In the evening the sky above the lagoon was of that kind of red that is not friendly.<\/p>\n
There is, esteemed female reader, esteemed male reader, a difference between a red that adorns and a red that warns. This red was no adornment.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp sat in his room.<\/p>\n
He had pressed the day, as well as he could, into rituals: tea, tablets, steps \u2013 he was as if he were afraid that if he did not count, everything would fall apart.<\/p>\n
The ring had given him a little message in the evening:<\/p>\n
Activity: goal reached.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp looked at the number.<\/p>\n
He had taken more than ten thousand steps.<\/p>\n
He thought: I have been on the beach, I have walked through alleys, I have walked behind Gustav.<\/p>\n
Ten thousand steps, esteemed female reader, esteemed male reader, are sometimes nothing other than a circular movement around an abyss.<\/p>\n
He stood up, went to the window.<\/p>\n
The water outside was dark.<\/p>\n
And yet: in one place where the light of the sky fell into it, it shimmered red.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp thought of the morning, of the rosy jet from the tap. He thought of the hibiscus. He thought of the red stripe on the shore.<\/p>\n
He thought: The water has turned red because one stays too long.<\/p>\n
There was a knock.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp turned around.<\/p>\n
A voice \u2013 not Kautsonik, not that dry sun of the highlands; here everything was softer, more foreign \u2013 said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSignore Castorp?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp opened.<\/p>\n
A man stood there, in uniform, polite, with that polite rigidity that one finds in people who are supposed to give bad news in such a way that it does not disturb.<\/p>\n
\u201cSignore Gustav\u2026\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp felt his heart go into his chest.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The man cleared his throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is\u2026 unwell,\u201d he said, and you could tell that he had searched for the word in order to say nothing. \u201cDoctor\u2026 coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He went.<\/p>\n
The corridor was quiet. The carpets swallowed the steps. It smelled more strongly of disinfectant.<\/p>\n
In front of Gustav\u2019s door stood two people: a man, a woman, both in medical clothing that was so neutral that it looked like hotel. A doctor, a nursing staff \u2013 or a service that pretends to be medicine.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp entered.<\/p>\n
Gustav was lying in bed.<\/p>\n
He looked small.<\/p>\n
That is, esteemed female reader, esteemed male reader, one of the cruellest realizations: every person, even the creative one, even the one who holds the world with sentences, becomes a child again in bed.<\/p>\n
Gustav looked at Hans.<\/p>\n
He did not smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cI have stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gustav closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d he said softly. \u201cThat is your talent.\u201d<\/p>\n
The female doctor \u2013 or whoever she was \u2013 spoke of \u201cgastroenteritis\u201d, of \u201cfluid\u201d, of \u201cobservation\u201d. She spoke in that tone that simultaneously calms and disempowers.<\/p>\n
Gustav listened as if he were listening to music.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp heard only the word \u201cwater\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHas he\u2026?\u201d Hans began.<\/p>\n
The woman nodded barely noticeably.<\/p>\n
\u201cWater,\u201d she said again. \u201cWe recommend\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Recommendation.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp could have laughed.<\/p>\n
In that moment, if he had been malicious, he could have said: Life is a recommendation, and death is the implementation.<\/p>\n
He was not malicious. He was only tired.<\/p>\n
Gustav opened his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo,\u201d he said suddenly.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gustav smiled weakly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are stubborn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp was silent.<\/p>\n
Gustav looked to the side, where his notebook lay \u2013 on the bedside table, like a heart that has been put down.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp took the notebook, handed it to him.<\/p>\n
Gustav held it as if he were holding something warm.<\/p>\n
Then he said, without looking at Hans:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2026\u201d He faltered. \u201cIf I no longer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp felt his throat tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Gustav said:<\/p>\n
\u201cWrite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gustav nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can write,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just pretend that you cannot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI write values,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gustav laughed \u2013 a short, dry, exhausted sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cValues,\u201d he said. \u201cWrite sentences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp looked at the notebook.<\/p>\n
He saw the pages that Gustav had filled.<\/p>\n
He felt an envy that was at the same time admiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d he asked, and it sounded childlike.<\/p>\n
Gustav closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause someone has to stay,\u201d he said. \u201cNot in the hotel. In the sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp was silent.<\/p>\n
He sat down.<\/p>\n
He stayed.<\/p>\n