"I was a failure. I hardly ever paid attention to whether the sun was shining, because I had no time.
"My parents couldn't support me, and I wasn't well educated. I was alone in the city, searching for a future.
"I applied for many jobs, but no one hired me. Perhaps no one liked someone who wasn't good with words, didn't enjoy communicating, and hadn't demonstrated sufficient ability.
"For three whole days, I ate only two pieces of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I had paid a month's rent in advance and could keep living in that dark basement instead of enduring the exceptionally cold winter winds outside.
"Finally, I found a job keeping watch at a hospital at night-keeping watch over the morgue.
"The hospital was even colder at night than I had imagined. The wall lamps in the corridors weren't lit, and everything was dim. I could only rely on the little light spilling out of the rooms to see where I was stepping.
"The smell there was awful. From time to time, a dead person would arrive stuffed into a body bag, and we would help carry him into the morgue.
"It wasn't a very good job, but at least it let me afford bread. I could also use my spare time at night to study. After all, few people wanted to come to the morgue unless a body needed to be delivered or taken away for cremation. Of course, I still didn't have enough money to buy books, and I couldn't see any hope of saving any for now.
"I had to thank my former colleague. If he hadn't suddenly left, I might not even have gotten a job like this.
"I dreamed of being able to rotate onto the day shift. Always