The next morning, they arrived in Kokiri Forest. Their home was the same as it had always been. Fairies and Kokiri children still ran around playing and doing chores. The little waterfall still poured into the small pond. The treehouses still held the same number of inhabitants, as they would for all of time. Everything was exactly the same as it would be for all of time. Nothing changed in the immortal forest except for him.

"LINK!" a small female voice squealed.

A green figure jumped out and hugged him. He couldn't help but smile when heard the familiar voice of his childhood friend.

"Link, I'm so glad you're back!" Saria's joy warmed his heart. "So, did you do what the Great Deku Tree asked of you?"

"Yeah, I did. And I'm never leaving this forest again."

"Yay!" she pumped a fist into the air before squeezing the life out of him a second time. "I was so worried about you. But it's okay because you're back now. Oh, I have to go tell everyone!"

With that, she took off towards the direction of the other children. Saria hadn't changed one single bit. She was just as chipper and kind as always. Yet another thing in this forest that will never change. That thought dampered his mood. He would grow up, but the Kokiri children would never age. He pushed that thought away when Saria returned with the others.

"Hey Link, welcome back." One of the Know-it-all triplets greeted him.

"How was your trip? I bet you saw lots of cool stuff while you were gone, right?"

"Oh yeah, I saw stuff you wouldn't believe if I told you." Navi was the only one who noticed his smile slip.

"Are you hungry?" Fado asked. "I just made lunch."

"You? Cooking?" Link's laugh was genuine.

"Hey, don't knock my cooking until you've tried it!"

"Okay, okay." Link shrugged with a smile

A few minutes later, all the Kokiri were sitting on rocks eating Fado's horrible cooking. It was barely edible, but Link was happy anyways.

"Well" He turned to Fado, "I've tried it. Now can I insult your 'cooking'?"

Fado's response was to flick a burnt carrot at him, which missed completely. Link flicked a pea that hit Fado square in the forehead. Saria rolled her eyes.

"Would you guys cut that out?"

"Heh, sorry."

Link was in a great mood that day. Everything about the forest made him feel happy. Even Mido's grumpiness was welcome. There was something so comforting about being home. This place brought a warmth into his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time. Even so, he couldn't get that pesky thought out of his mind. He wasn't a Kokiri, he wasn't meant to live in this forest. He would eventually grow old and die while the Kokiri would stay children until the end of time. Could he accept that? He wasn't sure.

Link stayed in the forest for two weeks. Not much of note happened in that time. He passed the days playing ocarina with Saria and having fun with the other children. It was wonderful, but eventually his initial joy faded away. After the first week, the familiar ache in his chest returned. After the second week, he could no longer ignore his feelings. He knew what he had to do.

"You're leaving the forest?! But why?" Navi couldn't understand what he was saying. "All you ever used to talk about was getting back home. Why do you want to leave all of a sudden?"

"I don't belong here, Navi. This forest is for the Kokiri and fairies. Mortals aren't meant to live here. Eventually, I'm going to grow old and die, while this forest will stay the same. Saria and the others will always be the same age, but not me. Do you really think living like that could work?"

"I guess not. But Link, if you leave here I can't go with you. You know that, right?"

"...Yeah, I know." He hadn't known that.

"I'm sorry that I can't be your real fairy partner. But fairies can only be partners to Kokiri. The Great Deku Tree only let me go with you because he foresaw that I would help the quest. He told me that I had to leave you when the quest was over."

"It's okay, I understand. I'll make sure to come back and visit sometime."

He turned towards the direction of the bridge.

"Wait, you're leaving right now?"

"Everything I look at in this place is just a reminder of how much I don't belong. This...this doesn't feel like home anymore."

"Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure. I could get a job in Castle Town. Or I could move somewhere quiet like Kakariko."

"So you're just going to leave without saying goodbye to anyone? You're not even going to tell Saria?"

He shook his head. "Saria would only try to get me to stay. She wouldn't understand. I can't face her knowing that I'm just going to hurt her. Some Hero of Courage I am, huh?" He chuckled humorlessly.

"I left a note to Saria and the others in my house. Can you make sure they read it after I'm gone?"

"Sure."

"Well, alright then."

With nothing left to say between them, he started to leave.

"Hey, listen."

Their old joke made him smirk. He stopped without turning back around.

"I hope you find it, you know… home."

"I hope so too."

I see you stayed to endure more emotional suffering. Excellent ^_^

Sorry that the individual chapters are so short.