Decades later, the kampong would trace it all back to this very hour, waves draining the light from this slim, hungry moon. Decades later, they would wonder what could have been had the Lees simply turned back, had some sickness come upon the father manning the outboard motor, or some screaming fit befallen the youngest, forcing them to abandon the day’s work and steer their small wooden craft home. Decades later, they would wonder if any difference could have been made at all.
-- Narrator (Chapter 1 paragraph N/A)

Importance: These words open the novel and also tie what is about to happen in with everything that will later come. Ah Boon and his brother and father are about to discover the disappearing islands. In many ways, this can be seen as a separate incident from the ones that lead Ah Boon to develop power and the people to leave the kampong. These words, however, tie...