Link had heard from a number of people around the remnants of Hyrule not to enter the Lost Woods. According to each and every person that spoke of it, only death awaited him. That was if he was lucky. And yet, he had to enter it if he were to get he Master Sword. Without it, he had no chance of defeating Calamity Ganon and finally ridding the kingdom of its influence.
Thankfully, the young hero was able to make his way through the outer parts of the Lost Woods without major harm. He got lost for a while, and for some time he was worried he would never find where he needed to go nor would he manage to escape! With perseverance, and perhaps some luck, the Hylian managed to get to the heart of the Lost Woods.
He reached a place called Kokiri Forest.
There he found the Master Sword just as the rumors said, yet he found much more there. A minor deity, the Great Deku Tree, introduced himself to Link and revealed himself as the Guardian of the Forest. Under this god's watch was an unusual tribe of forest spirits called the Kokiri. They looked just like young Hylians, albeit a bit paler due to the limited sunlight in the forest. They all wore green clothing and possessed shining blue eyes.
The Kokiri swarmed around Link as he went about the Kokiri Forest, stopping there to rest once he reclaimed the Master Sword. They acted almost as a fanclub, calling him 'Mr. Hero' exclusively even after he told them his name. He didn't quite being referred to by that title, but there was no harm in it…so he let it slide.
While he was there, Link learned about the mysterious tribe of childish beings. Despite their appearance, they have all existed before the Great Calamity. In fact, nearly all of them were more than 10,000 years old. There were only a few dozen, but apparently new ones came about sparsely and at random.
The longer he stayed, the more comfortable Link felt in the unusual woods despite their eldritch nature. The Kokiri even helped him find shortcuts and alternate routes in the more dangerous outer areas to help enter and leave easier. He also got to know all of their names, each Kokiri ecstatic when he showed such interest in them.
And yet there was something that felt off.
Sometimes when Link had some time alone, he felt eyes on him. It wasn't the unusual feeling of being monitored from all sides like in the outer parts of the Lost Woods. The watchful eyes was from one specific entity, but whenever Link would look around…he found himself alone.
Before long, he had to leave, much to the dismay of the Kokiri, but Link promised them he would return some day in the near future. And indeed, the day come quite soon. After climbing Death Mountain and freeing Vah Rudania from Calamity Ganon's influence, he returned for a visit.
Once more, the Kokiri were excited to see him, and in his times alone Link would feel that distant gaze on him. Yet…he never saw the culprit.
Over the course of weeks, Link would leave and reenter the forest. Places like Hateno Village were easier to access, but the young warrior kept finding himself returning to the Lost Woods. Once he was able to get to the Kokiri Forest with ease, the trip really wasn't too bad. It certainly helped that he could both sleep and get food and other items like arrows there for free. How the Kokiri got their hands on these arrows was a mystery to Link, and he chose not to ask.
It was the fifth visit back in the Lost Woods when it happened.
Link was in a secluded part of the Kokiri Forest, practicing his form with the Master Sword. He attacked the empty air, envisioning enemies in front of them trying to tear him to pieces. As he trained, he felt that unusual gaze on him once more. Link simply ignored it by this point, not really bothered by it anymore.
"Excuse me."
Thrown off guard, Link whipped around and saw a Kokiri girl standing there in the clearing with him. He didn't even hear her approaching, it was as if she simply manifested on the spot. What was more surprising was that Link had never seen this girl before, despite his several visits to the area. This was the first time in his later visits to the forest that he saw a new Kokiri.
She almost blended into the woods around her, Link found. She had green hair, a trait that he never saw in another Kokiri. That combined with her entirely green attire almost made her seem like the embodiment of the forest itself. Her eyes were blue, just like all the other children of the woods…but hers held a sort of wisdom to them that Link didn't see in the other Kokiri.
"Yes? We haven't met, have we?" The young man was so certain he had never seen her, but with dozens of the children-like beings running around…maybe he somehow overlooked her?
The girl shook her head, a small and somber smile on her face. "No, we haven't. I'm sorry I never showed myself before." Her eyes focused on the ground, her smile fading slightly. "I did want to meet you; I just couldn't bring myself to."
That seemed odd to Link. All the other Kokiri were overjoyed to see him every time he came to visit. Perhaps, being an outsider, he frightened her despite his reputation among the forest spirits? "Well, there's no harm done." He extended a hand, inviting the girl to shake it. "What's your name?"
Instead, she simply stood where she was. "My name is Saria. I really do feel bad for not showing myself earlier."
