the ancient people perceived the world and themselves within that world as part of an ancient continuous story composed of innumerable bundles of other stories.

As long as the hummingbird had not abandoned the land, somewhere there were still flowers, and they could all go on.

But sometimes what we call 'memory' and what we call 'imagination' are not so easily distinguished.

I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see, all we have to fight off illness and death.

But as long as you remember what you have seen, then nothing is gone. As long as you remember, it is part of this story we have together.

The truth of course was otherwise, but Lecha had never felt she owed anyone the truth, unless it was truth about their own lives, and then they had to pay her to tell them.

relationships. That's all there really is. There's your relationship with the dust that just blew in your face, or with the person who just kicked you end over end. ... You have to come to terms, to some kind of equilibrium, with those people around you, those people who care for you, your environment.