The world-devouring dragon

Anger burned in his eyes, and his temper suddenly erupted.

“There is no cure—what do they mean by that?”

Breathing heavily, he almost roared in front of Kubicek.

"It's not that the disease cannot be cured, but that the doctors are simply incapable of curing it. My mother is not old yet. Forty-seven is not an age of despair. But once these doctors are unable to do anything, they call it incurable."

His face was pale, his whole body was shaking with excitement, and his overly sharp eyes became more and more aggressive. His aura seemed to be questioning and bargaining with the God of Death.

Adolf's mother, Mrs. Clara, was not in good health and had often needed medical care a few years ago. She has become particularly ill in recent years. The family doctor of Adolf's family is Dr. Bloch, a Jewish doctor known as the "poor man's doctor". He is a very good and kind doctor, but even if he tries his best to save Mrs. Clara, it is difficult to save her.

Last month, Kubicek went to visit Mrs. Clara, and the scene at that time simply shocked him. Mrs. Clara lying on the bed was so skinny, and her hands were simply skin and bones, which was unbearable to look at.

Everyone could vaguely guess this, except Adolf who refused to admit it. He was a stubborn guy. He always believed that his mother could get better, but until this day...

"Can I help with anything..."

Looking at his friend who was venting his anger in front of him, Kubicek felt both heartache and pity, and couldn't help but say.

However, Adolf, who was venting his anger at this moment, did not hear what he said at all. It was not until he started pacing in the room that he seemed to calm down and suddenly said.

"I should stay in Linz and take care of the house for my mother."

"can you?"

Kubisik asked, knowing that his friend had always disdained these "trivial things." There was silence in the room, and then a voice rose.

"A man can do anything if necessary."

His words ended abruptly.

…

In the days that followed, Kubisik thought it was just a momentary impulse, but the friend who once dismissed trivial matters seemed to have really changed after that day. During a visit to Adolf's house, Kubicek even saw Adolf kneeling on the floor. He was wearing a blue apron and was cleaning the kitchen. It looked like it was almost done.

"Kubisik, look how capable Adolf is."

Mrs. Clara, who was lying on the bed, said to Kubicek and looked at Adolf with relief.

It is hard to believe that the person who once regarded housework as something intolerable is now actually taking care of every trivial matter at home.

In addition, he showed unprecedented meticulousness, carefully selecting his mother's favorite dishes every day, and cooking them even more deliciously than Mrs. Clara. Mrs. Clara had difficulty getting up, so he fed his mother small bites, with a gentle tone that Kubicek had never seen before.

That guy with rough language, no regard for other people's feelings, and aloofness was actually able to suppress his violent temper for the sake of his mother. This was something Kubicek had never imagined in the past. This made him realize that he seemed I still don’t really understand this only friend.

As if because of Adolf's behavior, Mrs. Clara's face became rosier, and she could even walk occasionally, but everyone could realize that that day was not far away...

The last time Kubicek saw Mrs. Clara was a few months later, on the evening of December 20, when she was sitting on the bed, with Adolf holding her shoulders in his hands to support her. Because if she sat up, the severe pain would be relieved.

After a simple greeting, Adolf motioned for Kubisek to leave, and Kubisek was prepared not to disturb the mother and son anymore.

"Gustav."

Then just before he was about to leave, Mrs. Clara, who was lying on the bed, suddenly waved to him. Instead of calling Mr. Kubicek, he called him Gustav like Adolf. For Mrs. Clara, this name has a special meaning because her eldest son who died young was named Gustav.

He walked to the bed, and Mrs. Clara asked Kubisek to lower his head, then stretched out her pale and skinny hand, held Kubisek's hand, and whispered in his ear.

"After I leave, continue to be good friends with my son...he has no other friends except you."

Inexplicable sadness lingered in Kubisik's heart. Adolf on the side lowered his head and said nothing. He bit his lower lip and responded softly.

"Um."

Mrs. Clara died in the early hours of the next day.

…

The funeral was scheduled for two days later on December 23, the eve of Christmas Eve. There were only a few acquaintances of Mrs. Clara's life and a few neighbors who came to attend the funeral. The number was so small that it was even desolate.

Yes, after all, Christmas is coming.

Adolf's 11-year-old sister Paula had already burst into tears, and Adolf was restraining himself. But Kubicek had never seen Adolf like that, that expression of trying hard to restrain but unable to conceal his grief. It was unspeakable grief, and the world The person he loved most and the person he loved most left this world,

And when Adolf appeared in front of Kubicek again early the next morning, he looked very tired, as if one more minute of time might cause him to collapse completely. He seemed to be at the end of his rope, his eyes empty, and Kubicek could see no energy in him, which, he explained, was because he had been up all night.

Kubicek's mother asked him where he planned to spend Christmas Eve, and he fell silent.

His sister went to his brother-in-law Rabaul's house, but there was always unhappiness between him and Rabaul. In the end, he did not say anything, but just refused the invitation of his friend's mother to stay at home for Christmas and left alone.

