Hero's homecoming

Sunlight warmed Link's skin as he strode through the streets of Hateno. He had just taken a room at the local inn, and now he wanted to explore the village.

It had something heart-warming to see how peaceful everything was. Children were playing and laughing, their voices ringing through the air. The adults were going about their daily business and chores. Everything was just as it should be. Link felt… content. With everything he had experienced since waking up in the Shrine of Life, with everything he was still facing, it was utterly calming to have this piece of normality in his life.

He was near the village's entrance, when he heard a faint pounding sound. Curious, he decided to follow it. The blonde Hylian crossed a bridge that led over a narrow crevice, at the bottom of which a small river flowed. At the other side, he could already spot the source of the noise.

It was a house that looked pretty run down. It was clear that nobody had lived in it or tended to it for a very, very long time. Around it, a couple of men were going at the walls with hammers.

This house…

Link stopped. Stood there for a long moment and studied the building. It was strange… he didn't remember it, but for some reason, he did feel melancholic looking at it. Why? Oh, it was moments like this he cursed the fact that he had lost his memories. The melancholy he felt… was it because this this place had once been important for him? Could he… could he have lived here at some time, perhaps?

A specially loud bang brought his thoughts back to the here and now. In a sudden urge, he hurried over to the man closest to him.

"Good day. May I ask what you are doing here?"

"Hm?" The man turned to him. "Oh, hello. I've never seen you around these parts. You're from far away?"

"Sort of, yeah…"

Link didn't feel at all like divulging his complex situation to this stranger, as friendly as he looked like.

The man laughed amiably. "Don't worry, if you don't want to, you don't need to tell me. Oh, my name is Karson, by the way."

"… Link."

"Not the most talkative, are you? Oh well. So, what was it again that you asked?"

"I was wondering what you're doing with this house."

"Oh"… the stranger looked at the house pensively. "It's very old, and nobody lives here anymore. So the people of Hateno have decided to tear it down."

Hearing that filled Link with an unusual fear and pain. He didn't want this house to be torn down! And the fact that this meant so much to him was proof enough in his eyes that his place once had been important to him.

"The original owner went to Hyrule Castle, but he never came back", Karson added.

"I want to buy it!", Link blurted out before he could stop himself. "What do I need to do so I can do that?"

Karson lifted an eyebrow. True, Link probably didn't look like someone who would be able to just buy a house. And yes, he didn't have enough Rupees on him right now, but he'd do anything to not have the house torn down.

"I'm afraid I'm the wrong person to talk to", Karson eventually said. "You'll have to go to the boss himself. He's on the other side of the house."

"Thank you!"

Already, Link strode along the house. And indeed, there, on the other side from where Karson had been, two more men were at work on the house. Well, one was, while the other observed.

The latter was most likely said boss. And what a boss he seemed to be. He was dressed… strangely, to put it mildly. A pink cord was wrapped around his head, the same pink of which his trousers were. The dark-turquoisish color of his jacket would have looked nice, but in combination with all the pink, it simply looked very, very odd on a man. Unfortunately, it seemed to be precisely the man Link was looking for, and so he asked.

"Are you Bolson?"

The man turned to him.

"In the flesh! Owner of the fabulous company Bolson Construction!", Bolson replied in a sing-song voice. And before Link could do or say anything, he started to dance and sing.

"With love, courage and hopeful hearts, we give every house a new staaart! That name again is Bolson! Yeah, yeah! Buh-buh-buh-Bolson Construction. Bolson! Da-da-da-Bolllllson! Hoo-WAH! Hoo-WAH! SHA-DING!"

At that "SHA-DING!", he struck a pose, thus ending the utterly strange performance.

Link could do nothing besides staring at the man in utter bewilderment. For a moment, he wondered whether this scene had just really occurred or if it had been a figment of his plagued mind.

When he didn't react, Bolson lifted an eyebrow. "What? You don't know this dance? I thought it is the latest rage with you young people nowadays." He shrugged. "Well, at any rate… if you don't need anything, could you please leave me be?"

That reminded Link of the reason he had approached Bolson in the first place. "This house… you're tearing it down?"

Surprise flashed across Bolson's face. "Yes, we are. These days, it is pretty difficult to find someone to sell it to. And so the villagers have decided to tear it down."

"I want to buy it."

This time, Bolson looked almost bewildered. "What's with this guy", he muttered to himself, either not knowing or ignoring that Link could hear him. "'I wanna buy it.' He's got balls!" Louder, he said: "Very well… I'll explain it to you. This house? Nobody is living in there since years. So the villagers sat together and decided to have it torn down. The costs for tearing it down, plus several fees… are at exactly 50 000 Rupees."

Link had to swallow. That was indeed a very steep price.

"If you want to buy it", Bolson continued, "we are talking about, let me repeat that, 50 000 Rupees. Do you have that much?"

A sense of dread washed down the blonde Hylian's spine. He had nowhere close to 50 000 Rupees. And still, something compelled him to save this house from being torn down. He had to get it, no matter what.

"That is… indeed quite a lot", he had to admit, though.

"You can say that again. When I was your age, I too had constant struggle with money. I know how it feels." He paused again, studying Link. "Alright, alright. I can see that it is important to you to get this house. Listen! A special deal just for you! 3000 Rupees! BUT! First you bring me 30 bundles of wood. I have to get in my expenses somehow, after all."

Link felt as if a mountain was lifted from his heart. 3000 Rupees were still nothing to scoff at, especially for such a run-down house, but at least manageable, unlike the original 50 000. And 30 bundles of wood were a walk in the park.

"Deal", he quickly agreed before Bolson could overthink his decision. "3000 Rupees and 30 bundles of wood. I'll get those."

"Great! Then on you go, lad. You have a lot of work to do. We'll be staying here for the time being. I figure, once he house is yours, you might want to do some renovating, and who better for the task than Bolson Construction." Bolson turned and called: "Karson! Hudson! Stop what you're doing! This lad wants to buy the house."

Muffled cries of agreement rang back through the air, and the hammering stopped. Bolson nodded at Link before heading towards a nearby campfire.

Link himself stayed where he was for a little while, taking in the house's view. Sure, he couldn't wait too long with getting the money and the wood, but he wanted to take these few moments. A new wave of melancholy washed over him. By the goddess Hylia, if only he could remember…

And he thought he heard a woman's voice, unknown to him yet so familiar, and a child's laughter answering her.

Author's note: This piece was inspired by the theory that Link may hail from Hateno village - and may have lived in that abandoned house the player can buy.