I am no good at being concise, nor am I skilled at connecting ideas. I can’t speak coherently about anything, and I truly don’t know how all this resentment grew in Helmi’s heart toward me. He once told me, during a heated argument, “You’re an idiot with no life experience.”

How could he say that, when I’m a respectable employee? I see obedience to my superiors as a sacred duty. I always smile, never forget the courteous half-bow before customers—just as my father instructed me. I genuinely do what makes them feel cleverer than me. Why else would I bow, if they weren’t a superior breed of human?

Surely, it’s written clearly in the records that my father was the one who appointed me to this venerable company.

For thirty years, I’ve spoken in whispers to customers, extolling the virtues of buying water heaters—even in the height of summer.