Summary

Mitchell, a young college student, spends two weeks fasting in a small island off Thailand, to starve the amoeba in his stomach. Mitchell is accompanied by his friend Larry, who occasionally visits his cot. Mitchell lies down with his swimming trunks over his eyes, reminiscing about his trip to the East and letters he wrote his parents. The short story’s structure moves from scenes inside the cot as Mitchell is fasting, letters that he wrote his parents, and his philosophical musings on Buddhism.

Larry visits Mitchell in his cot and persuades him to eat an egg to hold him over during the fast. This makes Mitchell’s diarrhea worse and prolonged his fast for two weeks. A German tourist, who is also ill with an amoebic dysentery, accompanies Mitchell during this time, and she visits the hole on occasion to relieve herself...