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“There’s a man in the woods.” The children murmur. It was Mido who had discovered him first. Saria had been in the Sacred Meadows, her music echoing through the woods, when the sound of footsteps began to join them. The footsteps were not light, like those of the Kokiri, nor did they jingle, like those of the Skull Kids. Rather, they were deep, leaves crunched under their steps, cracking like bones, and Mido knew that he knew his way. As he climbed atop the wooden path, he could hear the hum resonating with Saria’s song. Sometimes, he went faster, hitting the beats before Saria’s ocarina would; other times, he would trail in perfect sync, never behind, as if to say ‘I am no threat’. Still, he ran back into the forest, abandoning Saria in the Sacred Meadows to shout out, “There’s a man in the forest!”
“A man?” Fado asks, sitting atop the lookout post. Mido puts his hands on his hips, frustrated at their lack of concern, “He’ll become one with the forest, won’t he?”
“No!” He shouts, throwing his hands into the air, “He knows his way through the forest!” At that, the children turn to stare, “I heard him! He was humming Saria’s song, he was in sync, sometimes he knew the notes before she played them! He walked through the forest as if nothing was wrong. I only went the wrong way to get here before he did!”
“But there’s no way a man would know anything about us.” He hears Feta call from the top of the shop. Grár slowly emerges from his spot by the exit of the forest, playing with his hands as he looks at Mido, his usual skimpish demeanor gone.
“What if it’s Link?” He finally whispers.
“What?” Obolo crosses his arms with a sneer that almost rivals Mido’s, “Isn’t he just hiding out in the forest after the Great Deku Tree withered?” His sneer fell off his face just as quickly, the Know-It-All brother, for the first time in Mido’s life, looked unsure.
“What are you talking about?” Grár looks bewildered at the question, staring at all of them, “You haven’t… You all didn’t know?”
“Know what?” Ova questions, standing by his brother’s side, “What didn’t we know?”
“Link left the forest after the Great Deku Tree withered, and he was in tears.” He murmurs, “When I asked him if he was leaving the forest, he gave me this look, and I looked away the first time. But when I saw him in the forest, heading to meet up with Saria, I thought he chose to stay… but when he came back-”
“Just tell us!” Mido shouts, exasperated and glancing at the entrance to the Lost Woods, as if the mystery man would emerge, swinging his sword and bringing terror to their just healed part of the forest.
“When he came back, he looked so sad. He just looked at me, and I watched him leave the forest.” At that, Mido lets himself wilt. He hadn’t seen Link in years, and he, for those years, wished he could have been a little kinder, because maybe he was just a bit jealous of the relationship he had with Saria. The children were all quiet at Grár’s confession, a few stared at him with slight anger, almost as if they were enraged at that secret being kept from them. “I didn’t tell anyone because I thought Saria would tell you all. She seemed to know when she came back from her spot.”
“Well, she didn’t,” Obi muttered, sitting on the ground as Ova gives him a small whack, “But it can’t be Link. He would have died if he had left the forest. He had a fairy companion, he’s a Kokiri, there’s no way that he would have lived.”
“Then who is that man?”
“I’ll fight him if I have to!” Kapok shouts, dropping into a fighting stance, and Mido huffs.
“He has a sword and a shield.” Mido pauses and thinks back to the man. Blonde hair, a green tunic, just like the Kokiri’s, a blue ocarina hanging by his hip, and… a fairy companion. A blue fairy, whose voice was oddly reminiscent of Link’s if he remembered.
“Mido?” Fado gently whispers.
“He had a fairy.” He finally whispers. “There was a fairy with him.”
“Trapped?” Kapok asks, his hands lowered, “I’ve heard of adults trapping fairies in bottles.”
“No, just flying. She-” Mido was cut off by the sound of humming, a deeper voice, a man’s, yet the tune was unmistakable. He was humming Saria’s song, coming out of the Lost Woods. His eyes, blue, just like Link’s, landed on him, and a small smile twitched his lips before falling into something more stoic. He hopped down from the ledges, a nostalgic look on his face as he walked past them, still humming that same song. He stops for a terrifying second, turning around to stare at Mido for a long time before shaking his head. His fairy chimes, too quiet for Mido to make out what she’s saying, but the man chuckles and waves her off. Walking to the path leading to the withered remains of their father.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Mido is already shouting, stomping towards the man despite Fado trying to hold him back. “First, you know Saria! Second, you dress like us, and third-”
“Mido.” The man finally speaks, not even looking towards him. He sounds tired, resigned, and his shoulders hunch as if he’s carrying a heavy burden. Mido can’t help but push that aside as the man turns around, his stomach clenches in fear.
“How do you know who I am?”
“Mido,” he repeats, “Fado, Grár, Obi, Ova, Obolo, and Kapok. The twins, Feta and Brie, Dazamus, the shop owner, Jimu, who couldn’t stop backflipping, Kana, who stood by the waterfall, and Agari, who always remained by the same path every day.” His eyes land on Mido, and he crouches down, “Perhaps you were right. I would never be one of you.”
