Chapter Twelve: Runaway

The door to Mipha and Sidon's cabin opened at dawn the next morning. Komali tiptoed out onto the deck, a backpack on his shoulders.

He nervously looked behind him, but heard nothing but the sounds of the other campers still fast asleep.

Slowly, Komali made his way down the cabin's rope ladders, ears alert to the sounds of anyone asking what he was doing up. But no one called out to him or asked him what he was doing.

He made it to the ground and looked around him. There was no one around on this part of the campgrounds at this hour.

His stomach was still sore from where those kids had hit him with the dodgeball.

He'd told Mom and Dad he didn't want to come. He'd said he'd be miserable. And he was right.

Why wouldn't anyone listen to him? Why wouldn't anyone just leave him alone?

The camp gates were just down the long path that went along the lake shore.

Once out of the gates, he'd start making his way back to Rito Village.

Hefting his pack higher up onto his shoulders, Komali made his way over to the lake path and began to follow it to the gates.

"Out for an early morning stroll, are we?" a voice asked.

Komali whirled around, and he felt his stomach drop.

It was Rhoam. The camp director.

He was sitting on a camp stool, a thermos of coffee in his hands. Before him, three fishing poles were wedged into rocks on the shore, their lines cast out well into the water.

"Komali, isn't it? Old Tavali's grandson, right?" Rhoam said.

"That's right," Komali said in a small voice.

"Why don't you come over here, have a seat, and see what I'm doing?" Rhoam gestured to a flat rock near where he was sitting.

Warily, Komali walked over and seated himself on the rock.

"You're not like Link, that's for certain. He wouldn't be up before six-thirty even if it were the Calamity," Rhoam joked, adjusting the tension on one of the fishing poles. "The early morning is one of the best times for fish here on the lake. Bass, porgy, Hylian perch, they're all early risers. And some mornings if you're lucky, you can see Farosh rising up - and there he goes now!"

The giant yellow dragon spirit was slowly rising up out of the water on the far side of the lake. For a moment, Komali forgot his sadness and watched the dragon with awe.

Farosh swept over the lake in a graceful arc, bits of lightning hovering around him, and then disappeared back beneath the water.

Rhoam took a long sip of coffee. "I was very sorry to hear about your grandfather's passing this past winter. Tavali was a good friend, even if he was better at me than catching Voltfin Trout," he said. "You must miss him very much."

"He used to take me fishing and stuff," Komali said. "But fishing's no fun anymore. Nothing's fun anymore."

Rhoam gave Komali's backpack a meaningful glance. "So where is it you're planning to go?"

"Home," Komali said dully.

"Are your parents coming? They haven't called us to say they're picking you up early," Rhoam said with a raised eyebrow.

"I can find my own way home."

"Can you? Which way is north?"

"It's, uh, it's…" Komali pointed in a random direction.

"That's east-south-east," Rhoam said. "And even if you did know the way, how would you get there?"

"Walk. Fly."

"Are you sure about that? Rito Village is a very long way to travel, even for an adult Rito. You don't appear to have a Sheikah slate, so you can't use the nearest shrine or the tower to fast-travel."

Komali didn't have any response. Rhoam DID have a point. Instead, he stared straight forward at the lake.

"Perhaps you'd like to talk about what's bothering you. I gather that your first day yesterday wasn't a particularly fun one."

Komali took a deep breath. "I don't know any of the kids here. Except Medli. I don't know any of those campfire songs. Those kids with the dodgeball were really mean. I don't want to do any of the group activities. I hate being told that I have to join in. I just want to be alone."

Komali's voice caught in his throat, and his eyes stung. Oh, no, he thought, I'm going to cry.

Rhoam made a "hmm" noise. "Well, if it's any comfort, most of the kids here don't know any of the kids here. I find some of those campfire songs to be really annoying, even if the counselors love them. I hear Impa had a few stern words with those dodgeball kids. And I agree with you about needing some alone time. That's one of the reasons I like early-morning fishing so much."

He turned to face Komali. "Tell you what, Komali. Give us a few more days at least. We'll help you find something that you're interested in. All right?"

"Okay," Komali said.

The line suddenly jerked. "Ha! Got one!" Rhoam exclaimed. "Grab the net!"

Komali grabbed the fishing net that sat nearby as Rhoam reeled in the line. A generously sized Hearty Bass was wriggling on the line, and Komali quickly grabbed it in the net.

"Looks like fish is back on the menu," Rhoam said, taking the fish and putting it into an insulated cooler.

There was a beeping noise, and Komali turned around and gasped.

It was that little egg-shaped Guardian that sometimes followed some of the other counselors around. The Guardian scuttled up to Komali and made a couple of mournful-sounding beeps and whirs.

"Hmm. Looks like Terrako here was keeping an eye on you," Rhoam mused.

And then there came the sounds of anxious raised voices from the direction of the cabins.

"Komali! Komali, where are you?" Mipha called.

"Let's get you back to your cabin, let your counselors know you're all right, shall we?" Rhoam asked.

"Okay," Komali sighed.

Most of the senior camp staff and counselors were standing in the middle of the green in front of the cabins. Mipha and Sidon stood in the middle, both looking worried.

"He wasn't in the cabin when we started doing the wakeup calls," Sidon said, wringing his hands.

"Well, he can't have gone far," Link said. "The gates would have started beeping if someone tried to climb over."

"We'll start by doing a search of the grounds," Impa said. "Revali, you and the other Rito can start doing an aerial search, and…"

Terrako let out several beeps. The counselors whirled around, and relief washed over everyone - except Revali, who just looked aggravated.

Mipha and Sidon swooped in around Komali, making exclamations of "thank goodness you're all right" and "we were so worried."

Revali opened his beak, most likely to say something scolding, but a stern look from Impa silenced him.

"What were you doing up so early, Komali?" Zelda asked, tilting her head at Komali's backpack.

"I, uh…"

"We were just having a little chat," Rhoam cut in. "About camp life being a little tough sometimes. Now how about we start getting the rest of the camp up? I think it's time for breakfast."

The counselors all immediately took the hint, and the group dispersed. Komali started to follow Mipha and Sidon back to their cabin, and Rhoam noted that the boy now had more of a spring in his step.

"Oh, by the way, Komali, I'm organizing a group fishing trip out on the lake next week if you're interested," Rhoam called.

Komali glanced back over his shoulder at Rhoam. And this time, he grinned.

xLoZx

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