“I could disappear from the face of the earth, and the world would go on moving without the slightest twinge. Things were tremendously complicated, to be sure, but one thing was clear: no one needed me.”

“All difficult things in the world are sure to arise from a previous state in which they were easy, and all great things from one in which they were small.”

“Now, though, that meadow scene is the first thing that comes back to me. [...] And yet, as clear as the scene may be, no one is in it. No one. Naoko is not there, and neither am I. Where could we have disappeared to? How could such a thing have happened? Everything that seemed so important back then - Naoko, and the self I was then and the world I had then: where could they have all gone? It's true, I can't even bring back her face - not straight away, at least. All I'm left holding is a background, pure scenery, with no people at the front.”

“Because this is one of the things I learned on my own: you need to say things simply, especially when they're complicated.”

“There is one thing that has disappeared, not just from the U.S. but from the entire world, is the idea of ever being embarrassed by anything.”

“If one day I was taken away...would you wait for me to come back?"Concerned moved across his face. "Where are you going?""Just tell me, please. I need to know, without telling you anything else.""No."I swallowed and blinked back tears."I'd go after you," he said.”