“We used to send whole flocks of birds shooting out of our mouths and never managed to grab them by their wings.”

“Your memories will be a flock of birds, silently flying in the sky. You will see them flying in and see them flying away. The memories will disappear and there will be nothing left.”

“It’s only when we can work with something that brings out our strengths that we’re of any real use.”

“Do you know what the wind tastes like? […] Mysterious spices […] that tell us about people and events far away. That we can’t see. But that we can sense if we draw the wind deep into our mouths and then eat it.”

“People have faces. […] Spirits don’t have faces. And yet we recognise them. We know who is who. Spirits don’t have eyes or mouths or ears either. And yet they can see and speak and hear. […] The spirits are all around us. […] They’re right here, but we can’t see them.”

“Our exile organizations have been our way of replacing the cities and villages we have lost.”

“Every secret we confide in anotherperson can be a burden to them”