entwasabigblowandontopofitall,Mr．Johnsontractedhepatitisandhadtobehospitalized．Hugemedicalbillspiledupandtheheavyburdenofsuppafamilyoffourfellontheceousshouldersofthisweak,blindwomaapermitasavendoriheCityHallBuildingsellingcigarettes,dy,coffeeetc．Shetookhertwochildrenwithher．Lavernewasonlyfivethen,butshehadtotakecareofherblindstep-motherandhermentallyretardedstep-brother．Theymaoexistontheirstyihroughthosedifficulttimes,butadversityuhefamilyhearttoheart．As，illfortuodogthefootstepsofthiskind,blindwoman．Onedayshewasknockeddownbyacarwhiletryingtocrossthestreet．Thoughdoctorsfoundnothingamissatfirst,asidefromsomecutsandbruises,gradualnumbnessinherlowerlimbsprovedthathernervoussystemhadbeenseriouslydamagedaogetaroundinawheelchair．Thenumbnessspreadaeilitpletelyincapacitatedherandshebecamea"speakingdeadbody"．Fatehadbeehiswomanandherhusband,wholovedherdearly．Aseriousstroketookawayhisabilitytowork．Acurseseemedtohoverovertheirhome,lookingforacetopounce．Siessahwerethemightiestcurseofall．AhthoughtLaverhisfamilyreallydoesneedashieldofcloudstoprotectitfromthecurseofthedevil!ItwasgettingdarkandMark’shugefigurecameuptoher，stoopeddownandpined，

    "I’mhungryLaverne.”Hiswordswereindistinct,butthroughlongassociation,sheuoodperfectly．Shestartedupguiltily，

    "OhMark，I’vebeendaydreamingandfotthetime.”Shekissedhischubby，infant-likecheeksandhuggedhimtohersaying，"Sorry，Markyboy．I’llgoandfryyoursteakrightaway．Wouldyouliketosetthetableandlightthedles?We’lldiyletonight!"Marknoddedvigorouslyahusiastically．Hisexcitedexcmationsreflectedhishappihoughshecouldn’tmakeouttheexactwords．Handinhand,thetwosiblingswalkedintotheoldhouse．

    Inthequietafternoon，timetickedbynormally，hertoofastnortooslow，likewaterflowingtranquillybyintheriveroranairymelodyvibratingimosphere．Theblueskyhaddarkened，butafewstarswerealreadyvisible，twinklingfromonhigh．Ontheway,Dimitriiedeverygarbagesearchforaluminums,buthewasdisappointed．Intimesofrecession，evenrecycblegarbagehadbeescarce．Buthewasstillingoodspirits，hismusclesrexed，hertootense，nortoosck．Hewasamusedtofindthatquiteafewpeopleoreetsweredressedashewas—olivesafarihat，three-quartersdownjacket，oversizedbcktrousersandoldbckshoeswornwithoutsocks．HekracticaljokeSamanthayingonhimandhesmiledathersuavehumor．Perhapsthatwastobethetrendoffallfashionsoftheyear!Anotherfallseasonwasbeginnihought．Histwenty-fourbeautiesbatheKingdomwerethinkingofhimahem．Whatwashedoingherewanderingaboutalone，missingeachotherontwodifferentpnes?PerhapsitwastimehewentbadeheluxuryofhisKingdomandthepanionshipofhisbeauties．Thatwouldmakethemhappy，too．However,therewassomuchhereonthismundaneworldworthstayingfor．Inaspiritofbonhomie,hecalledoutcheery"Goodevening"and"Haveagoodoothepassersbyhurryingpasthim,butonlyafewbotheredtoforceasmileornodiurn．Theywerelikefishier,gringateachotherwithcold,indifferentstares，beforeswishiaindgoingontheirway．Eachseemedtobeswimmingpurposefullytowardshisowination，andactalentersdidnotleavemuchofanimpressioherone．Perhapstheyweretoobusyandoccupiedwiththeiraffairsev

