“How is that?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“Because the happening itself is the magic tube,” answered Vivien.
“That’s even more difficult to understand. Could you please try to explain that more precisely?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“The magic tube with only one aperture, the semi-tube as it were, is the so-called dead world. The magic tube with two apertures, of which one is wide and the other is narrow, is the so-called living world. Different degrees of differences between the two apertures are different levels of life. Great differences between the two apertures are forms of the so-called primitive life.
As the difference between the apertures of the magic tube decreases we speak of the higher forms of life. And finally when the two apertures of the magic tube become completely equal, all differences and the absence of all differences also become equal. That state is so-called consciousness. At that level the so-called dead elements are arranged and united in such a way that the result of their arrangement in unity is the knowledge of themselves. Knowing about oneself implies knowing about something else. Consciousness calls that ‘something else’ the world. The place where consciousness happens is called ‘I’ or ‘we’. Most creatures that call themselves human beings can utter these two words though they are very, very rarely aware of their content,” said Vivien.
“My head is throbbing, I think I’ll have to change the profession, I’m probably not good enough for what I am doing at present,” Doctor Ovale said.
“The reason why you should do it is because you are too good for it,” said Vivien.
“Why do you mean I am too good?” asked Doctor Ovale with some surprise.
“You are honest,” Vivien answered.
“How could you manage to learn all these crazy things, you are so young, who was your teacher?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“Thank you very much for your friendly words. Ever since I can remember I have had only one faithful friend who accompanied me wherever I was. That faithful friend was my tireless teacher. That absolutely faithful teacher taught me lots of beautiful things, each of which is so precious that – despite all the shocks and difficulties – it can render human life rich and full of meaning,” said Vivien.
“Who was your teacher?” asked Doctor Ovale.
“That marvellous teacher’s name was loneliness. Whenever I felt her presence and had the impression that all my ships had sunk, at the same time I heard her voice encouraging me to go on in spite of everything. Other friends may come and go, but the loneliness is always there when all other friends are gone and when life presses especially hard,” Vivien said.
“I am so grateful to you for every word, I have learnt so much from you within such a short time, more than I have ever thought I could. If I can be of any service to you, don’t hesitate to let me know,” Doctor Ovale said.
“I must thank you for this lovely conversation that you have triggered by your remark that beauty should never be compared with anything because it is always something individual and therefore unique. Because every expression of beauty is always a unique case it doesn’t tolerate any sort of comparison. I’ll remember that idea for ever. By the way, who was the author that you mentioned earlier, just before you suggested that we sit down somewhere and have a drink?” Vivien asked.
“Shakespeare was and still is his name,” said Doctor Ovale smiling. “The verse I referred to is in one of his sonnets.”
“Thank you so much – now certain things are much clearer,” said Vivien.
“What about going home, we have been in the town for quite some time now? I think we should be back before dusk,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Before we set off I intended to be back before dusk. Now, however, I don’t care any more when we’ll be back. Being here is much more exciting than being in a hospital room. But we can continue our walk; we need not hurry. Let’s go,” said Vivien, finishing the last piece of the ice-cream and putting the biscuit tube on the plate. Then she took off her pink scarf and put it into the side pocket of her turquoise jacket. Without a scarf her young face was framed naturally by her of shiny hair and her eyes became even more expressive.
“Aren’t you going to eat the biscuit?” asked Doctor Ovale, slightly surprised.
“No, I’m not, it is just a dry tube, the charm has always been and will always be in the sweet ice-cream balls,” said Vivien, casting a short impish glance at him.
Doctor Ovale blushed a trifle. He didn’t know if he had understood what his charming companion wanted to say, but he liked her words.
Vivien and Doctor Ovale were slowly walking home. It was a pleasant afternoon, typical of the late summer in that part of the world. There were still a lot of people strolling or sitting in the street cafés, gaily talking and laughing.
Vivien couldn’t quite believe that now she was in a completely different situation from the one only three weeks earlier. Now she could leave her companion without telling him anything, and nobody would be hurt or killed or threatened by anybody because of her leaving. Her companion was a nice person, a cultured gentleman asked not to supervise her but just to keep her company and be at her disposal in case she needed something.
For some time they walked without talking. Then, as if arranged, their smiles met.
“Do you like life?” asked Vivien her companion.
Doctor Ovale looked straight into her eyes. The smile suddenly disappeared from his face. He was somewhat surprised, although, in principle, he was prepared to be asked such a question.
“I am not sure, but I certainly do not hate it,” he answered.
“I see what you mean. But being fond of something is not the same thing as not hating it,” Vivien said.
“I agree with you and for that reason I have a sort of ambivalent feeling, when it comes to life. I can’t say that I love it, but I can’t say that I hate it either. I say that because in my opinion life is neither good nor bad. Only certain aspects of life could be called pleasant or unpleasant. No single aspect of life, however, can characterize life as a whole,” said Doctor Ovale.
“You are a psychologist and I suppose that people with all kinds of mental problems often ask you for advice, don’t they?” asked Vivien.
“Oh yes, they definitely do,” answered Doctor Ovale.
“So what do you think, what is the source of genuine happiness?” asked Vivien.
“That’s a very good question, however it requires a very long and a very elaborate answer,” said Doctor Ovale.
“Wonderful, go on, be sure you’ll have an attentive listener,” she said, smiling, and gave her companion a gentle dig in the ribs. “Because all living creatures are different they need different things to feel comfortable and satisfied. In that respect human beings are no exception. Each human individual has its own very special, absolutely unique life story, which nobody else before could have had and that will never be repeated in the future. In short: we needn’t strive to be unique, because each of us must inevitably be unique. For that simple reason each of us must have his particular personal wishes and desires. That which makes one person satisfied may be perfectly meaningless to somebody else. The closer one comes to the fulfilment of his personal wishes the more satisfied one appears to be.
And yet there seems to be something that makes everybody happy,” said Doctor Ovale.
“And what is that?” asked Vivien.
“Health,” answered Doctor Ovale.
“Does that