After hours of trekking through the dense Hollowmere forest, filled with towering trees and thick undergrowth, Yandi finally arrived at the small cabin he had shared with Felix. Exhaustion weighed on him, but the longing to see his friend again pushed his steps faster. Standing on the front lawn of the cabin, Yandi called out.
"Felix! Felix, are you inside?" Yandi shouted, knocking on the sturdy wooden door.
But strangely, there was no answer. No sound of footsteps, no shout in return, not even the clatter of falling objects. Only the soft whisper of the wind among the trees filled the air.
A bad feeling immediately gripped Yandi's heart. He knocked harder, calling louder, but still there was no response. Anxiety swelled within him. Without thinking, Yandi stepped back and threw his body against the locked door.
Crash!
With one strong push, the door gave way. Yandi rushed inside, his eyes sweeping across the dimly lit room. He was stunned to find Felix lying unconscious on the bed, his face covered in blood flowing from his nose and mouth.
"Felix! My God, what happened to you?!" Yandi cried out, running to his friend's side.
Without wasting a moment, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and frantically tried to wipe the blood from Felix's face. His hands trembled with panic. His breath quickened, and his mind raced, searching for a way to save his friend.
"What should I do... There's no one here... No help..." Yandi muttered, feeling a wave of helplessness.
But amid his panic, he suddenly remembered something the strange pendant given to him by the large creature beneath the banyan tree just a few hours ago. That being had told him that if he ever faced a great danger, he should use the pendant.
Not knowing exactly how it worked, Yandi felt this was the time to try. He reached under his shirt and pulled out the pendant, staring at it for a moment while recalling his late mother's words: "When you're lost and in trouble, draw closer to God."
With all his heart, Yandi placed the pendant on Felix's chest. He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and began to pray earnestly, pleading for his friend's healing.
Seconds after he finished the prayer, the pendant suddenly began to glow with a blinding red light. Yandi squeezed his eyes shut, startled by the intense brightness.
"Ahh! What's happening?!" he cried, trying to shield his eyes from the overwhelming light.
The glow continued for about fifteen minutes, filling the entire small cabin with a pulsing red light, like the steady beating of a heart.
Finally, the light gradually faded, and the room returned to its previous dimness. Yandi opened his eyes and rushed to Felix's side. He held his breath, his heart pounding with hope.
To his immense relief, he saw the wounds on Felix's body beginning to heal. The bruises on his face faded, the bleeding stopped, and the deathly pale color of his skin slowly returned to a healthy tone.
"Thank God... Thank you... Thank you so much..." Yandi whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. He closed them briefly, offering a silent prayer of gratitude.
Right after that, Yandi grabbed the water bottle he had brought and tried to drip a few drops onto Felix's lips. Slowly, Felix's eyelids fluttered open, his vision still blurry, but he could make out Yandi's anxious figure leaning over him.
"You... you saved me?" Felix croaked weakly.
"It wasn't me," Yandi replied with a small smile. "It was God's help. I just prayed for you."
Felix tried to sit up, but his body was still too weak. Yandi quickly supported him, helping him lean against one of the wooden pillars near the door.
After a moment, Felix looked at Yandi with a complex expression a mixture of gratitude, wonder, and perhaps a little guilt.
"I have something to tell you, Yandi..." he mumbled softly.
Yandi nodded, waiting patiently.
"I... I used to speak badly about you. At the university, even here... I often had prejudices against you. I looked down on you... maybe even hurt you without realizing it."
Felix lowered his head, his voice shaking. "But today... you still saved me, even after everything. I realize now... I was wrong about you."
Yandi took a deep breath, then smiled gently. "You don't need to think about that anymore, Felix. What matters now is your recovery."
Felix tried to smile, though his face was still pale. "Still... I want to apologize. I'm truly sorry for all my foolishness."
"You don't need to apologize over and over," Yandi said, patting his shoulder. "After all, I've always considered you a friend, no matter what."
Hearing that, Felix's cheeks turned red with embarrassment. He bowed his head even lower, trying to hide his flushed face.
"Thank you, Yandi," he whispered.
A moment of silence passed between them, broken only by the soft rustling of the night wind.
Then Yandi grinned mischievously and said, "You know, you're actually a good person, Felix."
Felix looked surprised and frowned. "Me? Good? Don't joke! What's so good about me?"
Yandi chuckled lightly. "You just don't realize it. You're unique. Not everyone would work part-time to help their family's economy while studying. That takes courage and determination."
Felix was stunned, his eyes wide with surprise. "H-how do you know about that?"
"I saw you once at the bakery," Yandi said casually. "I was buying bread and saw you serving customers. I even asked another worker there, and they said it was you."
Felix froze, at a loss for words. He felt like the walls he had built around himself crumbled instantly. The person he had always belittled knew and understood him better than anyone else... even better than Angga, whom he had always trusted.
Tears welled up in Felix's eyes. He lowered his head, trying to hold back his emotions, but eventually, the tears slipped down his cheeks.
"Thank you, Yandi..." he whispered through quiet sobs.
Yandi just smiled and gently patted his shoulder.