“mysterium tremendum et fascinans, the fear and the fascination. The great and terrible awe.”

“mysterium tremendum et fascinans-- that stomach- flipping mix of awestruck fear and entrancing fascination.”

“You are going to live a good and long life filled with great and terrible moments that you cannot even imagine yet.”

“As his parted lips met mine, I started to feel breathless in a new and fascinating way.”

“And here it was, the great and terrible ten, slamming me again and again as I lay still and alone in my bed staring at the ceiling, the waves tossing me against the rocks then pulling me back out to sea so they could launch me again into the jagged face of the cliff, leaving me floating faceup on the water, undrowned.”

“The dead are visible only in the terrible lidless eye of memory.”

“My fears?”“Yes.”“I fear oblivion,” he said without a moment’spause. “I fear it like the proverbialblind man who’s afraid of the dark.”