Machado de Assis 
The Lapse [EPUB ebook] 

In ‘The Lapse’ by Machado de Assis, a group of desperate creditors consult Dr. Jeremias, a Dutch physician, about the behavior of a debtor, Tomé Gonçalves, who seems to have forgotten the notion of paying his debts. Jeremias diagnoses Tomé with a condition called ‘memory lapse’ and reveals that there is a cure. The story explores the tension between creditors and debtors and the ironies of the human condition.