Chapter 2 — 3919, 1919, 3939 (Dim Moon in the Sky)

The sun rose. The 25-gram stolen gold lay forgotten on the floor. Warm water was poured into a glass. The clinking of a spoon dissolved the candlenut. Bulan prepared rice and medicine beside her mother. Her mother was paralyzed, unable to walk or speak.

‘Mom, eat your rice and take your medicine. I’m heading to my internship.’ Bulan’s hands made signs.

‘Aren’t you tired, Bulan?’ Her mother’s hand moved slowly on the mattress, a faint smile framing her pale face.

‘Don’t worry, Mom.’

Bulan took the gold and shouldered her bag. She locked her room tightly. She descended the boarding house stairs, walked to the GOR terminal, stood holding the handle of the Sarbagita bus, and got off at the bus stop sign in front of BI.

‘Igniting the light of hope for Indonesia’s golden generation,’ read the BRI billboard Bulan passed.

The padlock was opened; the iron door was pulled up. The pawnshop was filled with the smell of cockroaches. The staff and interns entered. The appraiser looked for candlenuts to rub the stones, the cashier organized the money, and the interns messaged customers.

“Have you seen the candlenuts, Lan?” Feri asked. The appraiser had lost the candlenuts in his drawer.

Bulan didn't answer. The intern turned on the EDC machine. When it failed to start, she tapped the EDC loudly on the desk.

“Good grief,” Feri rubbed his head, getting a headache from trying to talk to Bulan.

“What did you lose, Fer?” Angkasa asked in his deep voice. The branch manager entered the hallway, set down his bag, and grabbed a bottle of water from the pantry.

“The candlenuts are gone, Sir... I think someone stole them.”

“Who would steal from here, Fer?” Ratna piped up.

“Someone, Rat... surely a rat ate the candlenuts,” Feri replied.

Bulan’s movements halted at those words. Her sunken eyes stared at her shirt pocket. Brown grit stained it. Bulan continued tapping the EDC hard. Feri ruffled his hair. The EDC flickered on, and Bulan went to the pantry.

“Komang, please buy some candlenuts for Feri and a lunch box for me.” Angkasa handed a red banknote to the security guard who was cleaning the shelves. The guard quickly went to the Madura shop next door.

Thud!

Angkasa turned as the fridge door hit the wall. Bulan was taking a large amount of Beng-Beng snacks. Angkasa stopped mid-sip, the cold bottle gripped in his hand, watching Bulan eat as if possessed.

“When you’re interning... who watches your mother at the boarding house?”

“The landlady.”

“Is that so?”

Angkasa received no further answer as the guard placed a black plastic bag on the table.

“Take care of your health, don't overwork yourself.”

The bag was pushed toward Bulan. Angkasa went to the service booth. Bulan stopped chewing her Beng-Beng. Her eyes stared at the lunch box in the black plastic bag.

“Aaaa!” Feri screamed from the service booth, startling everyone. “I knew it was a rat eating the candlenuts!”

“Komang, kill the rat! I’m afraid of rats!”

“Calm down, Ratna.”

A rat scurried out of the cabinet, jumped onto Feri’s shoe, then fled toward the cashier's desk. Ratna jumped onto her chair. Komang searched for the rat with a broom. The rat played peek-a-boo as it passed by; Komang and Feri shrieked in unison.

“I’m scared too, okay,” Komang grinned awkwardly, making Angkasa approach the rat as it sprinted toward the micro team booth.

The rat hid in the gap between the wall and the phone desk. The interns noisily pushed the desk, pinning the rat. As the phone rang, Bulan went to the micro team booth and picked it up, completely indifferent to the rat.

“What is your pawn letter number, Ma'am?”

“3919, 1919, 3939. Please take a photo of them, Dear... and the 25-gram gold left on the chair. It’s a gift for the Branch Manager, Mr. Angkasa, for helping me.”

Bulan wrote on a piece of paper. “I will find them and send the photos via WhatsApp in a moment, Ma'am.”

The call ended. Bulan ducked down and picked up the trapped rat. Her hand held the creature. Everyone’s faces were filled with disgusted horror. Angkasa took the rat from Bulan’s hand and released it on the street.

“Aw, Sir... why didn't you kill it?”

“Poor thing. It already lives on the street and yet people want to kill it... it’s not them that should be killed, but the environment that should be cleaned.”

“Wow, you truly are a man of noble character, Sir.” Feri smiled at his manager.

They returned to the service booth while Bulan was busy with the phone and pawn letters. Suddenly, the Area Team arrived at the branch. The staff and interns frowned as the documents in Angkasa’s booth were seized.

“Wait, why are the pawn letters being taken? Those are important,” Feri tried to hold back Angkasa’s stack of files.

“Sir, come with us.” The Area Team approached Angkasa.

Angkasa’s eyes flashed with exhaustion. “Why are my files being seized? I haven't done anything wrong.”

“Sir, come with us.”

