“Is anything bothering you?” “Yes,” I said. “Can you tell me if my mother and my pet starling are all right? That’s got me very worried.” The old man frowned. “The world follows its own course,” he said. “Each possesses his own thoughts, each treads his own path. So it is with your mother, and so it is with your starling. As it is with everyone. The world follows its own course.”
