Kalipura felt busier than usual that morning.
Motorcycles streamed along the road in front of Bu Sari's house. Several villagers carried their harvest to the market. Children ran around with school bags slung over their shoulders, while the aroma of fried snacks from the roadside stall at the end of the road filled the air.
Raka stood on the porch, tying his shoelaces.
He looked toward Bukit Arunika.
They weren't planning to climb today.
At least, that's what they told themselves.
After trying twice to reach the summit and having to turn back both times, Raka was beginning to understand that Arunika couldn't be treated like a destination to conquer as quickly as possible.
But one thing continued to bother him.
The metal plate engraved with ARUNIKA — 2003.
He took it from his notebook.
"Still thinking about that?"
Naya's voice made Raka turn.
"Can you read minds?"
"I don't have to. Your face is easy to read."
Naya sat down in a porch chair.
Raka showed her the plate.
"I'm curious."
"Why?"
"Because the number 2003 showed up on the stone, this plate, and in Juno's story."
Naya nodded.
"Then they must be connected."
"The problem is, we don't know how."
Naya was quiet for a moment.
Then she said,
"Then don't look for the answer on the hill."
Raka furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean?"
"If the story is about the people of Kalipura, maybe the answer is in Kalipura."
Raka smiled immediately.
"You're a genius."
"Just figuring that out now?"
They laughed.
Not long afterward, Juno arrived.
He was carrying two plastic bags.
"Bu Sari asked me to take you guys to the market."
Raka stood up.
"The market?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"She said you need food for your next journey."
Raka nodded.
The three of them walked toward the market.
Bima was already waiting at the intersection.
"I'm coming too!"
Juno immediately sighed.
"Don't run."
Bima nodded.
They walked together.
Kalipura's market wasn't very big.
There were only a few rows of stalls.
But it was lively.
People greeted one another.
Vendors called out their vegetables.
Children helped their parents carry things.
Raka took it all in.
He pulled out his notebook.
Naya photographed several corners of the market.
"Let's get food first," Juno said.
They bought bread, fruit, drinking water, and a few snacks.
When they were done, Raka noticed an old shop at the end of the market.
A wooden sign above it read:
PHOTO & PRINTING SHOP — SURYA
Raka stopped.
"Surya?"
Naya looked too.
"Pak Surya?"
Juno nodded.
"Yeah."
"Why does he have a photo shop?"
"Pak Surya used to be a photographer."
Raka was instantly interested.
They went inside.
The shop contained old cameras, photo albums, and several photographs displayed on the walls.
Pak Surya was sitting behind the counter.
He looked up.
"You."
Raka smiled.
"Pak."
"What is it?"
Raka looked around.
"We just found out you owned a photo shop."
Pak Surya smiled.
"A long time ago."
"A long time ago?"
"Now I mostly sell stationery."
Raka studied the walls.
There were dozens of old photographs.
Pictures of the market.
Pictures of the river.
Pictures of the hill.
Pictures of the villagers.
Then his eyes stopped on one photograph.
A group of young people stood in front of Bukit Arunika.
There were four of them.
Raka moved closer.
"Pak..."
Surya turned.
His expression changed immediately.
"You don't need to look at that."
Raka stared at the photograph.
"What year was this?"
Pak Surya was silent.
Juno looked too.
Bima stood behind them.
Naya raised her camera but didn't take a picture.
At last, Pak Surya answered.
"2003."
Raka swallowed.
"Is this Damar?"
Surya nodded.
"The one on the left."
Raka studied the young man's face.
Damar looked very young.
He was smiling broadly.
A camera rested in his hands.
Naya examined the photograph.
"Who are the other three?"
Pak Surya gave them their names.
"Arman, Sinta, and Reza."
"Are they all still alive?"
"Yes."
Raka was shocked.
"Then they can tell us what happened."
Pak Surya looked at him.
"Maybe."
"Do you know where they live?"
Surya didn't answer.
Naya asked,
"Why does everyone seem like they don't want to talk about what happened?"
Pak Surya drew a long breath.
"Because some memories are too heavy to carry every day."
Raka lowered his head.
"Pak..."
Surya looked at them.
"If you want to learn about Damar, don't start with Arunika."
"Where should we start?"
"Start with his house."
Raka furrowed his brow.
"Bu Sari's house?"
Pak Surya nodded.
"There's still something there that has never been opened."
The room immediately fell silent.
"What?"
Surya didn't answer.
He only pointed to an old album on the shelf.
"Take it."
Raka picked up the album.
Its cover was coated in dust.
He opened it.
The first page held photographs of the village.
The second page held family photographs.
Then came the third page.
Damar.
He was holding a camera.
Written beneath the photograph were the words:
"Don't just look at the world. Listen to its stories."
Raka read the sentence over and over.
Naya moved closer.
"Who wrote that?"
"Bu Sari."
Raka closed the album.
"Why is this album here?"
"Because Damar left it with me before he went away."
Raka froze.
"He left it with you?"
Pak Surya nodded.
"The day before his last journey."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Pak."
Raka looked at him.
"If Damar knew he was going to leave..."
"He didn't know."
Surya cut him off.
"Don't jump to your own conclusions."
Raka nodded.
"Sorry."
Pak Surya took a small key from the drawer.
He placed it on the counter.
"This belonged to Damar too."
Raka stared at the key.
"What does it open?"
"The old shed behind Bu Sari's house."
Raka fell silent.
Naya looked at Juno.
Juno looked just as shocked.
"Wasn't that shed locked a long time ago?" Juno asked.
"Yes."
"Then why do you have the key?"
