“I thought I could change the world. It took me a hundred years to figure out I can't change the world. I can only change Bessie. And honey, that ain't easy either.”

“In short, I always vowed, one way or another, not to change. Not me. I needed the fierceness of vowing because I could scarcely help but notice..that it was mighty unlikely.”

“I set up and staged hundreds of ends-of-the-world and watched, enthralled, as they played themselves out.”

“He leaned forward and plucked something out of my hair. 'What—?' He held the dead leaf before me.'Must have gotten that rolling around with Alexi in the backyard.' I blinked and looked at him. 'That sounded so wrong.'He nodded, eyebrow quirked. Waiting.'I’m trying to learn a few things from your more experienced brother so I’m ready for our big event.'His expression didn’t change.'Yee-ahhh. Not any better, huh?' I laughed. Our big event could mean two vastly different things to Pietr. 'Lemme just run through the other ways I could get this wrong: Alexi’s teaching me some moves. He’s trying to put the hurt on me. He was putting me into some positions I’ve never tried before...I snorted. I couldn’t help myself.A muscle near Pietr’s left eye twitched.'He’s teaching me to fight!' I laughed, grabbing his wrists.”

“Billy stretched and yawned, his withered neck taut again for a few seconds. "I can feel the season changing," he said. "Drawing in. This weather change coming means the end of hot weather. Time I got out to Gaze Island and worked on me poor old father's grave. Put it off last year and the year before." Some sadness straining the words. Billy seemed stored in an envelope; the flap sometimes lifted, his flattened self sliding onto the table.”

“I look at the hundreds of algebra problems facing me in the next three days.And here I thought I’d figured out the equation to my happiness.”

“The face of all the world is changed, I think,Since first I heard the footsteps of they soulMove still, oh, still, beside me...”