He was still alive. Which was the worst thing that could have happened.
There's always beauty, if you know where to look.
But,' he thinks, 'it's possible to die before you die.
Stories are important...They can be more important than anything. If they carry the truth.
But a knife ain't just a thing, is it? It's a choice, it's something you do. A knife says yes or no, cut or not, die or don't. A knife takes a decision out of your hand and puts it in the world and it never goes back again.
War is like a monster," he says, almost to himself. "War is the devil. It starts and it consumes and it grows and grows and grows." He's looking at me now. "And otherwise normal men become monsters, too.