That day, the sky over Mayangkara changed faster than usual.
Dark clouds had been hanging over the city since noon.
The air felt stifling.
The wind came for a moment, then disappeared.
At Garbage Mountain, the smell grew sharper.
Raka had looked up at the sky several times while they worked.
"Looks like rain," Jali said.
Raka nodded.
"If it rains, we'll go home early."
"Why?"
"The slope gets slippery."
Jali pointed at the mountain.
"Isn't it slippery every day?"
"It's more slippery when it rains."
"So we'll be more careful when it rains."
"Right."
"What if it rains really hard?"
"Be even more careful."
"What if there's a thunderstorm too?"
Raka stared at him.
"Quiet."
Jali laughed.
They kept working.
But that day, Raka wasn't thinking entirely about the things they would sell.
Ever since Ms. Laras had said they would examine the documents more closely, one thing had stayed on his mind.
L-17.
That code appeared again and again.
In the notebook.
In the spreadsheet.
In the photos.
In the video.
And Raka knew of a place that might be connected to it.
An old route on the eastern side of the landfill.
A route that was rarely used.
There was a large pipe there.
It was old.
Part of it was covered with dirt.
Back when he was younger, Raka had often passed the place with his father.
His father had once told him:
"Don't play near the pipe."
Raka had never asked why.
Now he wanted to know.
That afternoon, they gathered at the reading center.
Ms. Laras had already prepared the documents.
Sari sat with her notebook.
Bimo turned on the laptop.
Jali brought fried bananas.
Ucup brought his old toy car.
Raka sat in front.
Ms. Laras opened the black notebook.
"Let's start here."
She pointed to the code L-17.
"It appears over and over."
Sari nodded.
"Eleven times."
"Not just eleven," Bimo said.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Bimo opened another file.
"Forty-two."
Jali stopped eating.
"Forty-two what?"
"Shipments."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Bimo explained.
"This file has forty-two transactions. They all involve L-17."
Sari immediately copied them down.
Dates.
Vehicle numbers.
Amounts.
Times.
Raka looked at the landfill map.
"L-17 is here."
He pointed to the eastern side.
Ms. Laras came closer.
"Are you sure?"
"I've been there before."
"Is there anything there?"
"A pipe."
Bimo stared at the screen.
"If there's a disposal route..."
Sari finished for him,
"...that pipe might be part of it."
Jali chewed slowly.
"So should we take a look?"
Ms. Laras was silent.
Raka knew that silence meant she didn't agree.
But he also knew there was a chance she might allow it.
At last, Ms. Laras said,
"Not now."
"Why not?"
"It's already late afternoon."
"What about tomorrow?"
Ms. Laras looked at them.
"We can take a look tomorrow morning."
Raka nodded.
But Jali cut in.
"What about tonight?"
Ms. Laras stared at him.
"Why tonight?"
"Because there are people around during the day."
Raka immediately turned to him.
Jali shrugged.
"Just saying."
Ms. Laras sighed.
"You are not going at night."
Jali smiled.
"Got it."
But that night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Raka opened his eyes.
He looked at Jali.
The boy wasn't asleep either.
Jali whispered,
"We're going, right?"
Raka didn't answer right away.
"You heard Ms. Laras."
"I heard her."
"And?"
"Sometimes hearing something doesn't mean obeying it."
Raka almost laughed.
"You really are a problem."
"Thank you."
Raka sat up.
He looked toward Bimo and Sari.
They were awake too.
Ucup was still sleeping.
Bimo whispered,
"I already got the camera ready."
Sari said,
"I've memorized the route."
Raka looked at them.
"We're just looking at the pipe."
Jali smiled.
"Right."
"We don't go near the trucks."
"Right."
"We don't take anything."
"Right."
"We don't split up."
"Right."
Raka sighed.
"If there's any danger, we go straight home."
They all nodded.
Ucup suddenly opened his eyes.
"I'm coming."
Raka was startled.
"Go back to sleep."
"I heard you."
"No."
"I'm coming."
"Ucup."
"I know the way."
Raka stared at him.
The boy was already sitting up.
His face was serious.
"If you're going, I'm coming too."
Raka wanted to refuse.
But Sari said,
"He's right."
Raka looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because he knows the little paths behind the warehouse best."
Bimo nodded.
Jali smiled.
"Five people are safer than four."
Raka gave in.
"Fine."
Ucup grinned.
They left after eleven.
Mayangkara was much quieter by then.
But the landfill never truly slept.
Large lights illuminated parts of the area.
The sound of machinery came from far away.
Garbage Mountain looked like a huge creature fast asleep.
Raka led the way.
They followed a narrow path.
They went down the slope.
Then they climbed again.
Jali nearly slipped several times.
"Why is everything more slippery at night?"
"Because you can't see."
"I can see."
"If you can see, why did you fall?"
"Because the ground moved."
Sari held back a laugh.
"The ground didn't move."
"Then it was my feet."
Raka signaled for silence.
They stopped.
The sound of a truck came from far away.
Its lights moved through the darkness.
They crouched behind a pile of cardboard.
One truck entered.
Then another.
Sari checked the time.
"11:41 p.m."
Bimo raised the camera.
Raka watched.
The second truck was different.
Its license plate didn't match the one in the documents.
Sari whispered,
"Not that one."
The first truck stopped.
Two men got out.
They opened the rear door.
A blue drum came into view.
Raka knew immediately.
This wasn't an ordinary garbage shipment.
Bimo took a picture.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then one of the men looked in their direction.
"Who's there?"
