That night, Raka had trouble sleeping.
It wasn't because the mattress at Bu Sari's house was uncomfortable. In fact, the simple mattress felt comfortable enough after their long journey. But his thoughts kept spinning.
Tomorrow, they would really be heading toward Bukit Arunika.
No longer just looking at it from a distance.
No longer just reading its name on a map.
They would be walking toward the place that had kept coming up in their conversations over the past few days.
Raka opened his eyes.
The clock on his phone read 2:17 a.m.
He sighed and closed his eyes again.
Five minutes later, he opened them.
"No use."
He sat up.
Naya, sleeping on the mattress beside him, shifted slightly.
"You haven't slept yet?"
Raka turned to her.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Tomorrow."
"What about tomorrow?"
"The ascent."
Naya opened her eyes.
"Scared?"
"A little."
Naya smiled.
"Good."
"What's good about that?"
"It means you realize we have to be careful."
Raka nodded.
"What about you?"
"I'm scared too."
They fell silent again.
Naya pulled up her blanket.
"Go to sleep."
"You too."
"Yeah."
Raka lay back down.
This time, his eyes stayed closed longer.
A few hours later, the sound of chickens woke them again.
Morning.
Raka got up immediately.
So did Naya.
They got ready without saying much.
Bu Sari was already waiting in the living room.
A packed meal sat on the table.
"For you two."
Raka picked it up.
"Bu, this is too much."
"Finish it."
Naya smiled.
"Thank you."
Bu Sari looked at them one by one.
"Don't rush."
Raka nodded.
"Okay."
"If you get tired, rest."
"Okay."
"If the weather changes, don't push yourselves."
"Okay."
Bu Sari then looked at Raka.
"And don't take the old trail."
Raka fell silent.
"The trail from yesterday?"
Bu Sari nodded.
"Don't."
"Why?"
Bu Sari didn't answer.
She only said,
"Trust the people who knew the place first."
Raka nodded.
"All right."
Not long afterward, Juno arrived.
This time, he was carrying a simple wooden walking stick.
Bima showed up too.
But Juno immediately said,
"Bima, you go no farther than here."
Bima furrowed his brow.
"Why?"
"The trail gets harder from here."
"I can do it."
"Don't be stubborn."
Bima looked at Raka.
Raka smiled.
"Listen to Juno."
Bima lowered his head.
"Yeah."
Before they left, Bima gave Raka a small object.
A simple cord bracelet.
"What's this?"
"A good-luck charm."
Raka laughed.
"Seriously?"
Bima nodded.
"If you get scared, look at it."
Raka put on the bracelet.
"Thanks."
Bima smiled.
"Don't lose it."
"You got it."
Raka and Naya followed Juno toward the foot of the hill.
The road grew steeper.
At first, it was easy.
The ground was still firm.
The trees weren't too dense.
But after about thirty minutes, the trail began to change.
Small rocks covered the path.
Tree roots emerged in various places.
Raka began slowing his pace.
So did Naya.
Juno walked at the front.
"Don't go too fast."
Raka nodded.
They walked in silence.
Fifteen minutes.
Twenty minutes.
Thirty minutes.
Sweat began soaking through their clothes.
Raka stopped.
"Hold on."
Naya stopped too.
Juno turned around.
"Tired?"
Raka sat on a rock.
"A little."
Juno smiled.
"This is just the beginning."
Raka looked at him.
"Why does everyone always say that?"
"Because it's true."
Naya laughed.
Raka drank some water.
He looked up.
The mountaintop was still out of sight.
There were only trees and a trail that kept climbing.
"If it keeps going like this..."
Naya sat beside him.
"What?"
"I don't think we're going to make it."
Naya opened her water bottle.
"We don't have to see the top right now."
Raka looked at her.
"Then what do we do?"
"Look at the next step."
Raka fell silent.
The sentence was simple.
But it made sense.
He stood.
"Okay."
They continued on.
A little while later, the trail grew steeper.
Juno began using his walking stick.
"Grab a root if you need to."
Raka nodded.
Naya walked behind him.
Suddenly, her foot slipped.
"Ah!"
Raka immediately turned around.
He reached out his hand.
"Grab on."
Naya took his hand.
Raka pulled her up slowly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
They got back to their feet.
Juno looked at them.
"Be careful."
Naya nodded.
They walked more slowly.
Not long afterward, they reached a small patch of flat ground.
From there, they could see the village below.
Raka smiled.
"Beautiful."
Naya took out her camera.
Click.
She photographed the view.
Then she photographed Raka.
Raka shook his head.
"Why me again?"
"Because your expression goes with the scenery."
"What does that mean?"
"You look small."
Raka laughed.
"You jerk."
Juno sat down.
"Let's rest for ten minutes."
They sat.
Raka opened Bu Sari's packed meal.
Rice and eggs.
He shared it with Naya.
Juno only ate a little.
"Why?"
"It's nothing."
Raka looked at him.
"Have you climbed this mountain a lot?"
"A few times."
