Little by little, the old world crumbled, and not once did the king imagine that some of the pieces might fall on him.

Together in our house, in the firelight, we are the world made small.

She was his soulmate, as much a part of him as the very flesh and bone that made him. She was with him, in him, in everything he did. She was everything he wanted from his life, the very measure of his dreams.

Come on you raver, you seer of visions, come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine.

Things are NEVER what they seem, Pa, I thought. I used to think they were, but I was wrong or stupid or blind or something. Old folks are forever complaining about their failing eyesight, but I think your vision gets better as you get older. Mine surely was.

I need a boy who thinks with his big head, not his little one. Since they do not exist, I have fashioned my own.

She was everything he wanted from his life, the very measure of his dreams.