Raka froze.
No one moved.
The man picked up a flashlight.
Its beam swept across the piles of garbage.
It came closer.
"Come out!"
Raka signaled.
Run.
They moved fast.
Ucup grabbed Sari's hand.
Jali ran at the very back.
Bimo suddenly stopped.
"The camera!"
Raka turned around.
Bimo had dropped his camera.
He went back.
"Bimo!"
"I'm getting it!"
"Don't!"
Bimo had already grabbed the camera.
They ran again.
Footsteps followed close behind.
Raka spotted an old warehouse.
"In there!"
They went inside.
The door was half open.
Raka closed it slowly.
They hid behind a stack of cardboard.
The footsteps drew closer.
One.
Two.
Three.
Then they stopped.
A flashlight swept across the wall.
Ucup covered his own mouth.
Jali held his shoulder.
Don't cry.
Don't make a sound.
The footsteps started again.
Then faded away.
Five minutes.
Ten minutes.
There was no sound.
Raka finally dared to breathe.
Jali whispered,
"I hate adventures."
Sari looked at him.
"You were the one who suggested it."
"I changed my mind."
Bimo checked the camera.
It was still working.
He smiled in relief.
"The pictures are still there."
Raka nodded.
"Good."
Ucup suddenly pointed outside.
"Raka."
"What?"
"The truck's leaving."
They slowly went outside.
In the distance, the truck's taillights grew smaller.
Raka looked toward the L-17 route.
"The pipe."
They moved.
The pipe was behind some bushes.
Part of it was covered with dirt.
Part of it was rusted.
Raka shone his flashlight on it.
Water was flowing through it.
Not quickly.
But it kept moving.
Ucup came closer.
"It stinks."
Jali covered his nose.
"It does stink."
"No."
Ucup shook his head.
"It's different."
Bimo crouched down.
He studied the water.
"The color's strange."
Sari took notes.
"12:12 a.m."
Raka looked at the pipe.
There was a small code on it.
L-17.
Sari held her breath.
"It's true."
Bimo took a picture.
Then they heard the sound of an engine.
They all turned.
A vehicle appeared from another direction.
Raka immediately turned off the flashlight.
"Down."
They crouched.
The vehicle stopped near the pipe.
Two people got out.
One of them opened the pipe cover.
The water began flowing faster.
Ucup grabbed Raka's arm.
Raka held his breath.
Bimo raised the camera.
He took pictures through a gap in the bushes.
Sari took notes.
Then someone said,
"All done?"
"All done."
"Don't come through here tomorrow."
"Why?"
"The kids have been showing up more often."
Raka's heart pounded.
They knew.
Those people knew they were there.
They waited almost half an hour before heading back.
This time, no one joked.
Jali was silent.
Bimo held his camera tightly.
Sari held her notes.
Ucup walked in the middle.
Raka led the way.
When they finally reached the reading center, the sky was beginning to grow a little brighter.
Ms. Laras was waiting in front of the door.
She stood with her arms folded.
"Where have you been?"
No one answered.
Ms. Laras looked at their faces.
Then at the camera in Bimo's hand.
"Oh, my God."
Raka lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
Ms. Laras sighed.
"What did I tell you?"
"We just looked."
"And?"
"We found the pipe."
Ms. Laras fell silent.
"L-17."
Ms. Laras's face changed.
Raka handed over the camera.
Bimo opened the photos.
The first photo.
The truck.
The second photo.
The drum.
The third photo.
The pipe.
The fourth photo.
Two people opening the outlet.
Ms. Laras looked at them one by one.
Then she sat down.
"Now we have a problem."
Jali nodded.
"We've had one since yesterday."
Ms. Laras stared at him.
"This one is bigger."
She enlarged the last photo.
Behind the two people was a vehicle.
The license plate was clear.
Sari immediately wrote it down.
Then Ms. Laras looked at the time in the photo.
"12:14 a.m."
She opened the black notebook.
The date.
The truck number.
The code L-17.
Everything matched.
Sari said quietly,
"This wasn't a one-time thing."
Ms. Laras nodded.
"No."
Raka looked at them.
"So what exactly are they dumping?"
Ms. Laras closed the notebook.
"We don't know yet."
"How do we find out?"
Ms. Laras looked at them one by one.
"We need stronger evidence."
Jali asked,
"How strong?"
Ms. Laras replied,
"Strong enough that when someone denies it, we can show that they're lying."
Raka nodded.
He looked at his four friends.
They were all exhausted.
Afraid.
But curious too.
They had just found another piece of the puzzle.
And for the first time, the puzzle was beginning to take the shape of something resembling a crime.
Morning began to appear behind Garbage Mountain.
People started arriving.
The trucks began moving again.
The city came back to life.
The five children sat in front of the reading center.
They hadn't slept yet.
Jali rested his head against the wall.
"I'm hungry."
Ucup nodded.
"Me too."
Raka gave a small laugh.
After everything they had seen that night, hunger was still the most real thing of all.
Ms. Laras went inside.
A few minutes later, she came back out carrying five packages of rice.
Jali immediately stood up.
"Ms. Laras."
"Yes?"
"If every problem could be solved with rice, life would be easy."
Ms. Laras smiled.
"Unfortunately, it can't."
Jali opened his package of rice.
"That's too bad."
They ate.
Amid the fear and confusion, they still ate together.
And that morning, without realizing it, something had changed.
They were no longer holding only a sack.
They had begun holding evidence.
But evidence came with a price too.
And before long, someone would come to collect that price.
Not with words.