The next day \u2013 for of course there is always a next day, even after dying on one\u2019s feet, and this next day is the real malice of time \u2013 Hans Castorp met Morgenstern.<\/p>\n
He did not meet him in a dramatic moment, not in a grand scene; he met him the way one meets people in hotels: in the corridor, between doors, between program items.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern was carrying a backpack, and beside him walked two children who were arguing, not loudly, but with that intensity children possess when they are negotiating something important: who may press first, who may run first, who may live first.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern\u2019s wife walked beside them, calm, but not tired.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp saw how Morgenstern \u2013 quite naturally \u2013 took a step so that he was between child and wife, not as a shield, but as part of the team. Partnership as a way of walking.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern saw Hans, and in his face there was a brief start, as if Hans\u2019s return were a reminder that circles really do close.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern looked at Hans\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ring?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp raised his hand.<\/p>\n
The ring was no longer on his finger.<\/p>\n
Only the pale imprint was there, a thin circle on skin.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have\u2026\u201d he began.<\/p>\n
\u201cI took it off,\u201d said Hans.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern nodded, and in this nod there was something that was like respect \u2013 not the big, moral word, but the small, practical recognition: someone has done something hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also took something off,\u201d said Morgenstern.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d asked Hans.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern hesitated a moment, looked at his children, at his wife, and then said, softly, as if it were a confession:<\/p>\n
\u201cA leech,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern smiled briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt bit,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2026\u201d He searched for a word that is not pathetic, and found it, as people find it who think slowly: \u201c\u2026helped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp nodded.<\/p>\n
He thought: That is System 2. Not the big thinking. The small acting.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp hesitated.<\/p>\n
He thought of Gustav.<\/p>\n
He thought of Kautsonik.<\/p>\n
He thought of the writing on the wall.<\/p>\n
He said, because it was the only thing that was not a lie:<\/p>\n
\u201cI am going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere to?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDown,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Morgenstern looked at him, for a long time, and in his gaze there was an understanding that does not come from concepts, but from fear and love.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoy to the one who goes,\u201d said Morgenstern softly.<\/p>\n
Hans Castorp nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said. \u201cJoy to the one who goes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not know whether it was joy.<\/p>\n
But he knew that it was movement.<\/p>\n