"You are so thin," said the mother with a sigh.

He was silent.

They spoke infrequently, and saw each other very little. In the
morning he drank tea in silence, and went off to work; at noon he
came for dinner, a few insignificant remarks were passed at the
table, and he again disappeared until the evening. And in the
evening, the day's work ended, he washed himself, took supper, and
then fell to his books, and read for a long time. On holidays he
left home in the morning and returned late at night. She knew he
went to the city and the theater; but nobody from the city ever
came to visit him. It seemed to her that with the lapse of time
her son spoke less and less; and at the same time she noticed that
occasionally and with increasing frequency he used new words
unintelligible to her, and that the coarse, rude, and hard expressions
dropped from his speech. In his general conduct, also, certain
traits appeared, forcing themselves upon his mother's attention.
He ceased to affect the dandy, but became more attentive to the
cleanliness of his body and dress, and moved more freely and alertly.
The increasing softness and simplicity of his manner aroused a
disquieting interest in his mother.

Once he brought a picture and hung it on the wall. It represented
three persons walking lightly and boldly, and conversing.

"This is Christ risen from the dead, and going to Emmaus," explained Pavel.

The mother liked the picture, but she thought: