What I think is this: You should give up looking for lost cats and start searching for the other half of your shadow.

Like flowers scattered in a storm, a man's life is a long farewell.

I guess I felt attached to my weakness. My pain and suffering too. Summer light, the smell of a breeze, the sound of cicadas - if I like these things, why should I apologize?

The honour of physical decline is waiting, and you have to get used to that reality.

I just feel pain. A lot of pain. I thought I could imagine how much this would hurt but I was wrong.

Being alive, if you had to define it, meant emitting a variety of smells.

And, well, mine are kind of on the heavy side anyway. The first day or two, I don't want to do ANYTHING. Make sure you keep away from me then.' I'd like to, but how can I tell?' I asked. O.K., I'll wear a hat for a couple of days after my period starts. A red one. That should work,' she said with a laugh. 'If you see me on the street and I'm wearing a red hat, don't talk to me, just run away.