Suddenly I clearly realized how empty I was, how I had given away.⁠ ⁠… No, I could not⁠—impossible! I knew I must⁠ ⁠… but no⁠—impossible! I ought⁠ ⁠… but no⁠—impossible! My lips cooled at once. The rosy crescent trembled, darkened, drew together. O-90 covered herself with the bedspread, her face hidden in the pillow.

I was sitting near the bed, on the floor. What a desperately cold floor! I sat there in silence. The terrible cold from the floor rose higher and higher. There in the blue, silent space among the planets, there probably it is as cold.

“Please understand, dear; I did not mean⁠ ⁠…” I muttered, “With all my heart, I⁠ ⁠…”

It was the truth. I, my real self did not mean.⁠—⁠ ⁠… Yet how could I express it in words? How could I explain to her that the piece of iron did not want to.⁠ ⁠… But that the law is precise, inevitable!