Link couldn't help but feel a bit put off by the reaction he got. He reminded himself not to be too harsh. Despite how old these spirits were, they still had the minds of children. At least, all the others did. "It's like I said, there's no harm done. My name's Link, but I'm sure the others have told you that already."
"I know who you are. I've been watching you since the first time you visited. That was rude of me, so I apologize for that too." The girl's voice was heavy with guilt, and she looked to the ground rather than at Link directly.
So, it was her. She was the one whose gaze he felt on him so many times! "I'm not mad at you for that. Why didn't you just introduce yourself before? Is there something wrong?" Did Link somehow do something to make her nervous? He couldn't fathom what that would be, though. The young man even sat on the grass, trying to get to the girl's eye-level and make her more comfortable.
Saria slowly approached Link, looking at him with a sad gaze. She sat in front of staring into his eyes. "You remind me of someone I used to know. I just couldn't bear to get near you, but…I eventually really wanted to try and speak to you."
That greatly piqued Link's curiosity. It wasn't like many could enter these woods and survive. The Kokiri couldn't leave without dying either, so she couldn't have met too many outsiders, right? "Do you mind explaining? Who do I remind you of?"
The green haired girl didn't answer at first, staring down at the grass as she seemed to ponder how to answer the question. "You know you're not the first to wield the Master Sword, correct? Nor are you the first with the Spirit of the Hero?"
Link had learned bits and pieces of such things as he went on his journey. He didn't quite understand how the Spirit of the Hero worked, but he knew past Heroes had them. "Yes, I've been told that a few times."
Saria nodded, as if she knew that's exactly how Link would respond. "The one you remind me of…he too was a holder of that Spirit. He lived among us, among the Kokiri. I helped raise him." Her voice became quieter with each word, until she was barely speaking above a whisper.
The young man's eyes widened at that. Really, that made quite a bit of sense. "You mean…the one from 10,000 years ago? The one from the songs?"
The Kokiri girl shook her head with a light sigh. "No, he was around long before then. Long, long before the Divine Beasts or before Ganon was known as a Calamity."
Just how long ago was that? Just how old were these spirits? He knew at least 10,000 years old, but who knew how much further back Saria was speaking of. It could easily be another 10,000 years for all he knew! "And I really look like him?"
"Oh, a great deal, yes." Saria responded, looking back up towards the warrior. Her blue eyes bore into his own, as if she were looking for something. "You have the blue eyes of a Kokiri, just as he did. Your hair is the same…though the style is different." She let out a dry laugh. "He never wore his in a ponytail." She glanced downward, towards the blue tunic that Link wore. "And of course, he dressed as the Kokiri did. You simply look just like him…but all grown up."
Despite himself…Link started to feel a bit bad. He knew didn't really do anything wrong, but he was still felt pangs of guilt for reminding the girl of someone she cared about. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel that way."
Saria shook her head. "No, no. You didn't do anything wrong at all. You can't help how you look! I mean it's more my fault for reacting in such a way! It's been well over 10,000 years after all." She let out a shuttering sigh, fiddling with her delicate hands. "…Is it unusual that I still miss him?"
"No, not at all." Link said automatically. Really, he had to wonder what it was like to mourn for someone for such a long time. He'd never understand, knowing he'd be dead within another hundred. He recalled the Zoras still mourning for Princess Mipha, some even holding a grudge against Link, even after a hundred years. He supposed this was simply an extreme version of that. It must be a price to pay in exchange for such an incomprehensibly long lifespan. "He must have been very close to you, then. I think that's all that shows."
"I loved him very much." Saria clarified. She noted that Link gave her a somewhat confused look. "It's not like that. It was…well, more like a mother and son. That's probably the closest thing to what we had." She let out another, small sigh. "He was a Hylian, but as I said he lived among us for a time. The others didn't accept him, for he had no Guardian Fairy."
Link nodded along, actually quite interested in the story of another with the Spirit of the Hero. The Hero from 10,000 years ago seemed to have so little information about him known by those across the kingdom and he was so deathly curious! He recalled hearing about the Guardian Fairies from the other Kokiri. Without one, a Kokiri wasn't truly a part of the tribe. "He probably depended on you a lot, didn't he?"
The forest spirit nodded. "For a while, I was all he had, I was the only one who would care for him. We loved each other and looked out for one another in our own ways. I didn't realize he was a Hylian. I didn't know what may have been wrong with him, but I didn't care." Her blue eyes gazed around the forest, as if looking for something. "But then he had to go away. A fairy came for him and he was sent on an adventure. There was…" She frowned, seeming confused. "…time travel was involved, and he had to do so much more than he did in our time. If that makes sense. At least that's what he told me."
