“Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.”

“Schopenhauer writes about marriage. He says getting married is like grasping blind into a sack of snakes and hoping to find an eel.”

“Marrying means, to grasp blindfolded into a sack hoping to find out an eel out of an assembly of snakes.”

“That reminds me." I dug into my book bag and pulled out a white cardboard box tied with a string. "I brought these back for you."He looked at the box, then at me, before slowly reaching out. "What are they?""Poisonous snakes. Open it."Zachary untied the string. "They seem like very quiet snakes.""They're stealthy. Or maybe dead.”

“Love is a handful of seeds, marriage the garden, and like your gardens, Paula, marriage requires total commitment, hard work, and a great deal of love and care. Be ruthless with the weeds. Pull them out before they take hold. Bring the same dedication to your marriage that you do to your gardens and everything will be all right. Remember that a marriage has to be constantly replenished too, if you want it to flourish...”

“You're right. And so was my snake."Snake?"He pulled my arm out to expose my bracelet. "When I carved this my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snake's coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me.”