Everyone was a rose but even more complex than a mere flower. Everyone was made up of infinitely layered petals. And everyone had something indescribably precious at the heart of their being. No one was shallow. Not really.

And of course the word love has many shades of meaning, as do many, many of the words in our living, breathing language

Why do I want to run from happiness?

A sunrise or sunset can be ablaze with brilliance and arouse all the passion, all the yearning, in the soul of the beholder.

I wish," he said, "I had known at eighteen what I know now - that there are some things on which one does not compromise.

This time her heart would not break, even though it would hurt and hurt for a long time to come. Perhaps for the rest of her life. But it would not break. She had the strength to go on alone.

And she was terribly aware that she was alive. Not just living and breathing, but ...alive.