Soon, Link and friends were standing at the edge of a strange new part of the forest. The eerie quiet was broken only by the cawing of birds and the faint chirps of the insects. The trees were huge and thick, forming solid walls around them. The only ways out were giant logs, much like the one they walked through to enter the Kokiri village. It felt like they were in a small room rather than in the woods. Lina shivered a little.

"Geez," she muttered, "this place is a little creepy."

"No kidding," Zel added, "I don't think this is the kind of place we want to get lost in."

Link nodded solemnly. He looked around for a moment, using his newly recovered memories to gain their bearings. He remembered, vaguely, the way to go, but the map was coming together rather slowly in his mind; he'd have to let it settle before they'd get anywhere. He was about to mention this when something drew his focus; he looked toward the left path. It felt like something was drawing him in that direction. His brows knitted; his memory was telling him they should go right first. But he couldn't ignore his instincts. He headed to the left, leading his friends along.

On the other side of the line of trees were two stumps. One was large and flat, the other tall and a bit more narrow. Atop the tall stump was a strange but kind of cute little childlike creature dressed in a scarecrow outfit. He was dancing happily as he played a rather upbeat, happy song on a little wooden flute. The song seemed rather fitting for the forest around him. Amelia smiled, cupping her hands over her cheeks.

"Oh," she cooed, "how cute." She stepped a little closer, only to be pulled back abruptly by Link.

Navi floated out from under Link's hat.

"Be careful, Amelia!" The fairy said urgently. "That's a Skull Kid, and they really don't like grown-ups. You shouldn't get near one unless you really have to."

Zelgadis glanced up at the Skull Kid. After a moment, he noticed something glinting on top of the stump, near the latter's feet. He sighed.

"Well," he mumbled, "looks like we might have to."

Everyone looked at him, and he responded to their unspoken question by pointing at the object which was reflecting the light. It was hard to see from this low angle, but it seemed to have some sort of arrow-like metal tip and a handle. Link's eyes widened a bit. He sighed as well.

"Well that's great," he grumbled.

Lina crossed her arms. She didn't see the big deal.

"So what," she declared, rather loudly, "we can just chase him off and take it." Without further warning, she stormed over and jumped up on the lower stump.

Before Lina could open her mouth, the Skull Kid dropped his song in mid-note, and raised his flute like a dart-blower. Without missing a beat, he began pelting her with sharp stones, not relenting until she had hopped down and fled to the shadows, where Link was waiting with a look of disapproval. Lina's cheeks turned red, and she mumbled something huffily as she leaned back against one of the trees near them.

"Stupid, rotten little thing..." she mumbled. Amelia gently checked the cuts and nicks where stones had struck Lina's face.

Link glanced over at the Skull Kid, who had returned to playing his music as if nothing had happened.

Amelia was also thinking. "They really don't like grown-ups." She got an idea, and slowly started walking over. Gourry grabbed her arm gently, stopping her.

"Amelia, no," he said with a firm, almost brotherly tone. "You saw how that thing reacted to Lina. Don't make the same mistake, okay?"

Amelia smiled brightly.

"Don't worry, Mr. Gourry," she said confidently, "I know just what to do."

Something about her face and tone of voice at that moment almost made Gourry want to believe her. He exchanged looks with everyone else. Link looked closely at Amelia, then nodded slowly. He was starting to see where Amelia was going with this.

"Let her try," he commanded.

Gourry let go. Amelia walked out of the shadows, then skipped merrily over to the stump. Skull Kid was watching her carefully. As she hopped up on the stump, he raised his flute again. Everyone waiting on the sidelines grimaced, holding their breath. Amelia flopped down into a kneeling position on the low stump, smiling up at the creature aiming a loaded weapon at her. Skull Kid paused, narrowing his beady, glowing eyes. He lowered the flute a bit, peering at her suspiciously.

"Hi," Amelia chirped, making her voice just a little higher than usual.

Skull Kid tilted his head, putting his flute down. He sat on his stump, watching her carefully.

Amelia smiled wider. She pulled out a little ball from her pocket and held it up. Skull Kid's attention was drawn to the small object. Link stared, fully grasping Amelia's plan now. He held his breath, hoping it'd work. Lina and the others were just as stunned.

