Something about the circus stirs their souls, and they ache for it when it is absent.

Secrets have power, and that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them.

...He is sure that the Bailey he is now is closer to the Bailey he is supposed to be than the Bailey he had been before

People see what they wish to see. And in most cases, what they are told that they see.

Better to have a single perfect diamond than a sack of flawed stones.

Grow up, Bailey." "That is precisely what I'm doing," Bailey says. "I don't care if you don't understand that. Staying here won't make me happy. It will make you happy because you're insipid and boring, and an insipid, boring life is enough for you. It's not enough for me. It will never be enough for me. So I'm leaving. Do me a favor and marry someone who will take decent care of the sheep.

Timing is a sensitive thing.