Separating them were two layers of brick, a few inches of plaster, and nine years of silence.

Even though he was afraid to admit it, when he was with her it seemed it was worth doing all those normal things that normal people do.

Mattia thought that he and Alice were like that, twin primes, alone and lost, close but not close enough to really touch each other.

His scars were hidden and safe in her hand.

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.

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

Why did you choose to stay here?" (...) "I don't know," he said. "It's as if there's more oxygen here.