Since the incident in the school corridor, Bima's mind had never truly been at peace. Even during class, he lost focus several times. The teacher's writing on the board was clear, and his classmates' voices sounded normal, but his thoughts kept returning to Arga's letter and the mysterious message he'd received the night before.
Bima tried to convince himself that everything would be fine. But the harder he tried to forget, the more questions came to him.
Who had sent the letter?
Who had sent the warning message?
And what did Mr. Surya have to do with all of this?
During break, Bima sat with Dika and Rani in the school cafeteria. Dika usually kept things lively, but this time he seemed more serious than usual.
“Where should we start?” Dika asked, stirring his drink.
Bima opened a small notebook containing some information about Arga.
“The first place I met Arga was at the old city park.”
Rani nodded.
“The place near the river?”
“Yeah.”
“I've passed by there before,” Rani said. “But hardly anyone goes there anymore.”
Dika looked at Bima.
“When are we going?”
Bima was slightly surprised.
“You two really want to come?”
Dika answered immediately. “I told you yesterday. We'll figure it out together.”
Rani smiled.
“Besides, I'm curious too. There are way too many strange things in this story.”
Bima looked at his two friends.
A few weeks ago, he'd come to that school as a stranger. He'd never expected to find two people willing to help him deal with a problem that wasn't even their business.
“Thanks,” Bima said softly.
Dika raised a hand.
“Don't get too emotional. I'm not coming just because I'm nice.”
Bima raised an eyebrow.
“Then why?”
“I'm curious. It's like a detective story.”
Rani laughed.
“You really can't stay serious for long.”
Dika smiled.
“The important thing is that Bima isn't alone.”
Those words left Bima silent.
They reminded him of Arga.
Arga had said the same thing once.
“I won't leave you alone, Bim.”
Bima lowered his head.
The memory felt closer than ever.
After school, the three of them agreed to go to the old city park. It wasn't too far from the school, so they could walk there.
Along the way, Dika kept looking around.
“Do you guys realize something?”
“Realize what?” Rani asked.
“We've been following secret clues this whole time.”
Bima gave a small smile.
“It is kind of strange.”
“Not kind of,” Dika said. “This is way beyond strange.”
They finally reached the old city park.
The place looked different from what Bima remembered.
It used to be full of children playing. Now parts of the park looked neglected. The paint on the benches was starting to peel, several park lights were out, and weeds had grown around the walkways.
Bima walked slowly.
Every corner of the place carried a memory.
“There it is.”
Dika and Rani looked in the direction Bima pointed.
A large tree stood near a small river.
“That was where I first met Arga.”
Bima approached it.
He touched the tree trunk.
“I lost my ball that day.”
Rani smiled.
“And Arga found it?”
Bima nodded.
“But he wouldn't give it back.”
Dika laughed.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. He said it was his because he was the one who found it.”
“Then what did you do?”
“I got mad.”
“And then you became friends?”
Bima smiled too.
“Yeah. Weird, right?”
“Sometimes friendships start with things that make no sense,” Rani said.
Bima looked around.
He tried to find something that might be connected to Arga's letter.
“Find Mr. Surya at the place where we first met.”
Bima repeated the sentence in his mind.
“Why did Arga tell me to come here?”
Dika walked around the tree.
“Maybe something's hidden here.”
The three of them began searching.
Several minutes passed.
There was nothing.
“I think we're in the wrong place,” Dika said.
Bima shook his head.
“No way.”
“But we've looked everywhere.”
Rani suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
They turned toward her.
“What?”
Rani pointed beneath a wooden bench not far from the tree.
“There's something down there.”
Bima approached.
There was a small scratch beneath the bench.
It wasn't ordinary writing.
It was a symbol.
Bima fell silent at once.
He recognized it.
“That...”
“What?” Dika asked.
Bima touched the carving.
“This is a symbol Arga and I made.”
Rani was startled.
“You two had a symbol?”
Bima nodded.
“We made a mark for things only the two of us knew about.”
Dika examined the carving more closely.
“Then Arga really did come here.”
Bima didn't answer.
He knelt and cleared away the dirt beneath the bench.
A moment later, his fingers touched something hard.
A small box emerged from the dirt.
The box looked old, but it was still tightly closed.
Bima stared at it with mixed emotions.
“This has to be from Arga.”
Dika held his breath.
“Open it.”
Bima took hold of the box.
But before he could open it, someone's voice came from behind them.
“Don't open it.”
All three of them turned at once.
A man stood several yards away.
Bima knew him.
He was the man who had watched them from the end of the corridor yesterday.
“Who are you?” Dika asked, stepping in front of Bima.
The man didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed only on the box in Bima's hands.
“I said, don't open that box.”
Bima stood up.
“Why?”
The man drew a breath.
“Because if you open it, you'll learn the real reason Arga left.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Bima stared at him.
“You know Arga?”
The man was silent.
“Answer me!”
Bima was starting to lose his patience.
At last, the man spoke quietly.
“My name is Farel.”
Bima furrowed his brow.
“Farel?”
“Yeah.”
“I've never heard Arga mention you.”
Farel gave a faint smile.
“You weren't supposed to.”
Dika took a step forward.
“What does that mean?”
Farel looked at Bima.
“It means Arga deliberately never told you about me.”
Bima tightened his grip on the box.
“What are you to Arga?”
Farel was silent for quite some time.
Then he answered in a low voice.
“I was the last person with Arga before he disappeared.”
Bima's heart seemed to stop for a moment.
“Disappeared?”
Farel nodded.
“Arga didn't just leave, Bima.”
Bima felt his chest grow tighter.
“What do you mean?”
Farel looked at the small box in Bima's hands.
“Inside that box is the reason Arga left you.”
The afternoon wind blew through the trees.
Bima looked at the box.
For years, he'd thought Arga had simply left without a reason.
But now he was beginning to realize that there might have been a story he'd never known about all this time.
A story deliberately hidden from him.
And for the first time, Bima felt that finding the truth might hurt far more than losing someone.