Il swam like a haze through all the hospital wards in search of a victim who would be in a coma. She needs a young body and preferably a man's. Yes, Ilona thought it would be fun if she grew her own penis. Sometimes a girl dreamed that it would be better if she was born a boy, and then there was such a chance to change sex without hormone therapy and operations.

The enthusiasm subsided a little when Il met very sick and weakened people on her way. Men and women, exhausted by ailments, seemed like living mummies who could only blink and sigh heavily. Worried nurses and polite...