THE LAGOON by JOSEPH CONRAD

In this haunting tale of "impulsive betrayal and permanent remorse", a white traveler known only as Tuan journeys through the dense, tropical waterways of the Malay Archipelago. He stops for the night at the isolated jungle clearing of an old friend, Arsat, only to find the man in the throes of a double tragedy. Arsat’s beloved, Diamelen, lies dying of a fever, and her impending end forces Arsat to confess the dark secret of how they came to be there.

By the flickering light of a fire, Arsat recounts a harrowing escape from years prior: how he and his brother kidnapped Diamelen from a powerful Rajah. When their pursuers closed in, Arsat’s brother stayed behind to hold them off, sacrificing himself so the lovers could reach their canoe. In a moment of fatal choice, Arsat pushed off into the water, ignoring his brother’s desperate cries for help in order to save himself and his love. As the sun rises and Diamelen breathes her last, Arsat is left in a "world of illusion", finally resolving to return to the river to avenge his brother and face his own destiny.