"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 searched for a future alone in the city.
"I applied for many jobs, but nobody hired me. Perhaps nobody liked someone who wasn't good with words, disliked communicating, and hadn't shown enough ability.
"Over three whole days, I ate only two loaves of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Fortunately, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of enduring the unusually bitter winter wind outside.
"Finally, I found a job keeping watch at a hospital at night-keeping watch over the morgue.
"The hospital at night was colder 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, dead people arrived in body bags, and we helped 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, few people wanted to visit 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 saw no hope of saving any.
"I had my former colleague to thank. If he hadn't suddenly quit, I might not have gotten even a job like this.
"I dreamed of being able to rotate onto the day shift. Always sleeping when the sun rose and getting up after nightfall