Joseph Greenbaum walks down the stairs that lead from his shoe store to the basement. The register has been closed; the store is locked. It is early evening. The day has not died yet, but it is no longer alive.
In front of his customers, Joseph, the shoe salesman, is always telling the truth. He does not hide anything from them. They also do not need to know everything. A person is allowed to have secrets. Joseph, too, is such a man, holding secrets close to his chest, or under the floor, or together. The girl has not seen winter for a dozen years, and she still feels very cold. She's waiting for the war to end and she's terribly scared. And until then - she clings to what is there.