Somewhere in his body--perhaps in the marrow of his bones--he would continue to feel her absence.

A certain something, he felt, had managed to work its way in through a tiny opening and was trying to fill a blank space inside him. The void was not one that she had made. It had always been there inside him. She had merely managed to shine a special light on it.

Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life

You don't have to judge the whole world by your own standards. Not everybody is like you, you know.

Where are you now?’ Where was I now? Gripping the receiver, I raised my hand and turned to see what lay beyond the telephone booth. Where was I now? I had no idea. No idea at all. Where was this place? All that flashed into my eyes were the countless shapes of people walking by to nowhere. Again and again, I called out for Midori from the dead center of this place that was no place.

It feels good to think about you when I'm warm in bed. I feel as if you're curled up there beside me, fast asleep. And I think how great it would be if it were true.

Distance might not solve anything, no matter how far you run.