“Tell me which you could sooner do without, love or water.”“What do you mean?”“I mean, could you live without love, or could you live without water?”“Why can’t I have both?”

“As I wish I could, live without water. As I wish I could, live without air. I wish I could, love you a little less.”

“Once upon a time you were a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. Anyway, being a fish, you knew how to swim. You were a great swimmer. A champion swimmer, you were. You loved the water. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did I love the water? Because it was your life! And as we talked, I would have let him go one finger at a time, until, without his realizing, he'd be floating without me. Perhaps that is what it means to be a father-to teach your child to live without you.”

“I didn't understand how you could live in a mean world and not have any of that meanness rub off on you. How could a guy live without meanness?”

“Please let me love you.""As if I could even contemplate living without you.”

“To whom could I put this question (with any hope of an answer)? Does being able to live without someone you loved mean you loved her less than you thought...?”