He didn't seem to realize that three excuses was as good as no excuse.

What you leave behind is the people you loved. You leave yourself in them.

Her vision of the world under the water represented a beautiful stillness, a version of heaven. It was the lost city of Lena, her alternate universe, the life she yearned for but didn't get to have.

There were certain qualities you possessed carelessly. And you couldn't retrieve them when they were gone. The very act of caring made them impossible to regain.

You forget your victories, but you remember the losses.

He took her hand and they started walking toward the baggage claim. They didn't say anything to each other. They swung their held hands like little kids, like they believed anything could happen, like they might take off soaring into the air. All the things you wanted to happen could happen. Why not?

There was a moment in between, a moment flung free in the midst of the transition, when he made contact. That was the moment she would dwell on.