"To the top?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Juno looked toward the forest.
"Because I've never had a reason to make it that far."
Raka furrowed his brow.
"What about now?"
Juno smiled.
"I want to make sure you two reach a safe place."
Raka didn't ask any further.
When their rest was over, they continued their journey.
The higher they climbed, the quieter it became.
The sound of vehicles could no longer be heard.
The sounds of the village disappeared.
All that remained were the wind, birds, and the sound of their footsteps.
Raka felt as if they had already gone far from the world.
Then rain began to fall.
A drizzle.
Naya quickly put away her camera.
Juno looked at the sky.
"We're stopping."
"But it's barely raining."
"The weather here can change fast."
They took shelter beneath a large tree.
Raka put on his raincoat.
Naya did the same.
The rain grew heavier.
Water ran between the rocks.
Juno stared at the trail ahead.
"If it hasn't let up in fifteen minutes, we're going back down."
Raka was startled.
"Going down?"
"Yeah."
"But we haven't made it yet."
"Safety comes first."
Raka fell silent.
He looked at the hill.
The mountaintop was still far away.
Part of him wanted to keep going.
But his mother's words echoed in his mind.
Courage didn't mean doing everything without preparation.
Raka nodded.
"If we have to go down, we'll go down."
Naya smiled.
"Good."
The rain didn't stop.
Fifteen minutes passed.
Juno stood.
"We're going down."
Raka sighed.
He was disappointed.
But he knew it was the right decision.
They started down.
The trail that had been difficult before now felt more dangerous because it was slippery.
Juno walked at the front.
Naya was in the middle.
Raka brought up the rear.
Raka nearly slipped several times.
But he managed to keep his balance.
When they were almost to a gentler stretch, Raka saw something on the ground.
A small object.
He stopped.
"What's that?"
Naya turned around.
Raka picked it up.
A small metal plate.
There were words on it, almost worn away.
He wiped it clean with his hand.
Naya came closer.
"Let me see."
Raka handed it to her.
The inscription consisted of only a few words.
ARUNIKA — 2003.
Juno saw it.
His expression changed.
"Throw it away."
Raka was startled.
"Why?"
"Throw it away."
"Who does it belong to?"
Juno didn't answer.
Raka tucked the object into his notebook.
Juno stared at him.
"Don't try to find out."
Raka looked at Juno.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?"
Juno fell silent.
The rain was still falling.
Naya stood between them.
"Juno."
The young man sighed.
"Because you don't need to know every story."
Raka gripped his notebook.
"But what if we want to know?"
Juno stared at him for a long moment.
"Then you have to be ready to accept the answer."
No one spoke again.
They continued down the trail.
That afternoon, they returned to Bu Sari's house.
Bima ran over to them immediately.
"You're back!"
Raka nodded.
"We are."
"Did you make it to the top?"
Raka shook his head.
"The rain."
Bima looked disappointed.
But then he noticed the bracelet on Raka's wrist.
"It's still there."
Raka smiled.
"You said it was a good-luck charm."
"That means it wasn't time to reach the top yet."
Raka fell silent.
Bima was right.
Maybe not every failure meant the journey had to end.
Sometimes it only meant the time wasn't right yet.
That night, Raka sat on the porch.
He opened his notebook.
Inside was the small plate he'd found on the trail.
He stared at the inscription.
ARUNIKA — 2003.
There was something about that object.
A story that hadn't ended yet.
Raka knew he shouldn't get involved.
But his curiosity had already taken root.
Naya came out carrying two glasses of tea.
"Still thinking about that?"
Raka nodded.
"Who do you think it belonged to?"
Naya sat down.
"I don't know."
"Juno knows."
"Yeah."
"Bu Sari does too."
"Yeah."
Raka looked at the hill.
"Then there's something going on."
Naya handed him his tea.
"Maybe."
Raka smiled.
"Should we ask tomorrow?"
Naya shook her head.
"Tomorrow, we rest."
"What about the day after?"
"We'll see."
Raka gave a small laugh.
"You always make me wait."
"Because not every answer has to be found today."
Raka fell silent.
He looked at the night sky.
The stars were beginning to appear.
Maybe Naya was right.
Their journey had only just begun.
They still had plenty of time.
And Bukit Arunika was still standing there.
Waiting.
That day, they failed to reach the mountaintop.
But Raka didn't feel defeated.
Because for the first time, he understood something far more important.
Not every step had to end at the destination.
Some steps only taught you how to walk.
Some failures only taught you how to stop.
And some journeys taught you that turning back didn't mean giving up.
Raka rubbed the bracelet Bima had given him.
Then he closed the notebook.
"We'll try again tomorrow."
Beside him, Naya smiled.
"Tomorrow."
Far beyond the hill, clouds still hung in the sky.
But behind those clouds, the summit of Arunika remained.
And someday, they would make it there.
Not because they had never been afraid.
Not because they had never failed.
But because they had learned to keep walking after failure.
Their journey wasn't over.
In fact, perhaps its most important part had just begun.