Back at the unknown lands, Ruth and the others had made it back to the Orso Looba village. Ruth ran to see his father, the chief, who had been eagerly awaiting their arrival in the room with Tommy, still lying down motionless.
After Ruth had shown him the last ingredient used to make the medicine, Amy offered to help them in creating the elixir. The two agreed as Maggie and Antonio waited outside for the process to finish.
The two had stayed silent for a while as they heard muffling inside the hut. Neither of them were sure what to say or do at this point besides wait.
Antonio glanced at Maggie, who stared at the ground with her hands in her pockets. Antonio cleaned his glasses with his shirt and cleared his throat while Maggie paid no attention to him. The curiosity peaked its toll on Antonio. Finally, sick of the silence, he struck up a conversation and ask Maggie a question to free his mind from thinking.
“Um, do you think Tommy will be ok?” He asked, twiddling his fingers.
“He better...” Maggie muttered in response.
It didn’t work; the response just made Antonio worry even more. He couldn’t stop thinking about the situation at hand. Antonio shut his eyes, wishing that he didn’t leave and make his friend all worried. Maybe Tommy wouldn’t have been in that mess in the first place if Antonio had just stayed put or told them where he was going. However, he felt that telling them would have made the others worry more if he had said anything about what he was doing or where he went.
“I need to apologize,” Antonio murmured, staring at his hands.
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“Why?” Maggie asked, turning to him. “You didn’t do anything—”
“That’s precisely the point!” He snapped. “I should’ve been there for him, but I...”
“Calm down; I’m sure he’ll forgive you if you just—”
“No, he probably won’t! Do you know anything about Tommy? You can’t even get his name, right!” Antonio roared.
The area got quiet again as the words sunk in both of their ears. Antonio realized what he had said and saw Maggie’s mouth gaped open.
“...Um, I...” He tried to say something to counteract the last sentence, but the words wouldn't come out. He, too, was speechless about what he had just said.
Before the situation could get worse, Ruth slammed the door open as he rushed outside.
“Guys, come inside quick!” He exclaimed.
.-.-.-.
Fearing the worst, Maggie and Antonio rushed inside the hut to see what happened and why the bear got all worked up.
The three stumbled across Tommy, resting on the bed. They turned to Ruth, wondering if it was a success or not.
“So, is he ok? Did he make it out alive?” Maggie asked, shaking the Orso Looba.
“Why... yes, yes he did!” Ruth chirped.
Tommy slowly opened his eyes and twitched his fingers. He noticed everyone watched over him as they all gasped in shock and joy.
“Hey guys, sorry I got you all worried about me...” He answered weakly.
“Thank God, you’re all right!” Maggie sighed in relief.
“Tommy, I...” Antonio tried to hold back the tears in his eyes as he tried to find the right words to finish his sentence.
“It’s ok; there’s no need to be so hard on yourself,” Tommy replied, and turned to Maggie. “Also, thank you.”
“For what?” Maggie asked.
“For making sure I was safe and sound and getting the cure for me. I’m grateful, and I appreciate it...”
“Oh, it was nothing...” She muttered, looking away.
Tommy tried to get up, but Ruth stepped in to remind him he just got healed and needed to rest up. Tommy sighed in defeat as he plopped back down onto his pillow, too tired to protest. Maggie mentioned it was still nighttime and that they should sleep until the sun came back up.
The Orso Loobas prepared beds for Maggie and Antonio, while Amy quietly pondered that the gem collecting would have to wait another day before leaving through the back door, with no one noticing her exit.