...A glass room， filled with golden fog； shelves of glass， colored bottles， jars， electric wires， bluish sparks in tubes； and a male Number—a very thin flattened man. He might have been cut out of a sheet of paper. Wherever he was， whichever way he turned， he showed only a profile， a sharply pointed， glittering blade of a nose， and lips like scissors.
I could not hear what I-330 told him. I merely saw her lips when she was talking， and I felt that I was smiling， irrepressibly， blissfully. The scissors-like lips glittered and the doctor said， "Yes， yes， I see. A most dangerous disease. I know of nothing more dangerous." And he laughed. With his thin， flat， papery hand he wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to I-330； he wrote on another piece of paper and handed it over to me. He had given us certificates， testifying that we were ill， that we were unable to go to work. Thus I stole my work from the United State； I was a thief； I deserved to be put beneath the Machine of the Well-Doer. Yet I was indifferent to this thought； it was as distant from me as though it were written in a novel. I took the certificate without an instant"s hesitation. I， all my being， my eyes， my lips， my hands， knew it was as it should be.
At the corner， from a half-empty garage， we took an aero. I-330 took the wheel as she had done before， pressed the starter， and we tore away from the earth. We soared. Behind us the golden haze， the sun. The thin， blade-like profile of the doctor seemed to me suddenly so dear， so beloved. Formerly I knew everything revolves around the sun. Now I knew everything was revolving around me. Slowly， blissfully， with half-closed eyes....
At the gate of the Ancient House we found the same old woman. What a dear mouth， with lips grown together and raylike wrinkles around it！ Probably those lips have remained grown together all these days； but now they parted and smiled.
"Ah！ you mischievous girl， you！ Work is too much for you？ Well， all right， all right. If anything happens， I"ll run up and warn you. "
A heavy， squeaky， opaque door. It closed behind us， and at once my heart， opened painfully， widely， still wider.... My lips ...hers....I drank and drank from them. I tore myself away； in silence I looked into her widely open eyes， and then again....
The room in half dusk....Blue and saffron-yellow lights， dark green morocco leather， the golden smile of Buddha， a wide mahogany bed， a glimmer of mirrors ....And my dream of a few days before became so comprehensible， so clear to me； everything seemed saturated with the golden prime juice of life， and it seemed that I was overflowing with it—one second more and it would splash out....Like iron ore to a lodestone， in sweet submission to the precise and unchangeable law， inevitably， I clung to her.... There was no pink check， no counting， no United State； I was myself no more. Only， drawn together， the tenderly sharp teeth were there， only her golden， widely open eyes， and through them I saw deeper within....And silence...Only somewhere in a corner， thousands of miles away it seemed， drops of water were dripping from the faucet of the washstand. I was the Universe！ ...And between drops whole epochs， eras， were elapsing....
I put on my unif and bent over I-330 to draw her into me with my eyes—for the last time.
"I knew it....I knew you，" said I-330 in a very low voice. She passed her hand over her face as though brushing something away； then she arose brusquely， put on her unif and her usual sharp， bite-like smile.
"Well， my fallen angel， you perished just now， do you know that？ No？ You are not afraid？ Well， au revoir. You shall go home alone. Well？"
She opened the mirror door of the cupboard and， looking at me over her shoulder， she waited. I left the room obediently. Yet no sooner had I left the room than I felt it was urgent that she touch me with her shoulder— only for one second with her shoulder， nothing more. I ran back into the room， where， I presumed， she was standing before the mirror， busily buttoning up her unif； I rushed in， and stopped abruptly. I saw—I remember it clearly—I saw the key in the keyhole of the closet， and the ancient ring upon it was still swinging， but I-330 was not there. She could not have left the room as there was but one exit....Yet I-330 was not there！ I looked around everywhere. I even opened the cupboard and felt of the different ancient dresses， nobody....
I feel somewhat ridiculous， my dear planetary readers， relating to you this most improbable adventure. But what else can I do since it all happened exactly as I relate it？ Was not the whole day， from early morning， full of improbable adventures？ Does it not all resemble the ancient disease of dream seeing？ If this be so， what does it matter if I relate one absurdity more， or one less？ Moreover， I am convinced that sooner or later I shall be able to include all these absurdities in some kind of logical sequence. This thought comforts me as I hope it will comfort you.
... How overwhelmed I am！ If only you knew how overwhelmed！
