Amputees suffer pains, cramps, itches in the leg that is no longer there. That is how she felt without him, feeling his presence where he no longer was.

In all the houses keys to memorizing objects and feelings had been written. But the system demanded so much vigilance and moral strength that many succumbed to the spell of an imaginary reality, one invented by themselves, which was less practical for them but more comforting.

She would say, "Someone should invent something to do with things you cannot use anymore but that you still cannot throw out.

It always amuses me that the biggest praise for my work comes for the imagination, while the truth is that there's not a single line in all my work that does not have a basis in reality. The problem is that Caribbean reality resembles the wildest imagination.

There is always something left to love.

The woman let out an expansive laugh that resounded through the house like a spray of broken glass.

Why do you insist on talking about what does not exist?