“If anything,he sparkeda fireinside of me,making me want to live again.”

“I want him to live,” he says.I watch, helpless, as the pain slips out.Tears fallwhen he whispers, “But damn it, I want to live, too.”

“It makes no sense. Please, help me. I need it to make sense.”

“I tell myself it will protect me. He will protect me.”

“If music isthe storyof our lives,what songdid theysingfor me?”

“It brings me back to the moment, and I want to livethe moment with everything I’ve got.”

“Oftentimeswhen I read a book,I want to savoreach word,each phrase,each page,loving the proseso much,I don't want itto end.Other timesthe story pulls me in,and I can hardlyread fast enough,the details flying by,some of them lostbecause all that mattersis making surethe characteris all rightwhen it's over.”