“Funny how his two special abilities—taking and giving life—were so opposite, but only the “good” one came with pain. He supposed it made sense; life fucking hurt.”

“it's funny how life seems only to be able to give and take, instead of just give!”

“He was well aware that of the two of three thousand times he had made love (how many times had he made love in his life?) only two or three were really essential and unforgettable. The rest were mere echoes, imitations, repetitions, or reminiscences.”

“Sometimes good came out of hurt, compensation came out of pain. He gave with one hand, and He took with the other.”

“He was no lover in a worldly sense; the only love he knew was that of divine understanding, of taking a whole life into its depths as if they were his own. From this, the greatest pain, the greatest happiness is born: the hope that we too will one day be understood, strangers will accept our words, our lives, as if they were their own.”

“In life one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day - or to celebrate each special day.”