Dad and I hadn’t been home for long when Cathy’s ute drove up behind Walter’s rattling LandCruiser. Both Walter and Cathy wore protective pads on their bodies, like they had at the rehab centre to capture Big Blue.

I had to swallow hard to make myself brave.

Abby’s pink ribbon bounced as she hopped out of the LandCruiser and did a fancy ballet leap over the giant puddle in Grandad Barneys’ driveway. She stood beside Dad and me, as we watched Cathy pull out a metal box from her ute.

‘Peanut’s in there already,’ explained Abby, pointing to the box. ‘So he and Jumble can go to the rehab centre together.’

‘That’s if they find Jumble,’ I murmured. My stomach clenched. If they didn’t, it would be all my fault. I should have told everyone earlier.

Dad rested a hand on my shoulder.

‘Hey, Mister Cassowary,’ said Walter, winking at me. ‘Best to get it over with, don’t you think? Where did you say you found these chicks?’

My chest tightened. ‘Over there, near the swamp,’ I said, pointing to the rainforest trees. ‘Well, they were there. Before the cyclone.’

The words Danger, Keep out painted on the side of the metal box made my stomach swirl. ‘You’re not using that tranquiliser gun thing, are you?’

Walter smiled. ‘No, we don’t use that on chicks. They’re usually easier to catch than the adults, and anyway, it’s not good for the very young ones.’

Walter took the net Cathy offered him, and together they strode towards the rainforest. A truckload of branches had fallen in the cyclone, and now they lay in a tangle between us and the swamp. Jumble would be so frightened in there all by himself.

Dad squeezed me. I dipped my head and tried breathing through my mouth. It didn’t help. My lip quivered.

‘It’s okay, mate,’ said Dad. ‘Even if they don’t find Jumble, at least Peanut’s safe.’

‘I told you to tell the rangers,’ hissed Abby. ‘If you’d listened to me, this wouldn’t have happened.’

Hot tears welled in my eyes.

Dad shot Abby a look then turned back to me. ‘What’s Jumble like?’ he asked.

I sniffed. ‘Well, he’s smaller than Peanut, and he’s shy. And he likes sultanas and apple, cut up really small.’

‘Flynn!’ whispered Abby. ‘You weren’t supposed to feed them.’

Dad glared at her again, and drew me in towards him. Abby shrugged and threw herself into a handstand. She walked five steps before collapsing over into a backbend.

‘It’s okay, Flynn,’ said Dad. ‘They’ll find him.’

But they hadn’t found the chicks’ dad.

‘Any gossip about the cyclone?’ Dad asked Abby. ‘No crocs on the loose this time?’

I knew he was trying to make the waiting easier, but all I could do was watch for Walter and Cathy.

‘Well,’ said Abby, walking like a crab upside down in her backbend. ‘Did you hear about the man who found a bottle washed up onshore just near the main beach? It had a note in it, from 1918. Pretty awesome, hey?’

‘Peep.’

I looked up. Did I really hear that sound? Walter appeared from the trees, his shirt and long pants dripping wet as he marched towards us.

‘Peep. Peep. Peep.’

Cathy was running behind him and, as she did, a yellowy orange head peeked out from behind Walter’s back. It was Jumble!

‘It’s pretty wet back there,’ said Walter when they reached us. ‘He’s lucky he made it.’

He opened the lid of the box.

My chest heaved. ‘Can I say one last goodbye?’ I asked.

Cathy tucked Jumble’s legs in before carefully passing him over to me.

Jumble wriggled against me. He was heavy and soggy. It took two hands to stop him from falling.

‘See you, buddy,’ I murmured, resting my cheek against his fluffy head. I gently kissed his soft feathers before reaching down to place him next to Peanut.

‘Hey!’ yelled Abby, interrupting my goodbyes. ‘What’s that?’

‘What’s what?’ asked Walter.

‘That! That thing! Moving. Over there.’ Abby pointed towards the front gate.

I swung around too quickly and lost my balance. I dropped Jumble on the grass.

‘Oh no!’ I reached to catch him, but he took off so quickly with his neck pushed out and his feet flying behind him, that I couldn’t reach him.

‘Peep. Peep. Peep,’ he called.

Before we knew what was happening, Peanut leapt out of the box and took off after Jumble. Abby and I rushed after them, in hot pursuit.

We skidded to a stop when we came to the end of the driveway.

An adult cassowary stood in front of us. His head was bent forwards to gently nudge Peanut and Jumble with his beak. He made a deep womp, womp, womp sound, like the lowest note on a didgeridoo. His right leg was swollen and he walked with a slight limp, but otherwise he seemed fine.

Cathy, Dad and Walter ran up behind us. ‘Stay very still,’ warned Cathy.

Walter shook his head in disbelief. ‘Would you take a look at that?’ he said. ‘The whole family’s reunited.’

The chicks’ dad picked up a fallen berry. With it still in his beak, he made a sharp clicking noise and then dropped it to the ground. As soon as it fell, the chicks ran over and started pecking. Just like they had when I’d dropped the apple.

Once they’d eaten the berry, the chicks looked at their dad and let out a high-pitched whistle. The dad answered with a rumble, fluffed up his feathers, and then turned and stepped towards the rainforest. I watched, my heart heavy. This was it. The final goodbye.

Dad’s smile was warm. ‘What a relief,’ he said. ‘Looks like he’s okay, after all.’

‘I wonder where he’s been?’ mused Abby.

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak. It didn’t matter. He was here now, right when his babies needed him. I kept my eyes glued to the cassowary family until every last feather had disappeared into the undergrowth. Then I swallowed the lump in my throat, and whispered, ‘There you are, Mister Cassowary. Three precious cassowaries, all safe and sound.’