One night, two mobile patrol cars and a police van stopped a few meters away from an old warehouse on the city limits.
Only a few bulbs were lit outside, while two men stood guard, busy smoking.
With the police were Michael and Ryan, both nervous and trembling. They knew it was dangerous, but they had no other choice. "There… that's where they're keeping Renzo and the other children," Michael pointed, whispering, barely able to look.
The operations chief nodded. "Troops, surround every corner and don't let anyone escape," he signaled with his hand where the police should position themselves.
The police moved silently. Two positioned themselves at the back, four on the sides, while the others slowly approached the front. A hand signal from the chief—and they simultaneously stormed the gate.
"POLICE! DON'T MOVE!"
The two guards were surprised, barely able to put up a fight, and were immediately handcuffed. Inside, several syndicate men started to run, but they were met by armed police.
Screams, the clatter of boxes, and the cries of children locked in a corner echoed. Michael immediately entered to help the children get out.
Michael's body almost collapsed when he saw the children's condition—their small bodies trembling, tired, and hungry. He bit his lip, barely able to look.
"Children, you're safe now. Hurry, let's go out," said a female police officer as she hugged two crying children. The children came out one by one, assisted by the female officer.
Michael became anxious when he didn't see Renzo in the group of children. "Renzo! Where are you?" Michael shouted. He immediately rushed out of the warehouse to ask Ryan if he had noticed Renzo leaving.
"Ryan, did you see Renzo?" Michael anxiously asked. "No, big brother, I haven't seen him yet," Ryan nervously replied.
He quickly approached the chief. "Sir, he's not here! It looks like he escaped before we got to them!" Michael's voice trembled.
The operation paused briefly. But before Michael could lose hope, a police officer shouted. "Sir! We got the leader! He's the one who was supposed to bring the children to a Chinese buyer—Mr. Chen is the name!"
A man, the one who sold Renzo, the syndicate leader, was dragged out. He struggled violently, but he had no way out. "Alright, put him in the mobile car," the chief firmly said, as the suspect was put into the mobile. All the police officers sighed in relief.
The children were saved, the perpetrators were caught. But Michael and Ryan were uneasy. Before the man who introduced himself as "Bong" was put inside, he saw Michael and Ryan.
He struggled, wanting to break free and go after the siblings.
"You scoundrels, I shouldn't have trusted you!" the man screamed at them like an enraged demon, desperately trying to get loose.
"Mr. Bong, please, where is our brother? Please let him out," the two pleaded. "Your brother is gone, he's dead, I killed him because he tried to escape!" he said hatefully.
"What did you say? This can't be," Michael completely knelt at the man's words. Mr. Bong was then put into the mobile.
A young boy approached him, the child he had talked to when he arrived at the warehouse. "Big brother, big brother... Renzo, he escaped the other night," the boy blurted out to him.
Michael had a glimmer of hope again upon hearing the child's words.
"The children are safe… but Renzo is outside, all alone."
Ryan whispered, almost in tears. "This isn't over," Michael replied, his voice firm. "Wherever he goes, we will find Renzo. We won't stop."
Despite the success of the operation, a greater challenge awaited: the renewed search for the missing boy, Renzo. But in their search, they couldn't find where Renzo was.
They went home with bitterness in their hearts and news that Aling Mirasol would not like. Renzo did not come home with them.
****
The surroundings were dark. The street lamp and the noise of the vehicles were their only companions on the streets for the small group of street children.
On their cardboard bed, Renzo and Julia shared a few pieces of bread and coins they had earned from begging. "Tomorrow, we should go out earlier so there will be more people. More coins too," Julia said while chewing her bread. Renzo smiled, feeling like he was slowly learning.
But before he could answer, three elderly vagrants suddenly arrived. They were filthy, big-bodied, and had intense gazes, like savage dogs spotting food.
"Well, well… kids, you have a lot of earnings today, huh," one said with a grim voice as he moved closer. Julia quickly covered their small can of coins. "This is ours! We worked hard for this!"
But one of the elders quickly kicked the can, and the coins clattered on the cement. "Brats! You have no right here. This street is ours!" another one shouted angrily as he snatched the bread they were holding.
Renzo stared blankly, his whole body trembling. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly, his chest felt hot and he immediately stood up, pushing the man to protect Julia. "Don't take from us! We're so hungry!" he cried out, almost in tears.
The elders just laughed. "If you want to survive here, you have to learn to obey us. Otherwise, you'll die of hunger," the man's voice was loud. The children rushed to pick up the fallen coins. Renzo almost crawled under the post to get a one-peso coin that rolled away.
But in an instant, one of the elders punched him in the shoulder, causing him to fall face-first onto the cement. "Renzo!" Julia shouted, immediately helping him up.
In the end, hardly anything was left for them—almost all the coins and bread were taken. The only thing left was a piece of bread that Julia quickly hid behind him before the exploiters finally left them.
Everyone was quiet. Anger and weakness were visible in the children's eyes. Renzo, holding his injured shoulder, was on the verge of tears. "It's always like this here," Julia's voice was soft, trying to calm Renzo. "If we want to survive... we need to be tougher."
"But you were brave, you protected me from them, thank you so much," Julia said with a smile, tapping his shoulder and winking.
A few hours passed, the group of children sat silently on their cardboard.
They had almost no food, and the few remaining coins were hidden in the can that Julia held.
Their eyes showed traces of exhaustion and fear after being robbed by the elderly vagrants. But Renzo, though still trembling from the pain in his shoulder, couldn't sleep. He stared at the moon in the sky and spoke softly,
"It can't be like this forever. We need to find a way." Julia turned. "What way? We don't have the strength against them." Julia said softly.
"We don't have to fight," Renzo replied, soft yet firm. "We just need to find another way to live. We shouldn't rely only on begging."
The children quieted down, listening. "What, we're going to beg for food from the garbage?" one interjected, clearly desperate.
"No. Maybe... maybe we can scavenge," Renzo answered. "Bottles, newspapers, cans. I saw earlier that trucks were collecting those. Maybe we can also collect and sell them," Renzo said enthusiastically.
Julia frowned, but slowly smiled. "Oh right… sometimes I see other kids carrying sacks of bottles. They said they sell them at the junk shop," Julia's voice also brightened.
"If we can save up, we can buy more than just food," Renzo added, with a spark of hope in his eyes. "We can buy more cardboard, or even a few things so we won't get cold at night."
The group fell silent, but a gradual brightening could be seen on each of their faces. It was as if for the first time, they had heard a plan that wasn't just begging.
"Renzo…" Julia said, looking at him. "You're young but… you're so brave. It's like you immediately know what to do." Julia said admiringly. Smiling.
Time suddenly stopped for Renzo because her smile seemed to melt his heart. Renzo shook his head. "I'm not brave. I'm just really hungry. I don't want to feel like we have nothing to eat." They all looked at each other, then nodded in unison.
"Oh, you're just pretending," she said, putting an arm around Renzo. Renzo's cheeks suddenly turned red and he looked down.
"Tomorrow," Julia said, "we'll start looking for bottles and cans. We'll do it together," she said firmly, hope visible on their faces.
And in the middle of the cold night, Renzo lay with his new friends. They were still hungry, still hurt, but carrying a small seed of hope—a hope brought by a simple plan that perhaps, somehow, they would have a better tomorrow than today.