"Wait, how old was he when he went out like that?" Link asked. If Saria hadn't realized he wasn't a Kokiri, he would have to be pretty young! The warrior wasn't familiar with the concept of time traveling, so he left that subject alone. No point in talking about something neither of them seemed to understand.
"He was only ten…" Saria muttered, seeming almost angry. "It wasn't fair at all for him to be sent out that young! But he had to do it and…it broke him for a while." The Kokiri seemed like she was about to cry but held herself strong. "He was barely able to come back to the forest, and he seemed around your age the last I saw him."
Ten? That was it? And it wasn't like the Kokiri were warriors at all, so how did he manage to handle a quest of his own? Link didn't need all the details to realize it must have been one filled with many hardships. "You don't know what happened to him?"
"No." Saria answered simply, letting out yet another sigh. "I…I kept expecting him to come back. We could talk, I could read him a story like he loved so much. It didn't matter to me how big he got; I would've done it for him." She shook her head. "But he never did, and I never found out what became of him." After a moment of hesitation, she went on. "Is…Is it wrong to say I wish I knew when he died?"
"What do you mean?" A part of Link wanted to try and provide some sort of comfort to the mourning forest spirit. He could only imagine how long she's felt pain over the loss of someone she cared for so much.
"I didn't know when he passed on, or how, but I still had to accept one day that he was gone." Saria explained. "After a hundred years…I came to the conclusion he could no longer be alive. Up until then…I hoped he would somehow come back, but one day I just had to give up…"
That made quite a bit of sense to Link, who once more thought about Princess Mipha. The Zoras knew when she fell and could began their mourning properly. Saria simply never had that chance. "I don't think that's wrong at all. You wanted to know when to begin your mourning. There's nothing bad about that."
"It still feels unusual…" Saria lightly argued. "And even after all this time, I still miss him…and I don't think that will ever go away." Once more, her voice cracked a bit as she spoke.
"That means you loved him a lot, that he was very special to you. In a way, isn't it nice to have known someone that important at all?"
"I suppose so, yes." The Kokiri swallowed audibly. "I just wish I could…see him one more time and…"
She broke.
The forest spirit began to lightly sob, wrapping her arms around herself as her shoulders quaked in her misery. Her crying was silent at first, but soon the shaking sobs filled the small clearing.
Filled with a pity for the Kokiri, Link gently placed a comforting hand on her back as she let her emotions out. He wasn't sure what else to do, not knowing if a hug would be appropriate. As he touched her, a small tug came from inside him. It was if the core of his being was trying to reach out to the childish being. He had never felt that way before, but the tug came again as if trying to escape him. One last tug came…and the odd sensation died away. Whatever it was, it seemed to realize these attempts were futile.
So, Saria sobbed into the near-empty wood, only the young Hylian there to comfort her.
The two sat there for who knew how long, the Kokiri letting all our anguish out, sometimes muttering the name of the boy she had once known and loved. The boy she had nearly raised by herself. The boy she would never see again.
"I-I'm sorry…" Saria said with a sniffle as she finally calmed down. "I don't know what came over me. It's been a long while since thinking about him got me like this…" She wiped the few remaining tears away. "Usually that only happens once every year or two."
"No, it's fine. You didn't do anything wrong; you're allowed to feel sad about this." Link replied. He had to wonder if she would ever be done mourning, or if she would have to carry that burden forever. He truly felt a great deal of pity for her.
"I…I suppose. I do actually feel a bit better." Saria replied, giving a tiny and unsure smile. Her blue eyes still spoke of a great sadness, one that would never truly go away. "Thank you for hearing me out. It felt…nice to get it all out there."
Link nodded, wishing he could do more. Even once Calamity Ganon was defeated, he would have to live knowing there was one person he could do nothing for. "Do you not want me to come back? Is seeing me too painful?"
"No! I-I mean…" Saria composed herself. "It's…hard, I won't lie. But I want to see you again. It's almost like talking to him once more." The Kokiri stood up, seeming almost a bit lighter than before. "I truly appreciate you being here for me, though it was not your intention."
The young Hylian wasn't sure if it was good for Saria to see him again…but that tugging within him told him it must be done. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I will return." Link promised, the ghost of a smile on his lips.
Wordlessly, the Kokiri girl wandered off towards the thickening trees of the forest. She seemed to fade as she went, soon vanishing from view. The Hylian with the Hero of the Spirit stood alone in the clearing. Around him, the wind sounded through the area, almost like a sigh.
Things felt…lighter, as if a weight was lifted from the Lost Woods itself.