If there's any guy crazy enough to attack me, I'm going to show him the end of the world -- close up. I'm going to let him see the kingdom come with his own eyes. I'm going to send him straight to the southern hemisphere and let the ashes of death rain all over him and the kangaroos and the wallabies.
Haruki MurakamiYouโre here,โ I continued. โAt least you look as if youโre here. But maybe you arenโt. Maybe itโs just your shadow. The real you may be someplace else. Or maybe you already disappeared, a long, long time ago. I reach out my hand to see, but youโve hidden yourself behind a cloud of probablys. Do you think we can go on like this forever?
Haruki MurakamiClosing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.
Haruki MurakamiNo, I don't want your money. The world moves less by money than by what you owe people and what they owe you. I don't like to owe anybody anything, so I keep to myself as much on the lending side as I can.
Haruki MurakamiOkay, letโs put it this way. I would like to sleep with you. But itโs alright if I donโt sleep with you. What Iโm saying is Iโd like to be as fair as possible. I donโt want to force anything on anybody, any more than Iโd want anything forced on me. Itโs enough that I feel your presence or see your commas swirling around me.
Haruki Murakami