May I kiss you then? On this miserable paper? I might as well open the window and kiss the night air.

But what if all the tranquility, all the comfort, all the contentment were now to come to a horrifying end?

The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has occurred.

But questions that don’t answer themselves at the very moment of their asking are never answered.

Photography concentrates one's eye on the superficial. For that reason it obscures the hidden life which glimmers through the outlines of things like a play of light and shade. One can't catch that even with the sharpest lens.

I made the remark that I don't avoid people in order to live quietly, but rather in order to be able to die quietly.

He thought back on his family with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister's. He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three in the morning. He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak breath.