We'll be Friends Forever, Won't We?
Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is property of the Nintendo Corporation,, this is a fan based work.
There is a bridge, somewhere in the lost woods, standing as a sort of nexus between our forest haven and the outside. It has an interesting smell, this place; It brags those familiar herbal scents, of sap lazily dripping down tree trunks and over ripened fruit, those things which we have known so long it is hard to even notice them anymore. But there was something else mixed in that heavy forest air, something foreign, something…dusty. The scents of earth that knows no home in the roots, that is baked by the sun and ravaged by the wind.
The bridge itself was a creaky thing, more fungus and lichen than plank and rope. The woods this bridge raises above is not like the forest we call home; it is an aggressive place, wild. All manor of beasts lay below, simple creatures knowing only the law of live and die. Opposed to what you might think, it had a strangely calming presence; The roars of the ravishing carnivores will sleep until tonight, leaving only the croak of the bullfrog and the mournful crow calls to play against the babble of a stream.
I had little reason to fear the bridge which my feet would never touch, but he certainly did. The young boy clad in green came running out from the giant log that marked the border of his home. There was only a moment's hesitation, a quick glance back, before he stepped forth onto the rope bridge. If that boy had any fear in his heart, of either the moaning planks or of the long journey ahead, he showed no sign of it.
"Oh, you're leaving." came a meek little voice as the boy reached the end of the bridge. It was such a tiny thing, that voice, easily absorbed by the ambient sound of the wood, but it struck the boy like thunder, stopping him in his place and sending a shudder through his shoulders. He turned to face her, a girl wrapped in the same forest greens as he leaning on one of the rope supports. I'll never forget that expression she wore, somehow both confused and knowing at the same time.
"I knew…that you would leave the forest someday, Link." The boy took a few unsteady steps towards her, his lips quivering with sentiments he knew not how to express. Many thought this boy stupid for his rarity of speech, one with little on his mind to talk of. I must count myself originally amongst his detractors, but the more time I spend with him, the more I come to think that there may be a wisdom beyond words. The forest girl saw that in him I think, and was attracted to that quiet knowing in his eyes.
Scholars and dramatists like to speak of divine irony, of the contortions and twisting of fate that so oft skew mortals upon their own intentions. I don't think those philosophers, with all their beautiful words, understood just how cruel a sense of humor the Goddesses really possess. Irony is waking up one morning, praying to be rid of your nightmares, only to come to the end of the day and wishing they were confined just to your dreams again. Irony is fantasizing of adventure your whole life, and then to have the real thing so grandly thrust upon you, and wanting only for those carefree times. Irony is driving the fullness of your untrained strength into battle, only to be blamed for the death of your guardian whom you fought so hard to preserve. Yes, I think this boy knew some things.
"Because you're different from me and my friends." Again that face, of knowing something yet not understanding why it is. You could sense the mantle of destiny wrapped about the boy, could almost hear the heroic epics that the future bards would sing of him. It separates him from the forest, as much as if he were surrounded by a wall of cold unfeeling steel, and she knows she cannot reach him. That sad little curl to her lips, they might as well be screaming to the skies in question. Why?
"But that's ok, because we'll be friends forever, won't we?" she asks, digging into her pocket. He returned her smile with a slight nod, releasing the breath he meant to craft into words as a small sigh. There is something between the two, a small thing, but strong and rooted. This seed was doomed to death from the minute the wind dropped it however; not even the strongest and oldest of oaks could hold a chance against the storm that is coming. What lies between them shall be crushed in the dance of good and evil, blind and impartial to what beauty could have been.
"I want you to have this Ocarina." She said, fishing forth the dully glinting clay ceramic. There is a ring around the mouthpiece, almost faded to white by years of embrace by whetted lips. "Please take good care of it."
The boy cupped his hands around hers, gently lifting the tiny instrument to his eyes. The thing was simple in construction, and boasted the feel of the forest; A reminder for the boy on his journey of what was, and of what could have been. He lowers it and instead brings his eyes to meet hers. I think the two may very well have stood there looking at each other forever if given the opportunity, until the fungus and greenery that covered the bridge would engulf them as well.
"Hey." I said, softly tapping his ear. "Listen, we have to get moving. It's a long ways to the castle yet, and we don't want to be stuck in the fields after dark." The boy turned to me, a look of what could almost be contempt playing on his face. He cast one last glance to the forest girl before turning to run, leaving her and the worn rope bridge behind.