It was a beautiful day. We were heading up river to go check out a village in a 32-foot outboard hot rod of a boat. The water was calm and the skipper was taking it easy, just trotting along. I was relaxing on the starboard side, my feet up, and my right hand dangling in the water. I couldn’t help but to think about the movie with Marlin Brando and Mr. Sheen. I reached over and scooped up some water with both of my hands and splashed it at my face. It felt good.

Then all of a sudden, just after a bend in the river, the skipper stops the boat and picked up his binoculars. He looked at something like a trio of brown beach balls. He sets his “eyes” down on a chair and gun the engine towards the three brown balls floating in the river. In no time we reached the brown balls and I realized the balls were once humans. The bodies bloated up like balloons because of the gases the bacteria had produced and the skin got tanned from being out in the sun. The three were obviously hanged. They ropes were still around their necks.

It was not only one of the most gruesome sights I’ve ever seen but I also realized then that my face, hair, and hands were still wet from the water.

Soured Water