"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 many jobs, but no one hired me. Maybe nobody liked someone who wasn't good with words, didn't like communicating, and hadn't shown enough ability.
"For three whole days, I ate only two pieces of bread. Hunger kept me awake at night. Luckily, I had paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of going outside to endure the unusually bitter winter wind.
"Finally, I found a job keeping watch at a hospital at night-watching over the morgue.
"The hospital at night was even colder 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.
"It smelled awful there. From time to time, dead people would be brought in, stuffed into body bags, 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. Always