Bima stood in front of Arga's old house, gazing at the road as darkness began to fall. After reading the message Farel had received, the atmosphere, already full of questions, became even more tense.
Someone was watching them.
Someone knew Bima had begun uncovering the secret that had been hidden all this time.
“We have to leave now,” Mr. Surya said once again.
Bima put Arga's letter in his bag.
“But where exactly are we supposed to go?”
Mr. Surya looked toward the road.
“To the place where that mango tree used to stand.”
Dika sighed.
“The problem is, the tree is gone.”
Mr. Surya nodded.
“That’s what makes the place safe.”
Rani looked confused.
“I don’t understand.”
Mr. Surya explained calmly.
“People searching for something usually look for places that still have some kind of marker. They’ll search for buildings, rooms, or objects that can still be found.”
“But the tree is gone,” Bima said.
“Exactly.”
Bima fell silent.
He was beginning to understand how Arga thought.
Arga had always liked making things impossible to predict.
Back when they played hide-and-seek, Arga always chose places no one else would ever think of.
Not because he wanted to win.
But because he had always thought differently.
“Arga’s still the same,” Bima murmured.
Rani looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“He always hides things in unusual ways.”
Dika smiled faintly.
“Looks like your childhood friend really is a pain.”
Bima laughed softly.
“Yeah. Sometimes he’s annoying.”
“But you’re still looking for him.”
Bima fell silent.
Then he nodded.
“Yeah.”
They finally left Arga’s old house.
Mr. Surya asked them to take a different route so they wouldn’t be easy to follow. They walked through a narrow alley toward the area where Bima and Arga used to play.
The closer they got to the location, the more memories came rushing back.
Bima saw a small field.
He and Arga used to play soccer there until the sun was almost down.
He saw a small food stall.
They used to buy cold drinks there after playing.
Even a wall covered in graffiti was still standing.
Bima stopped for a moment.
“I didn’t expect everything to still be here.”
Mr. Surya looked around.
“Memories often last longer than we think.”
Bima smiled faintly.
The words felt like something Arga had once said.
They finally reached the place where the mango tree used to stand.
Now, it was nothing more than an empty patch of ground between two old houses.
There were no signs of anything.
No tree.
Nothing that looked suspicious.
Dika looked around.
“If I were a bad guy, I wouldn’t find anything here either.”
Bima walked slowly.
He tried to remember.
“Arga said something that time.”
“What?” Rani asked.
Bima closed his eyes.
“He said this place always reminded him of home.”
Mr. Surya watched Bima.
“And?”
“He also said that something important doesn’t always have to be visible.”
Bima began walking around the empty patch of ground.
His hands brushed over several places in the dirt.
There was nothing.
Dika joined in.
“Is it possible we’re wrong?”
Bima shook his head.
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. I know Arga.”
Rani smiled.
“You still trust him.”
Bima stared at the ground in front of him.
“After all this, I trust him even more.”
Several minutes passed.
Suddenly, Bima stopped.
“That’s strange.”
“What?” Farel asked.
“That tree used to be huge.”
“Yeah.”
“If it was cut down, there should still be traces of the roots.”
They all looked at the ground.
Bima began clearing away the weeds with his hands.
Before long, he found a patch of dirt that looked different.
A small circle was covered with soil.
“Here.”
They immediately moved closer.
Mr. Surya looked startled.
“You found it.”
Dika smiled proudly.
“Bima really is stubborn.”
Bima looked at him.
“Is that a compliment or an insult?”
“Both.”
They cleared away the dirt around it.
A small metal box lay buried underneath.
Bima picked it up.
His heart began pounding again.
But before he could open the box, they heard footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Someone stood at the end of the road.
Bima saw his face.
He knew that man.
The one who had been sending warnings from the beginning.
The one who had followed them.
“Who are you?” Bima asked.
The man didn’t answer.
He only looked at the box in Bima’s hand.
“You should’ve stopped searching.”
Dika immediately stepped in front of Bima.
“And you should’ve stopped bothering us.”
The man smiled thinly.
“You have no idea what you’re opening.”
Bima took one step forward.
“I’ve already lost my old friend for years because of this secret.”
The man’s expression changed.
“Arga didn’t leave because of that secret.”
Bima fell silent.
“Then why?”
The man looked at the box.
“Because he wanted to save you from the truth.”
“What truth?”
But the man didn’t answer.
He turned and began walking away.
“Wait!”
Bima chased after him for several steps.
“Who are you?”
The man stopped.
Without turning around, he said,
“My name is Galang.”
Bima fell silent.
The name was unfamiliar.
But Farel’s reaction changed everything.
Farel had gone pale.
Bima turned toward him.
“You know him?”
Farel didn’t answer.
“Farel?”
At last, Farel spoke quietly.
“Galang is the reason Arga left.”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Bima stared at Galang as he grew farther away.
“So he’s the person everyone’s been looking for?”
Farel nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Why is he still here?”
No one answered.
Bima looked down at the metal box in his hand.
He knew the contents might provide an answer.
Slowly, he opened the lid.
Inside was a small flash drive and a sheet of paper.
Bima picked up the paper.
Arga’s handwriting appeared once again.
“Bim, if you’ve found this, it means you’ve already met Galang.”
Bima read on.
“I know you’ll be angry. I know you’ll feel like I hid too much from you.”
His hands began to tremble.
“But there’s one thing you need to know.”
Bima held his breath.
“Galang isn’t just someone from my past.”
He turned the page.
The next sentence left everyone speechless.
“Galang is the person who forced me to choose between keeping my promise to you and leaving you for a while.”
Bima stared at the writing.
For the first time, he felt that the answer he had been searching for was finally within reach.
But at the same time, he realized that the truth about Arga might be far more complicated than he had ever imagined.