Angkasa remained standing. The Area Team had no choice but to pull him along. Bulan left the phone, the recording still running in the service booth, walked into the hallway, and the gold came out of her bag.

“I was the one who took it, not Mr. Angkasa.” Bulan handed the gold to the Area Team, making all the staff gasp.

The Area Team quickly secured the gold. Angkasa’s breath hitched as he watched Bulan being taken out of the branch by the team. The clock struck eight; the door opened quickly, and Angkasa ran after them.

“Interns are under the branch manager. I am responsible for them.”

The sun shone brightly in the blue sky. Angkasa stopped them. Slowly, Bulan turned, looking dazed.

☾ ☾ ☾

A narrow room with one desk and chair. Files and a laptop sat perfectly together. Bulan was questioned by the Area Team.

“Bulan, were you told by your branch manager to take that gratification?”

“It has nothing to do with Mr. Angkasa. I didn't know what was in the box at first. I took it and I have returned it.... Someone called, asking for photos of pawn letters 3919, 1919, and 3939. I checked, and all three are from different customers. I called back, but the line was busy. You can track the number.”

Bulan handed over the note she had taken. The Area Team read the number on the paper and immediately contacted someone. Meanwhile, in a different room, Angkasa was still being questioned by other team members.

“25 grams of gold left on the chair, a gift for Branch Manager Mr. Angkasa for helping me....” The Area Team played the recording of the branch phone. “Isn't that gratification?”

“I didn't receive anything. From the CCTV, the person who left it wasn't a customer....” Angkasa pointed to the CCTV footage on the laptop. “Yesterday, he sat in the waiting room at the end of the day, wearing a mask, and intentionally left the box. We thought it was empty. Bulan took it when the branch closed and it has been returned.”

Time dragged on as the sun set. The clock on the wall kept ticking. Angkasa’s weary eyes met Bulan’s as she left the room. Found innocent, Bulan returned to the branch to continue her internship, while Angkasa took the elevator to continue working.

“How are you, Brother-in-law?” Bara greeted him. The business deputy smiled at Angkasa in the elevator.

“I’m fine.”

“Watch your branch’s NPL, Brother... so it doesn't get flagged by headquarters.” Bara smiled. The cousin of Angkasa’s ex-wife made Angkasa lose his smile.

The elevator doors opened; they parted ways. Angkasa went to the regional leader’s office while Bara grabbed his bag from his office. The business deputy headed home. A black car pulled out of the parking lot. Bara headed toward his niece’s boarding house.

☾ ☾ ☾

The sky had already turned pitch black as Bulan’s pace slowed on the sidewalk. Earphones were plugged into her ears; her phone screen showed 10:00 PM. The recording from the service booth played repeatedly.

“Interns like her are really scary,” Feri’s voice said.

“Turns out she’s a secret thief,” Ratna added.

“Where... have you been?” The deep vibration reached her ears, making Bulan’s dirty shoes stop.

Bulan took off her earphones and turned around, facing Angkasa’s worn shoes. The man was carrying two bags of hot capcay in a black plastic bag in front of a busy Chinese food stall. The lights dimmed under the faint moonlight.

“Where have you been?” Angkasa asked again.

Bulan paused. “Working... part-time.”

They walked further. One turn after another, uphill. The streetlights thinned into the darkness. The worn shoes stepped quickly, ahead of the dirty shoes. Cold seeped through the coat and the dirty jacket. A boarding house came into view.

“Thank... you,” his deep voice trailed off wearily.

Angkasa adjusted his bag and continued walking straight, while Bulan turned into the slum alley. Music thundered; the smell of urine stung the nose. Bulan entered the boarding house, climbed the stairs, and opened the door.

“Just getting home?”

Bulan placed her bag and the black plastic on the table. The rice cooker was plugged in; the pot contained boiling water. A coffee sachet was torn, poured into a glass. The clink of a spoon stirred the coffee with hot water.

“Your mother said your branch manager is a good man.”

Bulan stopped mid-sip upon hearing Bara’s words. Her uncle showed her a piece of paper written by her mother. Her mother was fast asleep on the thin mattress.

‘Bulan has a good branch manager... he helped Bulan when her brother was sick, Bara,’ the paper read.

“How far has Angkasa helped you, Bulan?”

“The pawnshop.”

“How did he help?”

“Cross-selling.” Bulan continued sipping her coffee while uploading her logbook—an internship assignment—via her phone.

Bara stood up from his chair and slid some money toward Bulan. “You haven't paid the rent yet, have you?”

Bulan didn't answer.

“No wonder your father begged to put you through school. At nineteen, you’re already interning at a good place. It turns out you really are this smart... Your silence is like a tactic.” Bara smiled.

Bulan continued drinking her coffee, indifferent.

Bara approached the door. “Just get your branch manager to drive you home. Later, I’ll have someone take a photo from behind. Just a rumor of a branch manager driving an intern. That’s it, nothing more.”

The crescent moon glowed among the dim stars. Bara’s car left the corner of the alley. Bulan stared at the table, which held a stack of cash.

☾ ☾ ☾

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