It took the real thing to show you the size of your delusions.

She existed in her friends; there she was. All the parts of herself she'd forgotten. She knew herself best when she was with them.

I'm afraid of time... I mean, I'm afraid of not having enough time. Not enough time to understand people, how they really are, or to be understood myself. I'm afraid of the quick judgements or mistakes everybody makes. You can't fix them without time. I'm afraid of seeing snapshots, not movies.

They needed to grieve alone was what Tibby's dad said. Lena wondered if really there was any choice in that. Everyone grieved alone.

She cared about him too much, and he was a dangerous person to love. He wouldn't love her back.

He no longer represented someday a possibility. He represented a road not taken a road that suddenly shot so far into the distance she couldn’t see it anymore.

A loving soul was always more beautiful over the long haul, but actual prettiness was fleeting.