CHAPTER SIX

Madness

At six o'clock the next morning, my clothes wet with the rain, I walked slowly through the streets of the town. I did not know where to go or what to do. I was too afraid to go back to my house, and I thought that any minute I would see the monster on the streets, running towards me. I was standing on a street, watching a coach and horses come into the city. The door of the coach opened, and someone got out. When I saw him, I cried out in surprise. It was my best friend, Henry Clerval.

"Victor!" he cried. "How wonderful to see you here!" Even though I was still thinking about the monster, I was so happy to see Henry that I began to feel a little better. "Somehow, I will make things better," I said to myself as we walked down the street towards my house. Henry told me why he had come. "My father finally agreed that I should study and see the world, instead of just working for him all the time. So now I can go to the university." "Henry, this is wonderful," I told him. "It will be good to have you here with me. Do you have any news of my family? How are they?"

"Your father, Elizabeth, and your brothers are all well, but they have not heard from you in a long time. They are worried, Victor. You should write them!" He stopped walking and looked at me. "Now that I see you, I am worried too. You are too thin and pale—you look sick!" "Don't worry, I'm not sick," I said. "I have been working on something, but it's over now. I can finally rest." When I saw my apartment, I felt terribly afraid again. What if the monster was still in my bedroom? What if it tried to hurt Henry and me? What would Henry think if he saw the monster?

I ran up the stairs ahead of my friend. As I opened the door to my apartment, my heart stopped. But, thank God, the monster was not there. I let Henry come inside.

My happiness that the monster was gone was so great, that I began to laugh loudly, jumping over chairs and shaking my hands like a wild man. Henry was frightened.

Henry grabbed me and began to shake me. "Victor, stop it! What is wrong? You really are sick! What is it?"

My body began to shake. My tired brain thought it saw the monster walking into the room. "He is the cause!" I shouted, pointing to the door. Of course, nothing was really there. "Henry, save me!" Henry tried to throw me onto the bed, but I thought it was the monster trying to hurt me. I fought Henry, hitting him until I fell down on the floor, screaming. I do not remember anything more after that. How frightened Henry was to see me acting this way. But I did not know this, because for many months I was terribly sick. Henry never told my family, because he knew my father and Elizabeth would worry. My friend took care of me himself for many days, and no one has ever done anything more kind and brave. During my sickness, I talked in my sleep many times. I would talk about the monster, and how much I hated and feared it. Henry did not pay attention when I said these things; he thought it was only my sick mind that caused me to talk in this way. After more than five months, I truly felt better. My body was healed, and my mind was better. Slowly, I was becoming the same person Henry had always known. Of course, he still did not know what I had done. I knew that I owed him my life and health, and I could not believe what a wonderful friend he was. "Dear Henry, how can I ever thank you? You have spent so many months taking care of me, when you might have been going to school. Your dream has been to study for many years now. How can I repay you?" "Victor, just take care of your health, and get well. And will you please go and see your family!" One day, I took Henry to my school, where he met my professors and some of the other students. When we met my favorite teacher, Professor Waldman, he told Henry, "Victor is the best student at this university. What a wonderful scientist he is! We are very proud of him!" The professor meant to make me happy after my long sickness, but I felt miserable. Because I, the university's "best student," had created a terrible monster! Henry saw the look on my face when the Professor talked about me. He did not ask me what was wrong, but instead began to talk of other things. I felt a little better. I loved Henry like a brother, and I deeply wanted to ask someone what to do. But I knew I could never tell him what I had done. If I did so, he would feel the pain and fear that I felt.

Soon, I decided to stop my study of science. It had brought too much struggle and horror into my life. I could not even go into my workroom and use my tools. Henry saw my pain, but, like a good friend, he never asked me questions. However, I decided to stay in school and study Oriental languages with Henry, because I did not want to go home and do nothing. Together, we spent a happy year studying new languages. We read the beautiful, strange books of Persian writers. We took long walks in the forests around the town of Ingolstadt. Often, we would leave school for many days, sleeping in strange houses and towns. With time, I became a happy person again. I was able to forget the monster, and my sickness, as if it had all been a bad dream.

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