“Old friends have a way of reminding you of what you used to be. In an instant, I remembered everything I once was and I realized how much I’d changed.”

“And I thought that maybe this was what it means to get old: to have someone much younger remind you of how you weren't the same person you used to be.”

“This is how it works. I love the people in my life, and I do for my friends whatever they need me to do for them, again and again, as many times as is necessary. For example, in your case you always forgot who you are and how much you're loved. So what I do for you as your friend is remind you who you are and tell you how much I love you. And this isn't any kind of burden for me, because I love who you are very much. Every time I remind you, I get to remember with you, which is my pleasure.”

“Help, I said. “Is this real? Am I still me?”The Stranger comforted, “Everything stays true. You are yourself, no matter how much you have to change.”But what had I done? I couldn’t remember; I must have made each required movement…I must have passed instinctively through the motions that somehow changed me from girl to woman. Although if there was such a transformation, I had not witnessed it.”

“You remember having friends who used to lampoon the world so effortlessly, crouching at the verge of every joke and waiting to pounce on it, and you remember how they changed as they grew older and the joy of questioning everything slowly became transformed into the pain of questioning everything, like a star consuming its own core.”

“You might think that a boy is just your friend, but then if you find out that maybe he likes you (in a boyfriend way), everything changes instantly. (47)”