The thunder crashed as if a stone castle were crumbling to the ground. The
rain pelted down like arrows. The familiar landscape of the field was no
longer visible through the rain and the clouds and the fog.
A forest was somewhere up ahead. Behind her, she could hear the sound of
people yelling. In the forest, she thought, it will be much drier. She
promised herself that if she were to just make her way to the forest, she
would rest and let herself and the baby sleep. "Link?" she whispered to the
baby. He hadn't cried at all, although most babies would. If he had died.
The rain and the noise stopped abruptly. The air around her was suddenly
much warmer, and she felt the water trickling off of her. She turned to
look behind her, but there were trees all around, as if she had been
walking through a forest for a long time. The baby, Link, began to cry
abruptly, as if he had been saving all his emotion for this moment. Against
the silent forest, his cries seemed deafening. "Hush, shh," she murmured to
him, cuddling him and rocking him. "I'll find my way through."
She would, she told herself, and as she walked, she thought through her
plan. She had escaped from Hyrule City. She had originally wanted to run
for the lake, where she knew that the Gerudus would not attack, but the
storm had blown up and she found herself pushed and pulled towards Korkiri
Forest instead. It made little difference, she decided, for the Gerudus
would never dare to attack the forest either. But the sudden change made
her nervous.
Ahead, she could see some light, however faint. It surprised her, for she
did not think that people lived in the forest. She had heard tales, of
course, from her mother, that there were children who lived in the forest,
but no one believed them. No one entered the forest, that was taboo,
because people said that even long ago, when a Hyrulian entered the forest,
they never came back out of the forest.
When she reached the light, she was surprised to see that there were no
people around. There was a large tree, and that was where the light seemed
to come from. "Welcome to our forest," a deep, resonant voice said, and
Link stopped crying. He was silent, and stared calmly up at the tree. It
can't be the tree who is talking, she thought, but there is no one here.
She was tired. She would think about it in the morning. She sat down by the
tree, still holding the baby. She fell asleep easily, as if she were lying
in a bed.
"Saria?" A green-haired girl strolled up to the tree. Morning was breaking through the forest. The woman was still sleeping by the tree's foot. "Saria, you must take this child. He will stay with us. You will help him?" Saria nodded eagerly. She looked to be 10 years old. "I shall treat him as one of us," she responded, taking the baby. "What of her?" "She is sick, Saria," the Great Tree responded. "I do not think that she will wake up."
"Saria?" A green-haired girl strolled up to the tree. Morning was breaking through the forest. The woman was still sleeping by the tree's foot. "Saria, you must take this child. He will stay with us. You will help him?" Saria nodded eagerly. She looked to be 10 years old. "I shall treat him as one of us," she responded, taking the baby. "What of her?" "She is sick, Saria," the Great Tree responded. "I do not think that she will wake up."