entwasabigblowandontopofitall,Mr．Johnsontractedhepatitisandhadtobehospitalized．Hugemedicalbillspiledupandtheheavyburdenofsuppafamilyoffourfellontheceousshouldersofthisweak,blindwomaapermitasavendoriheCityHallBuildingsellingcigarettes,dy,coffeeetc．Shetookhertwochildrenwithher．Lavernewasonlyfivethen,butshehadtotakecareofherblindstep-motherandhermentallyretardedstep-brother．Theymaoexistontheirstyihroughthosedifficulttimes,butadversityuhefamilyhearttoheart．As，illfortuodogthefootstepsofthiskind,blindwoman．Onedayshewasknockeddownbyacarwhiletryingtocrossthestreet．Thoughdoctorsfoundnothingamissatfirst,asidefromsomecutsandbruises,gradualnumbnessinherlowerlimbsprovedthathernervoussystemhadbeenseriouslydamagedaogetaroundinawheelchair．Thenumbnessspreadaeilitpletelyincapacitatedherandshebecamea"speakingdeadbody"．Fatehadbeehiswomanandherhusband,wholovedherdearly．Aseriousstroketookawayhisabilitytowork．Acurseseemedtohoverovertheirhome,lookingforacetopounce．Siessahwerethemightiestcurseofall．AhthoughtLaverhisfamilyreallydoesneedashieldofcloudstoprotectitfromthecurseofthedevil!ItwasgettingdarkandMark’shugefigurecameuptoher，stoopeddownandpined，

    "I’mhungryLaverne.”Hiswordswereindistinct,butthroughlongassociation,sheuoodperfectly．Shestartedupguiltily，

    "OhMark，I’vebeendaydreamingandfotthetime.”Shekissedhischubby，infant-likecheeksandhuggedhimtohersaying，"Sorry，Markyboy．I’llgoandfryyoursteakrightaway．Wouldyouliketosetthetableandlightthedles?We’lldiyletonight!"Marknoddedvigorouslyahusiastically．Hisexcitedexcmationsreflectedhishappihoughshecouldn’tmakeouttheexactwords．Handinhand,thetwosiblingswalkedintotheoldhouse．

    Inthequietafternoon，timetickedbynormally，hertoofastnortooslow，likewaterflowingtranquillybyintheriveroranairymelodyvibratingimosphere．Theblueskyhaddarkened，butafewstarswerealreadyvisible，twinklingfromonhigh．Ontheway,Dimitriiedeverygarbagesearchforaluminums,buthewasdisappointed．Intimesofrecession，evenrecycblegarbagehadbeescarce．Buthewasstillingoodspirits，hismusclesrexed，hertootense，nortoosck．Hewasamusedtofindthatquiteafewpeopleoreetsweredressedashewas—olivesafarihat，three-quartersdownjacket，oversizedbcktrousersandoldbckshoeswornwithoutsocks．HekracticaljokeSamanthayingonhimandhesmiledathersuavehumor．Perhapsthatwastobethetrendoffallfashionsoftheyear!Anotherfallseasonwasbeginnihought．Histwenty-fourbeautiesbatheKingdomwerethinkingofhimahem．Whatwashedoingherewanderingaboutalone，missingeachotherontwodifferentpnes?PerhapsitwastimehewentbadeheluxuryofhisKingdomandthepanionshipofhisbeauties．Thatwouldmakethemhappy，too．However,therewassomuchhereonthismundaneworldworthstayingfor．Inaspiritofbonhomie,hecalledoutcheery"Goodevening"and"Haveagoodoothepassersbyhurryingpasthim,butonlyafewbotheredtoforceasmileornodiurn．Theywerelikefishier,gringateachotherwithcold,indifferentstares，beforeswishiaindgoingontheirway．Eachseemedtobeswimmingpurposefullytowardshisowination，andactalentersdidnotleavemuchofanimpressioherone．Perhapstheyweretoobusyandoccupiedwiththeiraffairsev