? Just...try to remember me."

In his heart, Trevor promised. He and Malon went to the next room over where the others awaited.

All their satchels were packed. Malon and Trevor handed out the milk jars. As the children said goodbye, Malon gave them one last hug worth cherishing.

"You were such good guests," said Malon. "You'll be sorely missed."

The children echoed their appreciation for the hospitality. Link and Navi were especially grateful to the farm girl. Malon smiled warmly at the forest boy, giving him a nod of approval.

"You're a good horse rider!" she declared. "I can't believe you managed to get Epona to take a liking to you! It's like you all were made for each other!"

Link looked embarrassed to be put on the spot. Navi bailed him out by thanking Malon and urging the group out the door. Trevor was surprised that the fairy wanted to journey onward into Hyrule again.

"We have a world to save," said Navi. "Let's not waste too much time."

The children bid the ranch one final farewell. Malon was a new friend in all their eyes. As they traveled off the ranch property, Trevor lingered behind the group.

He looked back at Malon, who looked more upbeat despite the goodbye. She waved endlessly at the group.

Trevor mirrored the act and kept looking at her until the group turned a corner and she was suddenly in their past.

"I can lead us to Zora River," said Navi, "I've seen maps of Hyrule and memorized them."

Link gathered his things and double-checked to make sure his sword was secure in its sheath. "That's great," he said. "Do you think we'll run into trouble?"

Navi smiled. "Nothing you can't stop. How are you feeling, Link?"

"Good...I'm just ready to take on the next journey."

Jerome clapped Link on the back. "All of us are, bro!"

"We're going on a new adventure!" Sheila exclaimed, bouncing with excitement.

"Yeah," Trevor said, his eyes still dwelling on the ranch. "It'll be interesting to see."

He said nothing more. The group set off, ready to take on an adventure they hoped would bring them all back home.