In late October 2010, Mount Merapi — one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes — erupted with devastating force. Located near Yogyakarta in central Java, the eruption sent towering plumes of ash into the sky and pyroclastic flows racing down its slopes, destroying everything in their path. Entire villages were buried under volcanic debris, and over 350 people lost their lives. Thousands were forced to evacuate, many leaving behind homes, animals, and ancestral lands. The sky turned grey for days. Merapi’s fury was not unexpected — its name means “Fire Mountain” — but the scale of the eruption reshaped both the landscape and the collective memory of those who lived in its shadow.