The small boat moved slowly along the river, with impenetrable jungle on both sides.
The South Seas' rainy season had just ended.
The river was murky and still, like a dark brown mirror reflecting the drooping branches along both banks.
An occasional unknown waterbird skimmed across the surface.
Sending ripples spreading outward.
Only for them to be swallowed by silence moments later.
Besides the boatman, there were two other people on the boat.
One was a white man in his thirties, wearing a khaki shirt stained with sweat. An old leather bag hung from his waist, containing notes, a camera, and several rolls of film.
His name was Richard.
He was English.
He claimed to be a scholar studying South Seas folk customs.
The other was a few years younger, his skin darkened by the sun. Dressed in the short shirt and trousers common among locals in the South Seas, he lounged at the stern with a blade of grass between his teeth.
His name was Ah Wang.
He was the guide and interpreter Richard had hired locally.
"How much farther?"
Richard asked in the local South Seas dialect.
Ah Wang spat out the grass stem and pointed ahead. "Another three hours along this river, and we'll see the fishing village."
Richard nodded.
He took out his notes and scribbled down a few lines.
He had come to the South Seas this time to investigate the region's ancient sacrificial customs.
He had heard that in the countryside more than a hundred kilometers from Tanjung Sepat, there was an isolated fishing village that still preserved an extremely ancient ritual, held once each year after the rainy season ended.
He was very interested in such rituals.
The small boat continued onward.
The river grew narrower and narrower, while the jungle on either