He could feel the pores of his body open like a million mouths and slurp the water in like a sponge.

What's been tried once had been tried once before... and before... and before...

Listening to it was like having a mud-slimed piece of silk drawn lightly back and forth across her face.

If you've ever been homesick, or felt exiled from all the things and people that once defined you, you'll know how important welcoming words and friendly smiles can be.

You can't be careful on a skateboard.

It hurts to imagine stuff. It can give you a headache. Probably doesn't hurt physically, but it hurts mentally. But the more that you can do it, the more you're able to get out of it. Everybody has that capacity, but I don't think everyone develops it.

Oh, there were all sorts of things to wonder about, but the truth was simple: here stood this door alone on an endless stretch of beach, and it was for only one of two things: opening or leaving closed.