"I have this ball here," Amelia told the strange boy atop the other stump. "Do you wanna play catch with me?"

Skull Kid's eyes widened a bit. He held a finger to his mouth, as if thinking about it. After a moment he hopped up, nodding.

"Okay," he exclaimed eagerly. "It's been a long time since I had someone to play with." He looked down a bit.

"I had a friend once, about 7 years ago," he added, "but he went away and I haven't seen him since."

Link's eyes widened, then closed. He turned away slightly, rubbing the back of his head. Gourry smiled a weak but comforting smile, gently patting Link's back. Link sighed, then after a moment smiled just a little. He looked back up at Skull Kid.

"I'm sorry, Skull Kid," he whispered. Lina felt bad for him. She gripped his shoulder.

"Hey," she declared firmly, "it's not your fault. You were gonna grow up one way or another. You couldn't have stayed here to be friends with him."

Link nodded slowly. He knew, but that didn't make it feel much better.

Amelia, meanwhile, had already begun playing catch with Skull Kid. They both seemed to be having a lot of fun. After a few minutes, Skull Kid held the ball in his little hands, looking at Amelia. He gently tossed the ball back.

"Thanks," he said softly. "That was really fun!"

Amelia smiled a big, warm smile at him. She looked at the ball for a moment, then tossed it back up to him. Skull Kid blinked, staring at her, then the ball, then back.

"I want you to keep it," Amelia said sweetly, "to remember me by." She giggled.

"Cuz we're friends now, right?" She added.

Skull Kid stared a moment, then laughed. He nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, okay," he exclaimed, "friends forever!" He stood there for a moment, then seemed to have an idea. He picked up the object by his feet and gently tossed it to Amelia. Amelia caught it carefully.

"I want you to have something too," Skull Kid said happily.

"And hey," he added, "if you ever see a kid in a silly green hat, be sure to tell him..." He paused.

"Be sure to tell him Skull Kid says hi. And tell him we're still friends, even if we don't see each other anymore. You'll do that for me, right?"

Amelia nodded, still smiling, and fought back tears. She felt touched at the fact that Skull Kid was forgiving Link for never coming back. She nodded hard.

"Of course I will," she responded. She stood up slowly.

Skull Kid chuckled a bit.

"Hey, you're not so bad," he admitted with a smirk, "for a grown-up." With that, he disappeared.

Amelia blinked, then walked over to her friends. She handed the little device Skull Kid gave her to Link, who was wiping happy tears from his eyes.

Amelia smiled wider still and hugged him.

"Hey, Mr. Link," she mumbled into his tunic, "an old friend of yours says hi."

Link laughed a little, hugging back.

"Good to know," he murmured. He let go of Amelia and looked at the object she had recovered.

"Thanks," he said to her, "that was a brilliant idea you had."

Lina frowned a bit, crossing her arms again.

"What I don't get," she mused aloud, "was how it worked. I mean he obviously knew she wasn't a kid."

Zel thought deeply for a minute. He crossed his own arms, looking up.

"It wasn't a matter of how she looked or how old she really is," he offered, "but rather how she was acting. Yes, she's old enough for him to consider her an adult, but she has the innocence of a child. She was acting like one, so he was willing to give her a chance."

Navi bounced, happily agreeing.

"And it helped that she offered to play with him, I think," she joined. "Skull Kids get pretty lonely out here. They don't even play with each other much. So the thought of having a new friend to play with really broke through his shell."

Link smiled. He was glad this had worked out so well, and he was even more glad that Skull Kid still considered him a friend.

Gourry chose the moment or quiet to change the subject.

"So," he asked, "what is that thingy, anyway?"

Zel and Lina raised one eyebrow each at the use of the word, "thingy." Amelia didn't seem to notice, and waited with interest for the answer. Link held it up.

"It's called a hookshot. It's something I got from an old friend when I went through my first adventure."

Lina tilted her head, genuinely fascinated.

"Huh," she mumbled, "so how does it work, exactly?"

Link grinned, aimed the hookshot at the top edge of the taller stump, then shot. The big spike on the end stuck fast in the wood, and the spring-loaded chain automatically yanked Link up onto the stump. He turned around and smirked at his friends.

"Pretty cool, huh?"