It wasn’t hard to find Colin. The young boy was cross-legged in the healing spring, hunched over and staring blankly at the waterfall. Link approached him slowly, his boots clomping in the sand. Colin didn’t look up when Link knelt down beside him.

“How’s it going, Colin?” he asked.

Colin glared down at the water in front of him. “It's fine.”

“Your dad’s worried about you.”

He hugged his skinny legs to his chest. “You didn’t have to come after me.”

“I wanted to,” Link said. He felt goosebumps raise on his arms as the water soaked through his clothes. He noticed that Colin’s small body was shivering. “It’s really cold out here, Colin. You probably shouldn’t be in the water for so long.”

“I don’t deserve to be comfortable,” he muttered.

Link mentally rolled his eyes at his melodrama, but he couldn’t help but feel compassion for the young boy. All he wanted was to prove how brave he could be. Ever since he had saved Beth in Kakariko Village, he had held himself to unrealistic standards, which usually resulted in him feeling frustrated with himself. Like today, when monsters had invaded the town and Colin had stayed inside while Talo and Beth had joined the adults in fighting them off.

“You want to talk about it?” Link asked softly.

Colin shook his head, and they sat in silence for awhile. Suddenly he burst out, “I wanted to help! I really did! But I… I felt like I couldn’t move. I thought I was braver now. But I was too scared.”

Link nodded knowingly. “It’s not a bad thing to be scared, Colin. We all have self-preservation instincts. That’s what keeps us alive.”

“But I wanted to fight!” he protested. “I don’t know why I didn’t go out there. But seeing my dad come in all tired, and knowing I should have been out there helping him….” He kicked his foot in the water, making a small splash. “I wish I could be like you, Link. You’re never afraid.”

Link laughed in surprise. “Me? Never afraid? I’ve been afraid of more things than I can count. You’ve heard all my stories… you think I wasn’t scared out of my mind that entire time?”

“But that’s the thing—you still did all that, and you saved Hyrule. You didn’t just stay inside while everyone else fought.”

“Well, no,” Link admitted. "Look, Colin, I’m not going to tell you that what you did was the best decision. It sounds like you already know that. But it’s done already. You can’t keep beating yourself up over it. You can learn from this experience, and the next time you feel like you want to run from something, you’ll be ready. You can use this to decide how you want to be in the future.”

”I guess,” Colin mumbled.

“And,” he continued gently, “punishing yourself is not going to get you anywhere. You don’t need to keep talking bad about yourself and you definitely don’t need to be sitting out here in the cold just because you think you 'deserve it'.” He stood up and grabbed Colin under his arms, lifting him to his feet. “I know you want to be strong, Colin. And I think you're much stronger than you realize. You won't always be perfect--that's just part of growing up, I guess. It's more important that you try." He smiled. "Do you think you can put this behind us?” he asked.

Colin looked up at him and nodded before wrapping Link in a hug. “Thanks, Link.”

“Any time, kid. Now, after you change into some dry clothes, do you want to meet me at the ranch and help me out with some chores? I have lots of hay that needs to get moved.”