"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 education. I was alone in the city, searching for a future.
"I applied for plenty of jobs, but no one hired me. Maybe nobody liked someone who wasn't good with words, didn't enjoy 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'd paid a month's rent in advance, so I could keep living in that dark basement instead of going outside to face the bitterly cold winter wind.
"Finally, I found a job keeping watch at a hospital at night-keeping watch 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.
"The smell there was awful. Every so often, someone dead would arrive in 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, 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 for now, I couldn't see any hope of saving any.
"I had to thank my former colleague. If he hadn't suddenly quit, I might not have managed to get even a job like this.
"I dreamed of being able to rotate onto the day shift. Always going