The next morning, Raka woke up with one simple conclusion.
His body hurt.
Not badly, but enough to remind every part of him that yesterday, they had just completed their first hike.
He moved his leg.
"Ow."
Naya, still lying on the bed beside him, opened her eyes.
"What is it?"
"My leg."
"What's wrong with your leg?"
"I think it's protesting."
Naya let out a soft laugh.
"That's all it takes?"
Raka looked at her.
"You're not sore?"
"I am."
"Then?"
"So what?"
Naya sat up.
"That's what a journey is."
Raka sighed.
He looked out the window.
The morning sky was bright.
There was no rain.
No dark clouds.
Bukit Arunika was clearly visible in the distance.
Sunlight covered its peak.
Raka smiled.
"Looks like today will be a good day."
Naya followed his gaze.
"Yeah."
"Go up again?"
Naya looked at Raka.
"Are you sure?"
"If the weather's good."
"Don't do it just because you're curious."
Raka nodded.
"We'll still be careful."
They left the room.
Mrs. Sari was sweeping the yard.
"You're up already?"
"Yeah, ma'am."
Mrs. Sari looked them over.
"Your legs hurt?"
Raka nodded.
"A little."
Mrs. Sari smiled.
"Then you learned something yesterday."
"Learned what?"
"That the mountain doesn't care whether you're chasing a dream or not."
Raka laughed.
"That's true."
Mrs. Sari set her broom down.
"You want to go up again?"
Raka nodded.
"If the weather allows it."
Mrs. Sari looked at the sky.
"The weather's good today."
Then she looked at Raka.
"But remember what I told you."
"Don't take the old route."
"Yeah."
Raka nodded.
After breakfast, they got ready again.
This time, Raka brought less gear.
He had learned from yesterday's mistake.
He still brought his favorite mug.
But he left behind several things that had turned out to be useless.
Naya did the same.
Juno arrived around seven.
But this time, he brought something with him.
A long rope.
"What's that for?" Raka asked.
"Just in case."
Raka nodded.
Bima arrived too.
He brought his little notebook.
"I'll come with you as far as yesterday's stopping point."
Juno immediately said,
"No."
Bima frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because today's route goes higher."
"I can do it."
Juno looked at him.
"If you want to see the world, you have to learn that being brave doesn't mean forcing yourself."
Bima fell silent.
Raka looked at the boy.
Then he said,
"Juno's right."
Bima sighed.
"Fine."
Raka smiled.
"But when we get back, we'll tell you all about it."
Bima immediately smiled again.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
They started walking.
This time, their steps were more measured.
Juno taught them how to place their feet on the rocky path.
"Don't look too far ahead."
Raka paid attention.
"Where should I look?"
"At your next step."
"Why?"
"If you keep looking at the mountaintop, you might forget there's a rock in front of your feet."
Raka smiled.
"Like life?"
Juno turned toward him.
"You talk too much."
Naya laughed.
"That's just how he is."
They kept walking.
An hour passed.
Then two.
The path grew steeper.
But this time, their bodies were beginning to adjust.
Raka didn't tire as quickly.
Naya was more confident too.
Around ten, they reached the point they hadn't had time to pass yesterday.
A huge rock stood in the middle of the trail.
There was a red marking on top of it.
Juno stopped.
"From here on, we need to be more careful."
Raka looked ahead.
The trees grew denser.
Sunlight only filtered through gaps in the leaves.
The surroundings grew much quieter.
Naya turned on her camera.
"This is amazing."
Juno smiled.
"If you want to take pictures, don't wander too far from the trail."
Naya nodded.
They continued on.
After a while, Raka began to hear running water.
"Water?"
Juno nodded.
"There's a small stream."
They reached a clear stream.
Water flowed over the rocks.
Raka crouched down.
He touched the water.
"Cold."
Naya sat on a rock.
"Perfect for a break."
They stopped for a moment.
Raka filled his water bottle.
Juno checked their surroundings.
Suddenly, Naya called out.
"Rak."
"Hmm?"
"Look."
She pointed to a rock near the stream.
There was a carving on it.
Raka moved closer.
The carving was shaped like a circle with a line through the middle.
Beneath it was a number.
2003.
Raka immediately remembered the metal plate he had found yesterday.
He took it out of his notebook.
Its shape was almost identical.
Naya looked at it.
"This isn't a coincidence."
Juno immediately stood up.
"Let's go."
"Juno."
"Don't."
Raka looked at him.
"We just want to know."
"The more you know, the more questions will come up."
"Is that supposed to be wrong?"
Juno fell silent.
Naya looked at him.
"If this has something to do with the village's past, then we should at least know why everyone is afraid to talk about it."
Juno sighed.
"This isn't about fear."
"Then what is it?"
"Regret."
Raka fell silent.
Juno looked at the stream.
"Twenty-three years ago, a group of young people came to Arunika."
