Every minute of his life since then has been marked by her absence, every action has lacked dimension because she is not there to measure against. And when I was young I didn't understand, but now, I know, how absence can be present, like a damaged nerve, like a dark bird.

You're the oddest person I've ever met, you couldn't get rid of me if you tried.

There are several ways to react to being lost. One is to panic: this was usually Valentina's first impulse. Another is to abandon yourself to lostness, to allow the fact that you've misplaced yourself to change the way you experience the world.

It was silly, wasn't it? But the singing made it not silly.

Home sweet home. No place like home. Take me home, country roads. Home is where the heart is. But my heart is here. So I must be home. Clare sighs, turns her head, and is quiet. Hi, honey. I'm home. I'm home.

Don't you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?

He was not in the house. He did not come back that night. Days went by, and at last she understood that he would not return at all.