Sometimes," he sighed, "I think the things I remember are more real than the things I see.

This is why dreams can be such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes they consume us completely.

Can't you see? Every step I have taken, since I was that child on the bridge, has been to bring myself closer to you.

Nothing is as bleak as the future, except the past.

of course the pace of change never slows, even when we've convinced ourselves it will.

She paints her face to hide her face. Her eyes are deep water. It is not for Geisha to want. It is not for geisha to feel. Geisha is an artist of the floating world. She dances, she sings. She entertains you, whatever you want. The rest is shadows, the rest is secret.

Hopes are like hair ornaments. Girls want to wear too many of them. When they become old women they look silly wearing even one.