“Tally turned away. Five minutes was suddenly too long to stand here, eyes burning, unable to cry.”

“There was no up, there was no down. There was a steady, nauseated life five minutes ago, but nothing five minutes from now. And then, very suddenly, there was no 'now.”

“What is most mortifying of all is that it is chance - simply a barbarous, lagging chance. That is what is mortifying! Five minutes, only five minutes too late! Had I come five minutes earlier, the moment would have passed away like a cloud, and it would never have entered her head again. And it would have ended by her understanding it all. But now again empty rooms, and me alone. Here the pendulum is ticking; it does not care, it has no pity... There is no one - that's the misery of it!”

“How tall are you, Constantine?” I asked, unable to hide my tears.Constantine narrowed her eyes at me. “How tall is you?”“Five-eleven,” I cried. “I’m already taller than the boys’ basketball coach.”“Well, I’m five-thirteen, so quit feeling sorry for yourself.”

“a wind has blown the rain away & the sky away & all the leaves away, & the trees stand. i think i, too, have known autumn too long.”

“Her gun was twenty seconds away, her friends three minutes, and the police five minutes. Her choice was obvious.”