![]() ![]() Rat agrees to hide the bag and he recognizes the key: it’s for a locker in Central Station. Rat, who is about 11 years old, lives by himself in a wet trash hole full of rats. Knowing that they could get in trouble for lying, Raphael and Gardo decide to hide the bag with a boy nicknamed Rat (whose real name is Jun-Jun, though people sometimes call him Jun). Raphael’s auntie foolishly tells them that Raphael found something, so Raphael lies, saying that he found a shoe. That evening, the police showed up at Behala (which rarely happens)-they’re looking for the bag. Raphael splits the money with Gardo and he pockets the bag. Inside the bag is 1,100 pesos, a map, a key labeled 101, and identification for a 33-year-old man named José Angelico who worked as a servant in a rich part of town called Green Hills. ![]() Raphael reflects on the day everything changed: it starts when Raphael finds a bag. Since not many people in their city have toilets, human feces-or, stupp-ends up wrapped in paper and thrown in the trash, which is what most of Behala’s residents spend their days wading in as they dig out garbage with their feet or hooks that they fashion out of metal. Behala’s residents mostly collect plastic, clean paper, and rags to sell by the kilogram. ![]() Raphael works with his best friend, Gardo, who looks after him. Raphael Fernández is a “ trash boy”: he’s 14 years old and he lives in a shanty on a giant landfill called Behala, spending his days collecting trash to sell for food. ![]()
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