One and Neither

A nameless figure arrives unbidden at a far country’s department of immigration and declares himself a nonperson. He provides for officialdom no useful biography, and a complicated detainment ensues. Months before the man had resolved to spend down a modest windfall. The money allows him to leave one place for other points. Early on, he falls into acquaintance with someone whose assorted vexations and defeats have led to furtive dealings from home. When real trouble besets the woman, her life become more a shambles, other points quickly call. He fetches up on a tiny island, the spot now uninhabited but where relations once ran a business. Efforts go towards resurrecting the venture. Lack of foresight hinders then catastrophic weather intervenes. An unhappy result in the main. Soon a move further afield, to the far country of immigration detention and more spending down, until declaration of nonpersonhood, when everything must go not one part at a time but all in a single great heave.