The following morning was bright and humid with just a whiff of a breeze coming over the river. Claire climbed the companionway ladder and drifted halfway down the upper deck. Her thoughts were a turbid maze of confusion. Standing there, she eyed the tiny port of call that was rapidly approaching. It was teeming with boats motoring in and out over the dark waters. Men were loading and unloading cargo from the holds of vessels that had seen too many years in service. The high-pitched trebling of crakes flocking around the docks for the remains of fish filled the morning air.
This was Santo Antonio do Içá; their last stop before entering the forest. But for all that she had longed for this moment over the last three years, it fell short of her expectations. She thought about last night; abo
