"I was a failure. I hardly ever noticed whether the sun was shining, because I had no time.
"My parents couldn't support me, and I didn't have much of an education. I was alone in the city, searching for a future.
"I applied for plenty of jobs, but nobody hired me. Maybe no one liked someone who wasn't good at talking, didn't enjoy socializing, and hadn't demonstrated enough ability.
"For three whole days, I ate only two pieces of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I'd paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of enduring the unusually cold winter wind outside.
"At last, 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'd 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. Now and then, someone dead would be brought in, stuffed into a body bag, and we would help carry them into the morgue.
"It wasn't a very good job, but at least it let me afford bread. I could also use my free time at night to study. After all, hardly anyone 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 for now, I couldn't see any hope of saving any.
"I had my former colleague to thank. If he hadn't suddenly quit, I might not even have gotten a job like this.
"I dreamed of being able to rotate onto the day shift.