If you know something bad is coming, can't you plan to avoid it or try to do something differently?" said Charles. Probably", said the Cartographer, "but then the good events would have no flavor. The joy you find in life is paid for by suffering that comes later, just as sometimes, the suffering is redeemed by a joy unexpected. That's the trade that makes a life worth living.
James A. Owensaid Jack matter-of-factly. "I'm a man. We're made to think more quickly." ...Aven swung her fist and clocked Jack square on the chin, knocking him backward into the balloon, which was still under repair. ...Aven rubbed her knuckles and looked at the others. "Sorry about that. I might have stopped myself from hitting him, but I didn't think of it quickly enough.
James A. OwenYou're a very odd man," said Bert. "I get that more often than you'd think," replied Charles.
James A. OwenI know,โ said Peter. โPerhaps better than anyone. But you canโt stay a child forever. To choose to speak into Echoโs Well is to choose illusion. To choose to avoid the responsibilities of being an adult. The real trickโthe real choiceโis to keep the best of the child you were, without forgetting when you grow up. โIt is the best of both worlds, Jack. Being a child is to believe in magic everywhereโฆ โโฆbut even Peter Pan had to grow up one day.
James A. Owen