Summary

"Counting Days"

Told in a series of passages broken up according to each day, “Counting Days” tells the story of Dantala’s imprisonment. He is lying in a room with other miserable, dirty people. Without any bathroom, he pees on himself and feels that he has failed Sheikh. Sale is also thrown into the cell. On Day 3, Dantala watches as a man confesses in hopes of being released. The prisoners discover that Sale has a crescent-shaped scar on his thigh suggesting that he was also a Mujahideen. On Days 4 and 5, Dantala watches a man named Samaila die.

On Day 6, he requests pen and paper. He is refused. On Day Ten, a soldier takes Dantala to the office. There he is questioned about his involvement with Malam Abdul-Nur. When Dantala protests that he does not know any...