On all sides is the sea

October 28, 2023 5:19 PM

I keep expecting the killing to begin. Will it be when I get undressed and enter the water, as I am sucked into a whirlpool? Or now, as I swim around the bend, to see the spectacle of the mountain’s water barreling down? Or will it happen with the next nervous return swim, to see that waterfall just one more time, to be drawn into its power, the thrilling proximity? Because what keeps me swimming back and forth in this vathra to the dangerous waterfall is the exhilaration, like a flirtation. Yes—with each return—I feel foolhardy, but also brave, before the crush of the mountain pool. from The Island That Eats People
posted by chavenet (6 comments total)

That was lovely.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:12 PM on October 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

And then the murders began.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:13 PM on October 28, 2023 [1 favorite]

Just beautiful, and I hadn't heard of the author or the New England Review before, so thank you for this!
posted by drinkyclown at 7:58 PM on October 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

This was a beautiful read.
posted by PussKillian at 7:44 AM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]

This was not what I was expecting, it was much better.
posted by sepviva at 8:13 AM on October 29, 2023 [3 favorites]

Somewhat akin to the current NHK World documentary "The Devilʻs Gorge."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnGM4Qtd08Y
posted by Droll Lord at 2:09 PM on October 29, 2023 [1 favorite]