ABOUT MYSELF AND TOYS
Each of the shaven-headed children at the orphanage had their own personal qualities, but did not show them in communal life. We pipsqueaks were allowed as much as was considered proper, i.e. as much as an older boy or stronger ward mate allowed us. We only called each other by the nicknames that we gave to each other, sometimes forgetting the real names of our room-mates.
I tried not to get involved in any disputes or fights. If possible, I even tried to disappear at the sign of any trouble. Gradually, I became good at this – I vanished like a shadow, imperceptibly, and it helped that I was terribly skinny – I crept along the wall. This is how I got the nicknames of Shadow and Invisible Man. If I had any abilities back then, it was in disappearing. I was good at va
