“The stains on the mattress. Like dried flower petals. Not recent. Old love; there's no other kind of love in this room now.”

“Love, its like a flower, first its in bloom thats when love is at its begining. When its full love is strong. But when it dies, the love fades away, petal by petal following apart until it dies.”

“In all cases love was a strong emotion, not easily contained once it was unleashed. I realized now that love was like a blossoming flower that continually added more and more petals. But there was no end point. There was no full bloom. It went on forever. Growing, strengthening.”

“Music. A flower in a vase on the tray. A January rose, it wouldn't last long, all big and full-blown like that. He loved things like this, fragile, that wouldn't last. She touched its silver-mauve petals, a hundred layers like an old-fashioned petticoat. The Japanese would say that's their elegance, the brevity of their beauty.”

“There's nothing like the guilt you feel when there's room in your heart to love evil.”

“Be good. Be kind to each other. And if there's somebody you love, tell them. The world always needs more love.”