The only noise now was the rain, pattering softly with the magnificent indifference of nature for the tangled passions of humans.

When people first discover beauty, they tend to linger. Even if they don’t at first recognize it for what it is.

Everyone is an idiot," I stated. "Except me.

Except. What is normal at any given time? We change just as the seasons change, and each spring brings new growth. So nothing is ever quite the same.

So let me end with the wish that you find the same kind of happyiness, and laughter, and love, that I have found, and that you have the wisdon to make them last.

It would have been funny if I had been an observer and not a participant, an idea that gave me a disconcerting insight into gossip. As I walked beside the silent Tamara, I realized that despite how entertaining certain stories were, at the bottom of every item of gossip there was someone getting hurt.

Finally someone takes me seriously enough to ask for my word of honor, and it’s a villain.