Chapter 1: The First Departure
The Kokiri
"He's gone!" the Kokiri boy cried.
"'Gone'? Who? What do you mean, 'gone'?" the boy by Mido's house called.
"Link! He pushed past me and went on the bridge! I think he was leaving the forest!" The boy cried out. Many of the other Kokiri started making their way over, talking in hushed tones. The Know-It-All Brothers were already discussing what answer to give to the troubled children.
"Good riddance that he's gone!" a voice cried. Everyone silenced and, one by one, turned to see Mido. "Yeah, you heard me! It's a good thing he's gone! You saw what he did to the Deku Tree! He killed him!"
"How do you know Link killed him?" cried one of the twins. "We all know the Deku Tree is old. Maybe he called Link to an audience to tell him that he was dying and to ask Link to lead us."
"That's ridiculous!" one of the brothers called. The twin shrank behind her sister.
"Hmph! Why would the Great Deku Tree ever make Link head of the Forest when I already am the leader?" Mido replied angrily.
"Well, you've never been called on by the Deku Tree…you're not even the oldest…" said the boy who had been tasked with pulling the weeds by Saria's house.
"Why don't we ask Saria what Link said to her rather than bickering," said a low voice. Fado, near the back of the circle, was standing next to a pale-faced Saria. Fado whispered quietly to Saria and patted her on the back, slowly pushing her more into the circle. Everyone turned to look at her.
"Well, uhm, Link came running onto the bridge and I caught his attention. I told him I knew he would leave someday because he was different than us." Saria began to tremble slightly, and her fairy started making slower, tighter circles around her head. "But I said everything was OK, because we'd be friends forever." Tears began to fall from her eyes. "I gave him an ocarina and asked him to come visit us. A-and then…then he just ran away." The tears began to fall faster. Mido began to move toward her and tried to touch her shoulder. Saria shrunk back. "You! It's your fault! If you hadn't yelled at him…and told him it was his fault the tree was dead…he wouldn't have left!" In a moment of unchecked anger, she pushed him away from her. He fell back against other Kokiri, who made no effort to catch him as he fell. Saria, now fully sobbing, cried, "He's going to die out there! And it's all of your faults!" She quickly ran towards the entrance to the Lost Woods, her fairy struggling to keep up.
The Kokiri slowly started to return to their usual spots. The Know-It-All Brothers disappeared into their home, guessing how long Link would survive and whether he would come back. The Twins wiped a few tears from their eyes, and the shopkeeper hustled away, mumbling about how his only customer was now gone. Eventually the only two left were Mido, still on the ground, and Fado.
"Well? Are you going to help me up?" Mido asked sorely. Fado looked at him disgustedly as she passed on her way back to the pillars.