"Because Damar asked me to keep it."
Raka felt his heart begin to pound.
"Pak, what's in there?"
Pak Surya looked at him.
"If I knew, I might not be giving you that key."
Raka didn't understand.
Surya continued,
"Sometimes people get so busy looking for answers that they forget some doors are closed for a reason."
Raka looked at the key.
He didn't pick it up.
"Then why are you giving it to us?"
Pak Surya smiled.
"Because I can tell you didn't come here looking for thrills."
Raka was silent.
"You came here to chase a dream."
Surya glanced at Naya's camera.
"And you respect other people's stories."
He slowly pushed the key toward them.
"If you really want to know, open it with Bu Sari."
Raka nodded.
"We'll ask her first."
"Good."
They left the shop.
Bima immediately asked,
"Kak, what's that?"
"A key."
"A key to what?"
Raka looked at Juno.
Juno only said,
"Stay out of it."
Bima pouted.
They returned to Bu Sari's house.
The journey back felt much quieter.
When they arrived, Bu Sari was watering the plants.
Raka stood in front of her.
"Bu."
Bu Sari turned.
"What is it?"
Raka took out the album.
Bu Sari's expression changed immediately.
"Where did you get that?"
"From Pak Surya."
Bu Sari was silent.
Then Raka took out the key.
Bu Sari stared at it for a long time.
Her hand trembled slightly.
"He still kept it."
"Pak Surya said it belonged to Damar."
Bu Sari didn't answer.
Naya stepped closer.
"Bu, we don't want to force you."
Bu Sari sighed.
"Come in."
They entered the living room.
Bu Sari sat down.
She held the old album.
Her finger brushed over Damar's photograph.
"He always said he wanted to see the world."
Raka listened.
"He said that if he ever became a photographer, he wanted to take me to see the ocean."
Bu Sari smiled sadly.
"I've never seen the ocean."
Bima, who had been quiet until then, finally asked,
"Bu, why didn't Damar come home?"
Bu Sari looked at the boy.
She wasn't angry.
Instead, she smiled.
"I don't know either."
Bima lowered his head.
Raka looked at the key.
"Bu, can we see the shed?"
Bu Sari closed her eyes.
Several seconds later, she opened them.
"You can."
Raka was surprised.
"Seriously?"
"But I'm coming with you."
"Okay."
They walked toward the back of the house.
A small building stood there, almost hidden beneath wild plants.
Its door was made of wood.
An old padlock still hung from it.
Bu Sari took the key from Raka's hand.
Her hand trembled as she inserted it.
Click.
The padlock opened.
The door was pushed slowly inward.
The creak of wood filled the air.
Dust swirled through the room.
Raka switched on his flashlight.
Inside were several cardboard boxes.
A table.
An old shelf.
And many things that hadn't been touched in a long time.
Naya studied the walls.
There were photographs.
Lots of photographs.
Damar.
The village.
Arunika.
His friends.
Raka walked slowly.
Then he saw something on the table.
An old camera.
Naya moved closer immediately.
"This..."
Bu Sari nodded.
"Damar's camera."
Naya didn't touch it.
"Can it still be used?"
"I don't know."
Raka looked at the camera.
Beside it was a small book.
Its cover was damaged.
He opened it.
The first page bore the words:
DAMAR'S JOURNEY NOTES — 2003
Raka looked at Naya.
Naya looked back.
No one spoke.
They all knew.
That book might contain the answers.
Or it might only hold more questions.
Raka opened the next page.
Damar's handwriting filled the page.
He slowly read the first sentence.
"Today we found a trail that isn't on the map."
Raka stopped.
Juno moved closer immediately.
"What?"
Raka showed him the page.
Juno read it.
His expression changed.
Bu Sari clutched her chest.
Naya stared at the book.
Then Raka turned to the next page.
There was a single sentence.
"If we don't return before sunset, don't look for us on the main trail."
The room suddenly fell silent.
Raka felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
Not because he was afraid of something strange.
But because now they knew one thing.
Damar hadn't simply gotten lost.
He had deliberately chosen a different trail.
The old trail.
The trail they had been forbidden to visit all this time.
Raka closed the book.
He looked at Bu Sari.
"Bu..."
Bu Sari nodded slowly.
"I know."
"You knew all this time?"
"I knew he went down that trail."
Raka swallowed.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?"
Bu Sari looked at her son's photograph.
"Because I didn't want anyone else to repeat his mistake."
Raka nodded.
He was beginning to understand.
They weren't chasing a mystery for fun.
They were facing the story of someone who had left too many people with unanswered questions.
Raka looked at Naya.
Naya gave a small nod.
They wouldn't push themselves recklessly.
But now they had a reason to find out.
Not to become famous.
Not to get an incredible story.
But so that a story left hanging for twenty-three years could finally have an ending.
Raka closed Damar's book.
Outside the shed, the wind blew softly.
The leaves stirred.
Bukit Arunika was visible through a gap in the trees.
And for the first time, Raka felt that their journey wasn't only about chasing their own dreams.
Sometimes, while chasing our dreams, we find someone else's dream that stopped halfway along the road.
And maybe their job wasn't to continue that person's journey.
Maybe their job was simply to make sure the story wasn't forgotten.
Raka gripped the bracelet Bima had given him.
He smiled faintly.
"Tomorrow," he said.
Naya turned.
"Tomorrow what?"
Raka looked toward Bukit Arunika.
"We'll find out what really happened."
This time, no one argued.
Because they knew their next journey would take them farther than before.
And perhaps closer to the answers Arunika had kept hidden all this time.