“Link?” He finally asks, and the man gives the smallest of smiles.
“I’ll be gone tomorrow.” He whispers, “You’ll never have to see me again. I just want to visit Dad one more time.”
“The Great Deku Tree is gone, Link!” He wants to shove him, but Link is bigger than him and no doubt stronger.
“Navi says that a miracle of life has occurred.” He stands, a small grunt coming from his mouth, “I apologize, Mido. Saria will not be coming home.” With that, he turns around to walk down the path, leaving Mido’s questions on his tongue. As if he leaves, Mido can’t help but look behind him.
“We should let him stay in his house.” Fado whispers, “He was hurt.”
“Was he?” Mido mutters.
“He was limping… there’s dried blood on parts of his tunic.” Mido resists looking behind him. “Let him stay and rest. Maybe… we can apologize for being mad at him. I think he saved the forest.”
“Fine. Is it agreed, just for a night?” There are murmurs of agreement before they start to disperse, the sounds of wolves ring out, and Mido waits by the path, just like he used to years ago, until Link returns. He hears the deep footsteps halfway through the night, just as he’s dozing off, and when he looks up, he sees Navi’s faint glow.
“Mido?” Under the faint light of the moon and Navi, he can see Link’s eyebags, the way that he looks so unhealthy and gaunt, and the faint dark stain and tears in his tunic that he must have missed in his fear.
“Fado says you can stay the night, back in your house.” Link’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “I… I agree. I can tell something is different now.” The winds are peaceful, the Know-It-All Brothers would surely comment on it tomorrow, but he can’t help but wonder if it was truly Link’s doing. Undoing the destruction brought on the forest by the withering of their father, the fall of their protection. They had gone months in this
“There’s a sprout.” He shrugs, as if the news of their father regrowing is nothing, “See him in the morning, get some sleep, Mido.” He stares out towards his old treehouse and slowly walks towards it, and Mido grabs the edge of his tunic.
“Link.” He looks up, “I’m sorry. I know… you’re grown up.” He doesn’t know why he’s doing it. Maybe it’s because he’s in the dark, where no one else can see him. After all, he’s been holding onto this guilt for years, knowing that Link may have left the forest, if he were a Kokiri, could have died, because of him. “I’m sorry. You are like us, you may not be Kokiri, but you have a fairy companion, you’re still welcome here.”
“Even if Saria won’t come back?” There’s something youthful about his voice, not like some of the adults that he’s seen, that he’s heard trying to find their way out. It’s almost like no time has passed for Link at all, that he’s still the little boy he once was.
“Saria’s… smart.” He mutters, blinking back tears, “She has a good reason not to come back.” Maybe it’s also him.
“It’s not you.” Link smiles, “Mido, it’s me. She became a sage to help me save Hyrule.”
“Save Hyrule.” Link grabs his hand, walking over towards the treehouse, only letting go to climb, and the two sit together, overlooking the forest. He doesn’t speak, Link’s always been quiet, and faintly, he starts humming. It’s not Saria’s song, it’s something different, it’s calming, as if sleep could wash over him in an instant. He fights to stay awake, but as he finds himself drifting off, he whispers, “Fado said you’re hurt.”
“I know.” He hears Link mumble, “Mido, I forgive you. We were children, and maybe, we still are.” It’s the last thing he hears.
When he wakes, Link is gone.
You aren’t going to return? Navi chimes. Link shakes his head.
“I can’t.”
But they accepted you! Isn’t that what you wanted?
“I’ve destroyed enough. Is that what I am, Navi? I want to be kind, but… all I’ve brought is destruction.” He can feel the tears pool up in his eyes as they walk through Hyrule Field, “Everywhere I’ve been to, it’s all gone, Navi. Did you see the forest before we helped? All those monsters?” He hiccups, “S-saria’s gone! She’s gone, helping Hyrule, but she’s never gonna see me again. She’ll never play her ocarina, well, her spare, but still. I can’t stay. Everything will fall apart.”
Then where will you go? She flutters around his face, as if trying to wipe the tears that were starting to fall down his cheeks. He wipes at his face, trying to stop them from falling further.
“Nowhere. I can’t stay anywhere, I’ll just bring it to ruin.” As they approach the broken bridge across the Castle Town moat, Link just stares down at it for a while, “See? It’s broken, everyone in this town is gone.”
People are still alive. People are still okay.
“Not enough people.” He mutters, crossing the moat, and pulls out his ocarina to play the Sun’s Song. There are only three things that can run through his head as he enters the temple: Sheik, Saria, and how he’s going to finish this journey. To undo all this destruction, to face the reality that it’s all his fault and there’s nothing that he can do about it. He can fix what’s done, yet… he knows that he can’t change what has happened. It’s knowledge he doesn’t want to know, but the destruction surrounding him is his fault. He’ll hear those words until the day he dies. And he knows… he can’t do it. He can’t let other people abandon those they love for this cause.
He doesn’t even think before he plunges the Master Sword back into its pedestal, to fall and sob.