A NEW YEAR'S FABLE
249
containing my letter of reply to S., my enemy of long-standing,
on that very day when I left the editorial offices, my back sud–
denly warned me that I was the object of observation. I
glanced around, but failed to see anyone. Or, rather, when I
looked more carefully, I did notice in what was left of a house
which workers were demolishing-I did notice in a dark corner
a figure of sorts; but it vanished in an instant, disappearing
behind a wall.
That very day I was going to celebrate my thirtieth birth–
day. I intended to invite some friends to mark this festive oc–
casion. But now, as you can see, in broad daylight, an early
shadow fell upon me.
I went home and climbed upstairs to my floor. In the com–
munal room, where we all watched the TV set in the evenings,
my comrade, the smart dresser and practical joker, was waiting
for me.
"Well, shall we
go
on a binge today?" he asked.
"I don't feel so well," I replied. "We'll have to put it off."
"It's no good sulking on such a remarkable day. Thirty-
that's a man's best year!" Hereupon he presented me with a
florid necktie.
"Come, let's celebrate, eh? I'll get you loaded!" he
went on in a whisper. "I've been lucky enough to get hold of
some very rare wine!"
In the meantime, while talking to him, I had noticed a
strange woman sitting in the far corner. She must have been
expecting me for some time-I felt this
in
some strange way.
Then she got up, took a step towards me; and I became deaf
to what my comrade was saying. She was a woman of about
thirty, with decidedly sloping shoulders, and very beautiful.
Her beauty lay in the very individual and charming irregular–
ities of her face and figure and, particularly, in her frank
mournful eyes. This beauty was suddenly evidenced once again
in her subdued, gentle voice. I at once remembered that other
grain of gold dust which had long ago found its place
in
the
