In fact, they didn't talk much at all, but they spent time together, each in his own abyss, held safe and tight by the other's silence.

Feeling special is the worst kind of cage a person can build for himself.

She hadn't chosen him over all the others. The truth was that she hadn't even thought about anyone else.

She found herself thinking of how it would feel to be safely trapped in his arms, with no more possibility to choose.

All opening moves were the same, like in chess. You don't have to come up with anything new, there's no point, because you're both after the same thing anyway. The game soon finds its own way and it's only at that point that you need a strategy.

Mattia's voice no longer stirred anything in his stomach, but he was aware of the idea of him and always would be, as the only true benchmark for everything that had come afterward.

She was tired, with that tiredness that only emptiness brings.