The Beach

Richard, Jed, Keaty, Étienne, and Françoise all eventually get to go home. They take the raft, and Richard isn’t much help in his weakened state. Eventually, a fishing boat finds them and takes them to Ko Samui. No one seems particularly worried about who they are or why they’re on a raft.

In Ko Samui, no one has money, but Keaty and Richard sell watches, and Étienne steals a wallet. They all make it to Bangkok, then call home from a phone booth on Khao San Road, many of them crying. Within 72 hours, they all have airline tickets and replacement passports from their respective embassies.

Now, Richard is sitting at a computer writing all this down. He never saw Étienne or Françoise again but hopes he might one day. Meanwhile, he sees Keaty and Jed more often. Keaty and Jed see each other even more frequently, since it turns out they work in the same building at different firms. They fantasize about burning the place down one day.

Three months ago, Richard saw on the news that Cassie was arrested for attempting smuggle drugs in Malaysia. She is going to be executed for trying to take a pound of heroin through the airport. Her parents appeared on TV asking for mercy, but Richard knew she was done for. Since Cassie apparently got off the island, Richard wonders about Gregorio, Jesse, Unhygienix, and Ella. He hopes they all managed to escape. Richard also likes imagining that Bugs died and that Sal died with him, but only because he’s afraid they’ll show up at his doorstep one day.

Richard still has bad dreams, but he doesn’t see Daffy anymore. He has a lot of scars but plays video games and smokes dope to forget them. He likes the idea of carrying a lot of scars.