No one knew how Adolf spent that night. Even if Kubicek asked, he just said that he wandered the streets all night.

On that Christmas Eve full of laughter, a man wandered the streets on a snowy night all night. He had no relatives or friends, and no one would welcome him with open arms. To him, the world was hostile and full of emptiness.

…

"Follow me, Kubicek."

After New Year's Day, Adolf suddenly told Kubicek that Kubicek knew about his unrestrained imagination, but he never knew that Adolf actually planned to invite him to study in Vienna with him.

"But……"

Kubicek was hesitant. He was born in a home decoration family, and his father had always disliked his hobby in music. He felt that "these old pieces of wood" could not make any money at all, let alone agreeing with him to study in Vienna.

"Are you worried about your father?"

However, Adolf saw through his mind at a glance, and then he snorted coldly. This was his habit, and his inexplicable conceitedness made him dismissive of many things.

"Don't worry, I will go and persuade your father."

But Kubisik didn't believe it. In the eyes of his father, Adolf was a young kid who was not doing his job properly and had no job. He would not listen to such a kid. But the result was far beyond Kubicek's expectation. He didn't know how Adolf persuaded his father. He only knew that in Adolf's extremely tense speech, the stubborn and rude father was actually persuaded by Adolf. Finally it was agreed to let Kubicek go to Vienna to study.

Of course, at this moment, Kubicek still cannot understand what profound impact his friend's speaking ability will have in the future...

…

A few months later.

"..."

In the narrow room, there is heavy rain outside the window.

After arriving in Vienna, Kubicek applied for the Conservatory of Music. Unexpectedly, he was admitted as a student at the Conservatory of Music. Therefore, learning music scores and playing the piano became his most important things.

Adolf, who was admitted to the Art Institute, was busy. Sometimes he swung the brush on the easel, and from time to time he raised the brush to correct the position of the painting; sometimes he read a lot of books, he read everything tirelessly, and sometimes he recited his favorite opera.

The two of them rented a room together and lived together, which was not bad for the two best friends. Apart from the financial constraints, it was not bad either.

However, what confused Kubisik was that since arriving in Vienna, Adolf seemed to be getting more and more irritable, as if something was making him extremely annoyed. The two good friends occasionally quarreled, but after arriving in Vienna, the number of quarrels between the two seemed to become more and more frequent, and this conflict exploded because of the heavy rain.

Sitting at the grand piano, Kubicek played his own score while another attempted to recite the opera.

Due to heavy rain, Adolf was unable to go to Schonbrunn Palace to recite, but it was impossible to do both at the same time. Finally, he yelled angrily at his friend.

"Damn it, could you please stop playing that monster."

The music stopped suddenly, and Kubisik looked at him in confusion. With his gentle nature, he didn't know how to face the question of his only good friend, so he could only close the piano in silence. Then he thought for a while, found a piece of paper, wrote some words on it, and stuck it on the wall.

"That's our schedule, how about allocating time according to the schedule."

Adolf glanced at the timetable, which listed in detail everything the two of them had to do in a day. He snorted and made no response.

After the schedule was established, the days seemed to be calmer and the conflicts between the two were slightly less, but until one day, Adolf's temper became violent again.

"This school has too many old civil servants and old bureaucrats with rigid ideas, and too many ignorant and retarded officials. The whole school should be blown up!"

He shouted, his face was black, his mouth was tightly closed, and his lips were almost pale. But there was a twinkle in his eye. There was an evil look in his eyes. It was as if all the hatred was stored in his piercing eyes.

Kubicek was about to point out that the people he had so hastily characterized in his rage were, after all, his teachers and professors, and they all imparted some knowledge to him. But Adolf struck first.

"They rejected me, they rejected me, they abandoned me!"

The hateful eyes were full of anger.

Kubisik was stunned. It turned out that this was the truth. Adolf was not admitted to the art academy at all.

At this point, the puzzling questions about Adolf were fully answered. Kubisik was silent. He didn't know how to comfort his good friend. He asked Adolf if he had told his mother about this.

"What's going on in your head?"

he asked rhetorically.

"How could I let my dying mother bear this worry?"

The two were silent for a long time. Perhaps at that time, Adolf thought of his mother. Kubicek then tried to bring the conversation back to reality.

"Now what?"

Kubicek asked Adolf.

"What should I do now? What should I do? You're here again, right? What should I do?"

he repeated petulantly.

Adolf must have asked himself this question countless times, because he must have never talked about it with anyone.

"What should we do now?"

He once again mocked Kubisek's anxious questions rather than answering them directly. He was sitting at the table, surrounded by books.

"What should we do now?"

He picked up the oil lamp, pulled out a book, and began to read. Kubicek had no choice but to take off the timetable taped to the closet. He raised his head, saw Kubisik's actions, and said calmly.

"It doesn't matter."