“One cannot apologize for one's nature.”

“Clockwork could not run counter to its nature. The seconds, minutes, and hours moved only forward. Patient, precise, and unstoppable. Memory was an indulgence, an illusion that broke like a wave upon the juggernaut of time. The past remained the past.”

“In life, the hardest decisions often have to be made more than once. But each time, it gets easier.”

“Maybe if people can't have an end to their suffering, the next thing they seek for is to know why they suffer. Suffering is a part of life in this world, part of a cycle....Stories give you a way to see things. A way to understand the events of your life. Even if you don't realize it while you're hearing the tale.”

“Sharing his memories felt like handing over a sharp knife. A knife that others might handle carelessly. A knife that could be used to hurt him.”

“It was his fault too,” Fredrick said. “He never really asked her why. It was like he didn’t want to know.”

“You are stronger than me," Asa says. "And in bravery and strength, there is a kind of beauty.”