Coronavirus, Clock Town, and A Reminder That Everything Will Be Okay
Posted on March 17 2020 by Andy Spiteri
What a few weeks it’s been.
I don’t need to tell anyone reading this about COVID-19 and its impact on the world right now. It feels like that’s all anyone’s talking about, like we can’t escape it. This virus going around has created a maelstrom of social media and news attention that seems overwhelming, all encompassing, and all consuming.
It doesn’t help that all the things a lot of us use as a distraction in life – things like sports, movies, TV shows, even E3 – are getting either cancelled or delayed. Not only that, we we’re being (rightly) encouraged to isolate from our friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Jobs are being impacted, society seems like it doesn’t know what to do, and we just keep waiting for the next piece of bad news to drop.
It’s hard not to feel incredibly alone.
I’m sitting here reflecting on this tense atmosphere and feeling like I live in Clock Town; a city on the verge of disaster. Residents in the same kind of scenario as we find ourselves in today; afraid, unsure, and waiting for the next shoe to drop. The world is literally about to end, and there’s nothing any of the residents of Clock Town can do about it.
When I first thought of this analogy, not gonna lie; it was depressing. I can relate to what these fictional characters in Clock Town must have been going through in their fictional minds.
But the more I sat on that analogy and thought it through, the more I started to feel a little better about everything. Because just like in Majora’s Mask, everything will be okay.
The residents of Clock Town wouldn’t stop living their lives, even in the literal face of annihilation. The Postman, dutifully doing his part to help the city by performing his deliveries reminded me of all the nurses, doctors, dentists, grocery store clerks, everyone who is out there day after day doing their part to help their fellow man. Cremia and Romani; sticking together and protecting their family and what was important to them reminded me of all the families I’ve seen sticking together, making grocery runs for members that are quarantined, picking up prescriptions and other essentials. Mikau, making sacrifices for his family and the future of Zora reminded me of people coming together and letting the elderly and those most at risk have first dibs in stores.
Maybe most importantly for me personally, as someone getting married later this summer, was Anju and Kafei, who’s love couldn’t be denied, even in the face of the world ending and multiple obstacles. They overcame it all, embraced, and faced the uncertainty together, certain that all they needed was each other.
These characters may be fictional characters who live in a fantastical video game world, but it still brought a smile to my face and reminded me of a few truths.
If we have the wisdom to do what’s right for the containment of this virus, we’ll be okay. If we have the power to help our fellow man in this time of crisis and act on that, we’ll be okay. And if we have the courage to just keep going, even when everything seems dark, we’ll be okay.
Majora’s Mask had a hero save their world. We don’t have that. But we have each other.
It’s our chance to all be heroes in our own way.
Stay safe everyone, and we’ll greet the morning together.
Andy Spiteri is a Manager of Zelda Dungeon, Host of The Zelda Cast podcast, and Owner of Omega Metroid. Probably drinking a Tim Horton’s Double Double as you read this.
Business: andy.spiteri@zeldadungeon.net
