The Village Flute Boy

Zelda Windwaker Theme

I recall once telling my friends Rendell and Phi that if I were in another time and place far away in the past, and I had the opportunity, I would live in a small town and become the flute-boy, the pied piper, and happily spend the rest of my days in this way. I would be seen and heard by the locals as they pass by me on the way to the village market square. I would play in the same spot everyday, surrounded by a group of eager animals and children (foxes, dogs, cats, frogs, birds, rabbits, maybe even an occasional bear) who would sit entranced and wide-eyed as they listened to my narration of a heart-rending  or uplifting story in the form of a beautiful, passionate melody.

This is a fantasy that sits deep within my soul, that practically brings tears to my eyes as I relate it to you. I believe the image of a young boy in a green hat sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a forest, playing to the animals of the wild comes from my days of playing The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past when I was little. Who would think that an image from a video game would come to bear such symbolic signifance in my life? For nowadays, as I find myself rushing to and fro, hardly stopping to think where I am or what I’m doing, caught up in the pressures of the real world, the pitfalls and mazes within society, as well as the confusion and complications of my relationships with others – it’s incredibly reassuring to look within myself and see the young pied piper there. He truly knows what he is and what he’s doing, and he enjoys every moment of it. His music is his message, the ultimate expression of his soul. It’s nice to stop for a moment and remember what makes me special and gives me a unique identity in this world. A feeling, if nothing else.