Life in a Thrashing Machine

"Are you on drugs or something, Vlad?" Henry asked him in a serious and worried sounding voice.

The question made Vlad laugh a little and he patted Henry on the shoulder.

"Of course, not. I thought that you knew me better than that, Henry."

Henry grinned and cleared his throat a little.

"It's just that you seem really down today. More than usual, I mean!" he said and Vlad nodded. "You can be a great man some day, Vlad. But you won't be anything if you permit yourself fall into ruin."

Vlad downed the rest of the coffee and stretched his arms, a little.

"I've been tired lately. You know. When someone doesn't have anything to look forward to, or has something to do, you just kind of . . . waste-away!"

"You're too serious for your own good, son. Just you wait and see . . . one day everything will turn