Чума
Part III
Previously,thoseseparatedhadnotreallybeenunhappy,theirsufferinghadabrightnessthathadjustgoneout.Nowonecouldseethemonthecornerofthestreet,incafesorwiththeirfriends,placid,theirmindswanderingandtheireyessoboredthat,thankstothem,thewholetownseemedlikeawaiting-room.Thosewhohadjobsdidthematthepaceoftheplague,meticulouslyandprosaically.Everyonewassimpleandunpretentious.Forthefirsttime,thoseseparateddidnotmindspeakingabouttheirabsentones,adoptingthelanguageofallandstudyingtheirseparationjustastheywouldstudythestatisticsoftheepidemic.Whileuptothispointtheyhadfiercelysubtractedtheirsufferingfromthesumofcollectivemisfortune,nowtheyaccepteditaspartofthewhole.Withoutmemoryandwithouthope,theysettledintothepresent.Intruth,everythingbecamepresentforthem.Thetruthmustbetold:theplaguehadtakenawayfromallofthemthepowerofloveorevenoffriendship,forlovedemandssomefuture,andforustherewasonlythehereandnow.
Ofcourse,noneofthiswasabsolute.Thoughitwastruethatalltheseparatedreachedthispoint,oneshouldalsoaddthattheydidnotallreachitatthesametimeandthat,oncetheyhadsettledintothisnewattitude,flashesofmemoryandsuddenrelapsesofluciditybroughtthesufferersbacktoayoungerandmorepainfulsensibility.Theyneededthesemomentarylossesofconcentrationinwhichtheymadeplansforsomethingthatimpliedthattheplaguemighthaveceased.
