“Dying is so simple. A fleeting moment of suffering. In the blink of an eye you are over the threshold, into another world. No more pain, no more fears. You sleep so well there.Dying is like rubbing snow together, setting fire to a whole winter of cold and ice.”

“The strength of the snow and the fire has turned you into a traveling magician. You heal people by holding their hands between yours, you make them forget the cold, hunger, sickness, and war.”

“I splash my head with ice-cold water and turn to face the mirror. When my image appears I instinctively look away.Is there a truth on the other side that we do not want to see?”

“The winter light, tinted by the bright colors in the street, plays on the go-board. All these festivities cut me off from the rest of the world. My loneliness is like a bolt of crimson silk stowed in the bottom of a wooden chest.”

“Happiness is something you lay siege to, it is a battle like a game of go. I will take hold of all the pain and snuff it out.”

“The world in which we live is no more real than a moon beam reflected in water drawn from the palm of the hand...”

“Every man has to die. Choosing oblivion is the only way of triumphing over this.”