The genie was out of the bottle…

Could it ever go back?

If something happens, and you ignore it, does that mean that it didn't happen?

Link stepped onto the bridge, leaving behind the place where he had always lived.

No, as much as it had seemed otherwise, the forest was his home. It was, and always would be his home, if only for two things. The Deku tree, and Saria's friendship. Both were dead now. At least, they seemed to be. The Deku tree was dead, and it was his fault. No matter what the Deku tree said, Link knew deep inside that it was because of him. A death he could have prevented. If Link had just been faster, somehow killed that spider monster quicker, maybe the Deku tree would have lived. Maybe it wouldn't have, but it was Link's fault that there was no chance to know.

Even though the Deku tree had tried to comfort him, using his last breaths to tell Link how to make it right. How to make up for what he had done, or more, what he hadn't done. When he had left the presence of the dead tree, the dead protector, the other Kokiri seemed to know something was wrong. Before he had even left the forest, they had decided that Link himself had murdered the Deku tree. Even as he stepped out of the woods, Link felt that deep inside, that he believed it himself.

As he walked across the bridge, accompanied only by a pulsating white fairy that he had met earlier that day, Link heard a voice call him from behind. He turned, and there she was. Saria was standing across from him, a sad look in her eyes. She began to speak. Her voice was soft, yet it somehow managed to not only reach Link's ears, but his heart as well. Across from him stood his only friend, probably the only person in the world who cared about him, definitely the only person here.

"Oh, you're leaving…" It was a question, but she said it as a fact. She knew that he was leaving, and to some extent, she knew why. Link walked over to her, he had always felt safe when he was near her. She had always been a source of vibrant cheer and company to a lonely forest boy. Now she seemed to be the lonely one. As much as she was Link's only friend, Link was one of her closest friends.

"I knew…" She began, trying to find the words, "That you would leave the forest someday, Link…" Yes, Link didn't belong here, even though Saria could find a way past that fact and accept him, she couldn't fully ignore it. Link didn't belong here. "Because you are different from me and my friends…" Her words stung Link. Here was the person who had always accepted him, always been there for him. But now she was voicing the fact that they had both always known, accepting him as an outsider.

Link couldn't bear to listen any longer. He was doing all he could to hold back the tears that were sure to come. Two things existed for him in the forest. Two things that had made the forest a home to him. One was the Deku tree, who had always accepted him just as he accepted the other children. And Saria, his only true friend. Now the Deku tree was dead, and Saria blamed him just like the rest of them. Link had never felt more alone.

Suddenly Saria reached into her pocket and pulled something out. It was her ocarina. She used to play it in the woods. Link could remember listening to her play it, the shrill notes echoing through the labyrinthine passages of the lost woods. Link had always been able to find his way through the woods by following the sound of Saria's ocarina. Now she seemed to be handing him the instrument. Link took the ocarina from her hand and looked at it, feeling confused. Why was she handing him her ocarina, was she giving it to him?

Link tried to listen to her now. Tried to pull himself out of his thoughts long enough to understand what was going on. She had just said something. Now she was looking at him. She seemed to be expecting something. Maybe she had asked him a question?

Link was silent. There was nothing he could do. The sadness in Saria's eye seemed to grow the longer Link hesitated. Everything that had happened in the past day was falling apart. Link could feel the pressure, it was pushing him to leave, but he wanted to say something, anything that would answer Saria's question.

Link panicked. He backed up a step, and then another. Suddenly he turned and ran out of the woods. Leaving behind everything that he had ever known. Maybe it would be okay. He had let down the let down the Deku tree, who had been like a father to him. He had let down Saria, his only friend. He had even let down the Kokiri, the ones who had dealt with him for all those years. His weakness had taken away their protector.

Maybe Link would be able to start again outside of the forest. Nobody would know him, maybe nobody would know about the Deku tree. Maybe Link would find another friend. But first there was something that he needed to do. In his dying words, the Deku tree had urged Link to take the bright green stone of the Kokiri and to meet with a princess. Before he did anything else, Link needed to make up for what he had done.

Link walked into the expansive field, feeling a purpose. This was something new, but it felt good. For once, Link knew what he was going to do. He was going to put one foot in front of the other until he had made up for what he had done. He was going to fix things.