I felt a momentary urge to leap into the sea and swim free of the present.

And after awhile of this my brain and my body and every single inch of me that was alive was flooded with the feeling that I was starving, starving for Edmond. And what a coincidence, that was the feeling I loved best in the world.

I, a late riser, fantasise about getting up every morning at 5 A.M. to fetch the horses in from the fields.

Staying alive was what we did to pass the time.

I guess there was a war going on somewhere in the world that night but it wasn't one that could touch us.

Life is absolutely horrific, leading up to absolute horror.

Such a courageous boy I was. To act brazenly under scrutiny and risk further injury to my wounded heart. Ah, the resilience, the blind, dumb persistence of youth.