But maybe the best thing I learnt was this: that we cannot know a person's soul and nature until we've sat beside them, and talked.

I believe the world is as we choose to view it. Simple as that. Our happiness is, in the end, up to us, and to no one else.

We all have our demons to deal with, Little Pigeon. It's when we cherish them - cradle them to our breasts and feed them, day after day-that's when they curdle our souls.

Kisses open doors, I've noticed. That one gesture can unlock secrets, ease open feelings. It can't be prevented--these kisses just are. It's how they work. They break into basements you never knew you had.

Sometimes we have so much to say, we cannot say it. Sometimes it's best we do not say goodbyes.

People take what they need from the stories they hear. The tale is often wiser than the teller.

Love is as varied and unpredictable as the rain is: it comes in constant summer drizzles, or sudden, unforseen storms that make rivers burst their banks and Cornish fishing boats rock and spill and lose their crew in the Atlantic.