"Mrs. Sari's son's friends?"
Juno nodded.
"They had a dream."
"What was it?"
"They wanted to make a documentary about this place."
Raka immediately looked at Naya.
"Like us."
"Yeah."
Juno continued.
"They took the back trail."
"The old route?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"They wanted to find a location that had never been photographed."
Raka swallowed.
"Then what happened?"
Juno was silent for a long time.
"One of them never came back."
The surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Even the sound of the water seemed louder.
Raka lowered his head.
"Mrs. Sari's son?"
Juno nodded.
"His name was Damar."
Naya gripped her camera tighter.
"What about the others?"
"They went home."
"Why didn't Damar?"
Juno looked toward the trees.
"Because they got separated."
Raka frowned.
"Separated?"
"They found a fork in the trail."
"Then what?"
"Damar chose a different path."
"Alone?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Juno didn't answer.
Raka wanted to ask again.
But Juno said,
"Enough."
They all fell silent.
Raka stared at the carving on the rock.
Now he understood why Mrs. Sari had changed so much when she heard the name Arunika.
This wasn't just a tourist destination.
The place held a loss.
And perhaps guilt as well.
They continued their journey.
No one said much.
Around noon, they reached a high plateau.
From there, the view was much wider.
The hills looked like green waves.
The sky stretched endlessly overhead.
Raka stood there.
He smiled.
"Wow."
Naya took out her camera.
Click.
Click.
Click.
This time, she didn't just photograph the scenery.
She photographed Raka.
Juno.
The trail.
The trees.
The stream.
Even their footprints.
Raka asked,
"Why take pictures of everything?"
Naya smiled.
"So we don't forget."
Raka nodded.
They ate lunch.
Afterward, Juno said,
"We're heading down."
Raka was surprised.
"We haven't reached the top yet?"
"Not yet."
"Why not?"
"We've reached our time limit."
Raka checked his watch.
12:40.
"What if we keep going?"
"We'll get there too late in the afternoon."
Raka was disappointed.
But this time, he didn't argue.
He had learned.
They started down.
The descent turned out to be harder than they had imagined.
Their legs began to grow tired.
Raka slipped several times.
So did Naya.
But they helped each other.
When Raka nearly fell, Naya grabbed his hand.
When Naya had trouble getting past a large rock, Raka helped carry some of her things.
Neither of them felt superior.
Neither tried to be a hero.
They simply walked together.
When the sun began to lean westward, they returned to the spot where Bima was waiting.
The boy immediately ran toward them.
"You're back!"
Raka nodded.
"Welcome back."
"What happened?"
"A lot."
"Tell me!"
Raka sat beside him.
He began to tell the story.
About the stream.
About the rock.
About the view.
About the journey.
Bima listened with shining eyes.
Then he asked,
"Did you find anything?"
Raka fell silent.
Naya looked at him.
So did Juno.
Raka finally answered,
"Yeah."
"What?"
Raka took out his notebook.
But he didn't show him the metal plate.
"Just an old story."
Bima looked curious.
"What story?"
Raka smiled.
"Later."
"Why later?"
"Because it's not time yet."
Bima nodded.
He accepted the answer.
That night, after they returned to Mrs. Sari's house, Raka sat on the porch.
Naya came carrying her camera.
She sat beside him.
"Still thinking about it?"
"Yeah."
"Don't get too deep into it."
"Why not?"
"Because we came here to chase our dream."
Raka nodded.
"You're right."
But after a few seconds, he said,
"But if our journey can help us understand someone else's story, isn't that part of the dream too?"
Naya didn't answer.
She looked at the photos on her camera.
One photo showed a rising path.
At the end of it was sunlight.
"Then," she said softly, "we'll find the answers without forcing anything."
Raka smiled.
"Deal."
Naya held out her hand.
Raka shook it.
"Deal."
There was no grand promise.
No dramatic words.
Just a simple agreement.
They would chase their dream.
They would remain careful.
And if Arunika's past truly held a story that needed to be uncovered, they would find it the right way.
Not by forcing it.
Not by ignoring the danger.
But by respecting the people who had once lived within that story.
In the distance, Bukit Arunika was bathed in the light of dusk.
They still hadn't reached its peak.
But that day, they had learned something.
Not every journey has to be completed in a single day.
Sometimes, we just need to keep walking.
One step.
One day.
One small act of courage.
And when we finally reach our destination, we may realize that what makes us strong isn't the peak we've managed to conquer.
It's every step that nearly made us give up, but that we kept taking anyway.
Raka looked at the bracelet Bima had given him.
Then he smiled.
"Again tomorrow."
Naya looked at him.
"Again tomorrow."
And for the first time, they weren't afraid that their journey might take longer.
Because they finally understood.
A dream isn't something to chase in a hurry.
A dream is something to pursue patiently.
And the journey to the summit of Arunika was still a long one.