1
But I have my life, I’m living it. It’s twisted, exhausting, uncertain, and full of guilt, but nonetheless, there’s something there.Banana Yoshimoto
2
Everything in life has some good in it. And when something awful happens, the goodness stands out even more--it's sad, but that's the truth.Banana Yoshimoto
3
...there's nothing wrong with being a little hopeful. Who says you can't warm your frozen limbs in the faint heat of a flicker of hope?Banana Yoshimoto
4
Nakajima’s past would always be there, so the foundation could crumble at any moment. That’s what happens, I realized, when people destroy other people.Banana Yoshimoto
5
Just being with Nakajima made me feel as if we were detached from history, and had no particular age.Banana Yoshimoto
6
And when something awful happens, the goodness stands out even more ...Banana Yoshimoto
7
I love feeling the rhythm of other people's lives. It's like traveling.Banana Yoshimoto
8
I was kind of tired, I guess, of knowing people are flesh. Flesh and water.Banana Yoshimoto
9
I felt sure of this. However much I loved him, and as beautiful as the world was, none of it was powerful enough to take the weight off his heart, that heaviness that dragged him down, into the beyond, making him yearn to be at peace.Banana Yoshimoto
10
When things get really bad, you take comfort in the placeness of a place.Banana Yoshimoto
11
Why were we so far apart, even when we were together? It was a nice loneliness, like the sensation of washing your face in cold water.Banana Yoshimoto
12
A particular variety of loneliness, like peering deep into the darkness. It's only natural, when two separate universes touch.Banana Yoshimoto
13
There was a real sense of comfort but at the same time it felt oddly tense. The feeling that every little things we said, these conversations, at any moment, they could stop being possible, and so they were precious, it was that feeling, and the sense of the miracle of this shared moment, here and now. Why were we so far apart, even when we are together? It was anice loneliness, like th sensation of washing your face with cold water.Banana Yoshimoto
14
My fury was lofty, pure, cool. It was an emotion that none of these people, struggling so hard to impose a shape on life when life has no shape, could begin to understand.Banana Yoshimoto
15
I was frightened of so many things, in my vanity, that ultimately i couldn't protect myself any other way. Try not to be like that, okay? Be sure to keep your tummy warm, try to relax, both your heart and your body, try not to get flustered. Live like a flower. You have that right. It's something you can achieve, for sure, in your lifetime. And it's enough.Banana Yoshimoto
16
I didn't care whether I had gotten dressed, or what state my hair was in or anything— it didn't matter. I felt close to him, and I'd come to regard him as just another part of the scenery.Banana Yoshimoto
17
Nakajima's presence didn't put any pressure on me, either. Quite the opposite: there was a warmth in the core of my chest when he was around.Banana Yoshimoto
18
It occurred to me that if I were a ghost, this ambiance was what I'd miss most: the ordinary, day-to-day bustle of the living. Ghosts long, I'm sure, for the stupidest, most unremarkable things.Banana Yoshimoto
19
When someone tells you something big, it's like you're taking money from them, and there's no way it will ever go back to being the way it was. You have to take responsibility for listening.Banana Yoshimoto