Excerpt from the chapter A Small River Island
Abbas was a little distracted by what was going on in front of him, with the half-naked, wet bodies of the men and women glowing under the moonlight. It was a beautiful night, with a cool breeze coming from the river, which looked almost still, and everyone assembled there seemed to be having a good time, including the traveling prostitutes who were busy working with the men and seemed to be enjoying it too. For a moment, he had second thoughts about his mission and wondered why he was not there among them, having fun, instead of crouching in the bushes watching them like a loser.
He finally spotted Punnoose — his height and gangly build gave him away easily in the crowd. He was wearing only underwear, and Abbas saw him holding a half-clothed woman. He took her near the bushes where Abbas was crouching. Abbas thought he would be discovered, but the couple turned away from him, and he sighed in relief. The couple settled down not very far from Abbas. They lay on their backs, looking at the full moon. The woman started arousing Punnoose after lying there like that for several minutes. Soon both were passionately engaged in various sexual acts, with no urgency to stop. Watching from the shadows, Abbas knew this was the perfect time to move—when Punnoose was least aware, most exposed, and completely unguarded.
Abbas crawled closer to where they had been lying, the flashlight in one hand. He tried to recall where he had hidden the iron rod, in case he needed to retrieve it. He had no clear idea what he would do with Punnoose if he could get hold of him. He moved very close to them, still lying on his stomach on the soft dirt, covered with sparse brush. He was so close that he could have stood up and, in two or three steps, jumped on them where they lay on a bed of leaves and vines, still leisurely engaging in sex, taking brief breaks, with the privacy of not being seen by anyone outside their group, yet out in the open, well lit by the moonlight.