Baboe Dalima; or, The Opium Fiend

The story opens on a fierce February night along Java’s northern coast, where a howling storm tosses phosphorescent waves against a tangled mangrove forest. Amid the roaring sea and a maze of knotted roots, a solitary hut—built on sturdy piles and hidden among strange “Saoe” trees—clings to the marsh. Inside, two Chinese men argue in rising voices, their words swallowed by the wind as they keep watch over a lonely stretch of shoreline.

Beyond the storm‑riddled setting, the narrative follows a native youth who becomes entangled with the dark allure of opium that drifts through the region. As the first act unfolds, he encounters the hut’s enigmatic occupants and the perilous undercurrents of a trade that promises escape but threatens ruin. Listeners are drawn into a vivid, atmospheric world where the natural fury of the coast mirrors the inner turmoil of those haunted by addiction.