252
VLADIMIR DUDINTSEV
nearest tree. I could distinctly see a shaggy ear and an unfurled
wing. The owl was as tall as I!
The doctor was busy. For a long time I sat near the white
door of his office and could hear someone inside pacing up and
down with rapid, regular steps. At last, the door swung open
and myoid school friend appeared in a white gown and a
white cap pulled down over his brow. He looked thin and pale
from too much night work.
"How goes it?" someone shouted.
"Still the same!" the doctor cried, his face twitching
nervously. He did not see me. "Again no result!"
I stood up. The doctor slowly became conscious of his sur–
roundings. He noticed and recognized me, then held out his
hand.
"If
it's a social call, you're out of luck!"
"It isn't."
"Well then, let me examine you." He took my hand and
looked at the tips of my fingers. "How old are you?"
"Thirty ..."
"I forgot that we are contemporaries.... What's worrying
you? Is anyone persecuting you?"
"If
you only knew who it is! A very odd fellow. You'll
laugh when I tell you."
"I know him. Would you like me to show you? Come in
here...."
He took me into his office and made me look out of the
window.
"My owl!" I whispered. There it was outside.
"Not your owl alone!" the doctor explained. "Mine too.
Let me see your hands again. Yes, yes . . ."
He moved to his desk and turned his back on me for a
while. Then he turned around.
"Sooner or later, you'll find out about it. You might as
well know sooner: you have only a year to live."
The floor suddenly collapsed under me. I would have
