Bluey and her newfound friend, Jean-Luc both laughed as they splashed in the water. They were cleaning off the mud from themselves from their game.
Just then, both of their parents called them over for dinner.
The two friends gave each other a hug.
"Bye, Jean-Luc!" Bluey exclaimed excitedly, hugging him tightly. She had lots of games planned for tomorrow with him.
Jean-Luc wasn't as enthusiastic though. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't find it in himself to explain. "Non," he said sadly, "Pas damain matin." Bluey didn't understand him.
Bluey then ran back to her family, looking back to give Jean-Luc a happy wave. Jean-Luc could only stand where he stood. He waved back as he watched her leave before he walked back to his family.
The next morning, Bluey woke up and ran out of the tent over to see if the tree that she and Jean-Luc had planted had emerged from the ground yet.
A sprout!
"Ah! A little tree!" Bluey happily shouted as she saw it. She needed to show Jean-Luc right away that their tree was beginning to grow.
She then rushed over to Jean-Luc's camping spot. "Jean-Luc! Come quickly!" she called out as she ran. However, there was no response from him, and no tent to be seen anywhere at the site.
"Jean-Luc?" Bluey questioned, wondering why her friend wasn't there. Maybe he was somewhere else?
She ran to the little stick house they'd built together days earlier, still calling for him. No answer. No sight of him.
She then checked over to the rock they had planned their hunt, still calling for him. Again, no answer. No sight of him.
Bluey then went to Chilli to find an answer. She was at their camping site, about to get some toast ready for breakfast. "Mum, do you know where Jean-Luc is?" she asked, running up to her, "His tent's not there."
Chilli was disheartened to have to tell Bluey the sad news. She figured that Jean-Luc might've told her yesterday before they all left. Apparently not for whatever reason.
"Oh, yes," Chilli informed, "I saw them packing up."
"What?" Bluey exclaimed in shock. She couldn't believe that Jean-Luc was really gone.
"They must've left early this morning," Chilli said.
"You mean they're gone?" Bluey asked, afraid of the answer.
"I'm afraid so, Sweetheart," Chilli confirmed.
Bluey couldn't take it anymore. She ran off towards the sprout. She sat down on the ground and glanced down at it. All she could think of was Jean-Luc. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore and began to cry. She didn't have the motivation to play for the rest of the day.
Later that night, Bluey couldn't sleep. Everyone else was able to sleep just fine. Meanwhile, she just laid in her sleeping bag, still thinking about Jean-Luc.
Bingo then woke up, still dozy. "Mum, I need a wee," she said, nudging Chilli's arm to wake her up.
"Okay, let's do a bush wee," Chilli yawned, "Where's the bunny night light?"
Bluey reached over for it. "Here it is," she said, turning it on and handing it over to them. Bandit groaned from the light, turning away from it to sleep better.
"Do you need a wee too, Bluey?" Chilli asked.
"No," Bluey answered, shaking her head, "But can I come anyway?"
Chilli smiled. She knew Bluey wanted to come along because of how lonely she felt after Jean-Luc's departure. "The more, the merrier," she invited. With that, the three of them walked out of the tent towards a shrub.
Bluey leaned against her mom, deep in thought. Chilli, meanwhile, was busy helping Bingo with the bush wee. Bluey was silent for a moment.
"Mum?" she finally spoke.
"Yeah?" Chilli responded, still mainly focused on Bingo, but divided her attention to her older daughter.
"Why did Jean-Luc had to go?" Bluey finally asked. She reminisced the past few days with her French friend. She had so much fun with him, but today, she found out that he had left.
"Their holiday was over, Honey," Chilli answered.
"But I want to keep playing with him!" Bluey interrupted, trying to see if her mother would give her a more desirable response, "He was my friend."
Chilli knew just what to say to her.
"Well, look," she started, "Sometimes special people come into our lives, stay for a bit, and then they have to go." She hoped that her words would help Bluey feel more at ease.
However, she wasn't. "But that's sad," Bluey replied, trying her best to hold back tears. She didn't want to accept that she may never see Jean-Luc again.
"It is," Chilli softly agreed and tried to cheer her up, "But the bit they were here was happy, wasn't it?"
Bluey managed to give a small smile. "Yeah," she agreed, remembering how much fun she had with him, "We caught a wild pig together."
"Maybe that makes it all worth it," Chilli added.
"Will I ever see him again?" Bluey asked, hoping for a favorable affirmative answer.
"Well, we'll never know," Chilli answered, ambiguous of the possibility, "The world is a magical place!"
Chilli then turned off the light, exposing the vast glimmer of stars in the sky. There were hundreds twinkling across the sky, very different than the city night scape of Brisbane.
"Whoa!" Bluey exclaimed in amazement.
Bingo had also finished with her bush wee. Because of her tiredness, she hadn't paid attention to the conversation. "Finished!" she exclaimed, noticing the starry sky, "Ooo... Stars! Pretty!"
The three of them looked up and stared at the bright stars in the night sky. Bluey smiled. And she wondered if Jean-Luc was looking up at the same stars as she was.