Lisa Schroeder

“I journeyed to a place where it's always raining cupcakes. I didn't need a passport, but I met a lot of interesting people and experienced new things. Even though the trip was a little bumpy, I got there just fine.”

“WRAP ME UPI shiver.He pulls away."Are you cold?" he asks."A little.Plus... you know.""What?""Um... your kisses?"He laughs,pulls me downonto the blanketand wraps his armsand legs around me.Perfect.My kind of blanket.”

“Who do I get the feelingthis boy islost at sea? Just like me?”

“Maybe, just maybe, a reader would feel a little less alone in the world.”

“Your parents may have created you, but they don't define you.”

“Circumstances shape who we are and who we become. I believe that. But I also believe we have choices. There are always choices.”

“Sometimes you want to remember. And sometimes you need to forget.”

“I like the memories because they remind meI haven't always beenthis girl,constantly mad or scaredor confused.”

“She taught me to slow down.To look up and enjoy the view.To not worry so much about the end resultthat I end up missing things along the way.”

“Looking at these pictures,I wonder,did that part of methat flourished around him,like prized perennialsunder a tender gardener's care,die along with him?”

“I know. You can be fine, and then,out of nowhere,a memory blindsides you.”

“I'm an artist not an athlete.”

“It makes no sense. Please, help me. I need it to make sense.”

“When he opens the door, I step in and an army of memories comes at me from all sides.”

“He was a character.A character who should still be here. Damn it all to hell.He should still be here.”

“Love is the answer. Not fear.”

“Music can change the mood in a drumbeat.”

“Honey, no matter where you are, I’m with you.When the breeze brushes your cheek, that’s me.When the stars sparkle and shine, that’s me.When the tulips bloom in the spring, that’s me.”The little things.She’s there,in the little things.”

“Today there's no one here, so I find a rock and open my notebookfilled with letters to Lucca,reading them,noticing how the lettersdecreased in frequencyover the past couple of months.When i started,shortly after he died,I wrote them every day.I hurt so bad, I wanted to scream,but I couldn't,so my words on the pagebecame a diary of the pain.”

“I peelhiss tense fingerson his right handaway fromthe steering wheel, onetwothreefourfive.With each finger,the scowldiappearsa little more. when i placehis hand onmy legand gentlycaress it, he smiles.That's better.”

“Many times when I read a book, I want to savor each word, each phrase, each page, loving the prose so much, I don’t want it to end. Other times the story pulls me in, and I can hardly read fast enough, the details flying by, some of them lost because all that matters is making sure the character is all right when it’s over.”

“Heads: This girlTails: That girl”

“La vida es malacon todo lo bueno.Los tiburones mortalescon las hermosas estrellas de mar.Las olas gigantescon los castillos de arena.La ruidosa letracon el ritmo de la música.La enfermedad hepáticacon el amor de un padre e hijo.El regalizcon el limón y la lima.Es la vida.Dulce, hermosa,viento en tu cara,aire en tus pulmones,besos en tus labiosvida.”

“I swear he is there,his arms outstretched,the waterfall beneath him,cascading into thecool bluewater below.Go on, Ava. It’s going to be great!It’s not a dare.Not this time.But it’s almost like I’m on that high dive again,scared of what comes next,yet knowing at the same timeit will all be okay.”

“Good-bye, Jackson.I will LOVE you 4ever.”

“That’s my girl.Live a good life, Ava.”

“It's likethe silencethat follows the beautiful song.Or the darknessthat follows the glitter in the air.He knewwhat to doto make it better.As I walk toward the door,I take a deep breath.I knowwhat to doto make it better.As heembraced me,I willtry to embracethis daythat follows the day before.”

“I wishfor the breeze toblow awayour troubles.I wish for the sun todry outour sorrows.I wish for the friendshipto fill upour hearts.”

“If anything,he sparkeda fireinside of me,making me want to live again.”

“Memories fall like snowflakes upon my dreams. The snowflakes toss and tumble, each different and yet the same.”

“Y en ese momentoCierro los ojosy deseo.Deseoque la brisase llevenuestros problemas.Deseoque el solsequenuestro dolor.Deseoque la amistadllenenuestros corazones.Abro los ojos.En este momento sólo veo bien.Quiero que él lo vea también.”

“Muchas vecescuando leo un libro,quiero saborearcada palabra,cada frase,cada página,amando tanto la prosa,que no quieroque termine.En otras ocasionesla historia me atrae,y no puedoleer lo suficientemente rápido,los detalles pasan volando,algunos de ellos perdidosporque todo lo que importaes asegurarse de queel personajeestá biencuando haya terminado.”

“I'll wait for you at the finish line.”

“Absence makes the heart grow desperate.”

“Was it hard?” I ask.“Letting go?”“Not as hard as holding on to something thatwasn’t real.”I gulp. “Can I ask how you did it?”“I just decided, Ava.That’s all.I just decided.”

“But repaying a debtmeans giving up things.Making sacrifices.If I sacrifice my heartfor Jackson,will I be deadtoo?”

“His warm voicetiptoes into thequiet room.”

“When you meet someoneso different from yourself,in a good way,you don’t even have to kissto have fireworks go off.”

“What's your favorite movie?...that should be our question. When we don't know what to say. Movies are a safe topic. What's wrong with the standard 'how's it going?' because all you get is 'Okay' or 'Fine', and then what? You're back where you started. It's a useless question. Like anyone is going to tell you how it's really going.”

“I talk and crywhile Nico sits and listens.Like we've been friends forever.Finally, I use the shirtto wipe the tearsand take a deep breath.We're quietfor a long timeand then Nico pointsto a pair of boxer shorts on the floor."I'm glad you picked the shirt.”

“He lived.He made it. A second chance,given to oneand not the other.And this?This is what he did with it?”

“Life is the badwith all the good.The deadly sharkswith the beautiful sea stars.The gigantic waveswith the sand castles.The licoricewith the lemon and lime.The loud lyricswith the rhythm of the music.The liver diseasewith the love of a father and son.It’s life.Sweet, beautiful, wind on your face,air in your lungs, kisses on your lips.life.”

“I want him to live,” he says.I watch, helpless, as the pain slips out.Tears fallwhen he whispers, “But damn it, I want to live, too.”

“I see you.The real you.The you who fillips a coin, hoping to understandhow fate works:this choice or that choice,ultimately leaving youno choice at all.The you who smilesand tries to be happybecause that’s what people want you to be.”

“We have a lot of questions, and we want to understand.Music helps with that .Music helps with everything.”

“One outerpaddles aroundon his back, spinning a blue ballon his tummy.I could watch them for hours.Because they get it.They get that life is short and you should justforget the crapand have fun.”

“It brings me back to the moment, and I want to livethe moment with everything I’ve got.”

“Anticipation is the best alarm there is, and it shookme awake before my phone even had the chance.”

“In the quiet of the night, Brooklyn baby tucked in tight.Close your eyes, everything's all right.Dreams will take you to the light.Like a star, you're lovely and bright.So sleep baby girl, sleep all night.”

“I'd reply, love doesn't tell time.Love is simply thereor it isn't.Everyday,in every way,it was there.”