"Please look more gay. Don't show your trumps right away, or you may lose."
They evidently considered themselves men rich in soul and that I was a beggar compared to them. They did not hurry to quench my hungry heart with their wisdom. I became angry and wanted to quarrel, but I could find no reason; and that angered me still more. I asked at random:
"What do you mean by an empty man?"
The uncle answered: "A man who can fill up with anything you wish."
Suddenly Mikhail went up quietly to me and said, in a soft voice:
"You believe in God?"
"Yes."
But I became confused at my answer. It was not true. Did I really believe?
Mikhail asked again:
"And you respect people?"