“Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.”

“The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of life; for no one knows such things. She gave him nothing, no nothing did she give him and yet he thanked her. She said: Give me your peace and your reason! And he was only sorry she did not ask for his life.”

“A man is involved in life, leaves his impress on it, and outside of that there is nothing.”

“ . . . perhaps the reasons for a man to leave his life were too obvious for him to name.”

“She said nothing, refusing to meet his gaze. After a long moment, he released her.“So that’s the way it is, then.” His words were not a question. The door closed quietly behind him, leaving her cold to the bone, hollowed out and empty. Leaving her alone. Just like always.”

“I wanted to be his life preserver, the thing that would keep him afloat. Instead, he became my anchor. And I’m tired of drowning.”