She regained consciousness in stages. First, she noticed that it was pleasantly quiet. Someone was talking, just far enough it was barely audible. Then she noticed she felt uncomfortably warm. And she felt heavy. She twitched her fingers. At least she could move.

Eventually, she realized that the heaviness was a thick, woven blanket. She must be lying on a bed. It wasn't exactly memory foam, but it still felt comfortable. She opened her eyes, blinking over and over to clear her dry, blurred vision. She was in a small room on a bed that filled up most of the space. A miniature window above her feet filled the room with the soft glow of the sunset. The walls were bare save for a small tapestry on the wall.

Gradually, the voices got closer.

"Adakah and fikir dia terjaga lagi?" a deep, male voice asked.

"Sabar!" a young, female voice scolded. "Beliau telah basah kuyup dan sangat lemah. Ia mungkin mengambil masa beliau untuk mendapatkan semula kekuatan."

The door slid open. A teenage girl, with brown braids and a small star tattoo beneath her right eye, entered the room. A man in his mid-twenties, with a short beard and blue eyes followed her. Both wore simple clothes in different shades of green.

The man grinned. "Nampaknya dia membuat keputusan untuk bangun lebih awal daripada yang anda fikir," he said.

The girl put her hand on Tali's forehead. "Bagaimana anda rasa?" she asked Tali in a soft, soothing voice. "Adakah anda ingin sesuatu untuk dimakan?"

Tali shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't understand you. My potion ran out."

"Saya tidak fikir dia memahami anda," the man said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Saya dapat melihat bahawa," the girl said, standing up. "Saya perlu untuk mendapatkan dia minuman bahasa." She walked to the door. "Adakah anda akan menonton beliau untuk saya?" she asked the man.

He shrugged and waved his hand. "Jangan mengambil masa yang lama."

The girl nodded and left the room. The man sat down on the edge of the bed near Tali's feet. 

They sat there in awkward silence for a moment. "Siapa namamu?" he asked.

Tali stared at him. "Sorry," she said. "I don't know."

"Betul, saya terlupa." He rubbed the back of his head, his brow crinkling as he thought for a bit. Then he brightened. "Yamal," he said, pointing to himself. "Saya Yamal."

"Your name is Yamal?"

"Ya." He nodded. "Yamal. Nama saya Yamal." He pointed at Tali. "Anda?"

"Tali." She thought her nickname might be easier to pronounce than "Natalie."

"Tali?" Yamal asked. "Namamu Tali?"

"Namamu" must have meant "name." Tali nodded. "Yes. I'm Tali."

He smiled. "Tali." He pointed at her. "Yamal." He pointed at himself.

Tali smiled back. The situation reminded her of Jane introducing herself to Tarzan. "Yes," she said.

He clapped his hands together once. "Ia adalah nama yang indah," he said. "Sangat mulia dan kuat."

Again they both fell silent. At least the brief moment of connection helped alleviate some of the awkwardness.

The minutes stretched on and Tali started feeling restless. She tried sitting up, only to realize how weak she was.

"Wah, di sana." Yamal put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down. "Jangan bangun hanya lagi. Anda perlu berehat."

Right at that moment, Tali's stomach growled. She blushed.

"Oh, anda mungkin agak lapar, kan?" He looked a little embarrassed. "Saya akan mendapatkan anda sesuatu untuk makan sekali Kanali mendapat kembali."

Tali felt completely lost. She had no idea what he was saying. It made her heart ache for Ethan.

The door opened and the teenage girl returned with a cup in her hand. She handed it to Tali. "Di sini, minum ini."

Tali struggled to sit up enough to drink it. She sniffed it, crinkling her nose at the familiar herbal smell. She sighed. "Here goes." She drank the language potion, fighting the urge to gag.

"That's just as nasty as I remember." Tali handed the cup back to the girl. She coughed and shuddered.

"Mengambil mudah. Anda tidak mahu muntah," Yamal said.

The teenage girl passed the cup back and forth between her hands. "Adakah ia mula bekerja?"

Tali smacked her lips, trying to work up enough spit to get rid of the taste. "Remind me to hold my nose next time I have to drink that."

Yamal smiled. "There we go. Can you understand us now?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it's working." She shuddered again. "Can't you guys make it taste better?"

The girl shook her head. "Anything added to change the taste changes the effect. Believe me, I've tried."

"So as I said before, my name is Yamal," he said. "This is my sister, Kanali."

"I'm Tali," she said to Kanali.

Yamal stood. "I better get you something to eat," he said. "You have been unconscious for almost a full day."

"Really?" Tali asked. "A full day?"

Kanali nodded. "And you were soaking wet. I'm surprised you're doing as well as you are."

Yamal ducked out the door. "I'll be back with some food in a few minutes."

Tali laid back down, suddenly feeling weak again. "Did you guys find me and take care of me? Thank you."

Kanali shrugged. "It's no big deal. Only a heartless person would ignore somebody collapsed in the street."

Tali smiled. "Well, I'm glad anyway."

Kanali sat down on the edge of the bed. "What happened?"

Tali sighed. How much should she tell her? "I kind of fell into the river."

Kanali's eyes widened. She frowned. "Why were you so far from the river, then?"

Tali bit her lip. "I..." She sighed. "I was running away," she said quietly.

"Oh." Kanali looked away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

Tali shrugged and fell silent. But the poor girl looked so embarrassed that she felt she had to say something. "Where are we?"

"Oh, sorry!" Kanali exclaimed. "We're at our house in the West District. My father is Haran Nimot." She said her father's name like she expected Tali to recognize it.

Tali shook her head. "I'm new here. I don't know any names."

"Oh. Huh." Kanali looked a little flabbergasted. "Well, he's the head professor of the Engineering Department at Jamba University."

"Uh, cool." Tali didn't know how to respond. Were professors highly respected here?

After an awkward silence, Yamal returned with a steaming bowl of soup. Tali ate the food as slowly as she could, savoring each bite. As she ate, the weight of everything that had happened suddenly hit her. It took every ounce of energy to keep her composure. After all, she was in a strange land in another world on the other side of a magical bridge. And now she had been separated from Ethan, the one person who would help her navigate this strange place and get back home. What was she to do now?

After Tali had finished, Kanali collected the bowl and spoon. She whispered something to Yamal and the two of them left. Tali lay in the darkening room. She missed Penny and her parents and brother terribly. She worried about Ethan and cursed Ben for his selfishness and stupidity. Eventually, her exhaustion won out and she fell asleep.