Quotes from the Kitchen
Now only the kitchen and I are left. It’s just a little nicer than being left all alone.
–Mikage Sakurai’s thoughts after her Grandmother’s death–
Hair that rustled like silk to her shoulders; the deep sparkle of the long, narrow eyes; well formed lips, a nose with a high, straight bridge—the whole of her gave off a marvelous light that seemed to vibrate with life force.
–Mikage’s first impression of Yuichi Tanabe’s mother–
When was it I realized that, on this truly dark and solitary path we all walk, the only way we can light is our own?
–Mikage’s thoughts on death and loneliness–
As I walked along in the moonlight, I wished that I might spend the rest of my life traveling from place to place.
–Mikage wandering the night time streets, pondering her life–
But I’m not free, I realized; I’ve been touched by Yuichi’s soul.
–Mikage relishes her relationship with Yuichi, even though it can be difficult–
In the gloom of death that surrounded the two of us, we were just at the point of approaching and negotiating a gentle curve. If we bypassed it, we would split off into different directions … [and] would forever remain friends.
–A pivotal point in Mikage and Yuichi’s relationship–
We all believe we can choose our own path from among the many alternatives. But perhaps it’s more accurate to say we make the choice unconsciously.
–Mikage’s thoughts about destiny and fate–
I felt that I was inside Yuichi’s nightmare, and that if I stayed too long I, too, would become a part of it, destined to be snuffed out in the gloom.
–Yuichi depression was obvious to Mikage—
Quotes from the Moonlight Shadow
There was electric charge between our hearts, and its conduit was the sound of the bell.
–Satsuki on how the love between her and Hitoshi can be represented by a trinket–
If, in a flash, we remembered, we would suddenly be crushed with the knowledge, the knowledge of our loss, and find ourselves standing alone in the darkness.
–Satsuki sees how Hiiragi and herself have been refusing to accept the loss of their loved ones–
In places where a loved one has died, time stops for eternity.
–Satsuki comments on the intersection where Hitoshi and Yumiko had died–
In retrospect I realize that fate was a ladder on which, at the time, I could not afford to miss a single rung.
–Satsuki realizes that no matter how hard it gets, it isn’t worth taking shortcuts–
If only the sun would rise. If only morning would come.
–Satsuki trying to deal with her dreams about Hitoshi being alive–
There are people I have yet to meet, others I’ll never see again. People who are gone before you know it, people who are just passing through. Even as we exchange hellos, they seem to grow transparent. I must keep living with the flowing river before my eyes.
–Satsuki, in a letter to Hitoshi–
I came to see the array of colors that lay behind words. [...] It was then that I first felt a deep curiosity about language, and understood it as a tool that encompasses both a single moment and eternity.
–Clarity comes to Kazami after she loses her voice as a teenager–
Quotes from N.P
From the moment we met, I was a butterfly that flew into that space that was his soul [...]
–Kazami explains the affect she had on Shoji–
She didn’t say anything in response, but just smiled sweetly. That smile entranced me, and made my heart feel pure.
–Kazami’s thoughts after meeting Saki Takase–
Her gaze was absolutely pure and transparent, like Sirius sparkling high up in the dark night sky, like a good dry martini beaming with pure light inside a cocktail glass.
–Kazami’s first impression of Sui Minowa–
Quotes from Newlywed
This being sitting next to me felt somehow familiar, like the scent of a place, before I was born, where all the primal emotions, love and hate, blended in the air.
–Man on the train contemplating the strange woman who got on the car–
For me, the beautiful, all-encompassing web spun by this creature is at once so polluted, yet so pure that I felt compelled to grab on to it. I am terrified by it but find myself unable to hide from it. At some point I have been caught up in the magical power she has.
–Man on the train talking about his new wife—
Quotes from Lizard
I was reminded of her separateness, a being with different organs, bundled in a different sheath of skin, who has dreams at night that are nothing like my own.
–The man explains how he sees Lizard–
Her profile stood out in sharp relief against the white wall. She seemed like a creature of a different species, one who lives quietly in the dark.
–The man observes Lizard–
Her every gesture, every move, brought life to me, a man who had been dormant for so long.
–The man shares how Lizard has affected him—
Quotes from Helix
I had the unusual sensation of having grasped her entire personality in that single expression.
–The man observing his girlfriend–
It is an infinite helix, the dance of two souls resonating, like the twist of DNA, like the vast universe.
–The man explains his relationship with his girlfriend–
Quotes from Dreaming of Kymchee
Memories are energy, and if they aren’t defused, they remain to haunt you.
–The woman telling herself to not dwell on the past too much–
It’s in the air; there’s no escape from this force within us. You can pretend to ignore it, but it still obscures your vision.
–The woman talks about how society’s opinion on affairs affects her–
Another line had converged to form a circle. [...] A force, capable of liberating us from the burden of accumulated guilt, circled in to touch us that night.
–The woman explains how she feels about an event that just occured–
Quotes from Blood and Water
The moment our eyes met, I sensed something deeply spiritual about him, about every aspect of him; the light in his eyes, his small body, the way he moved.
–Chikako talks about when she first met Akira–
The first time I held the amulet in the palm of my hand, I could feel a squall of warm tears pass through the sky of my heart.
–Chikako expresses her feelings about the gift Akira had made for her–
Quotes from A Strange Tale From Down by the River
I always listened to the voice of the river, saying to me, "I flow along endlessly. I am constant." Those murmurs engulfed me, like a lullaby, which soothed me and my anxiety about our love.
–Akemi talks about her connection to a river and the man that she loves–
All along, I’d look for surface beauty to hide the emptiness. But perhaps that’s what hobbies are for, in the final analysis.
–Akemi contemplates her life–
You know all the right techniques, all the secrets. You understand how to flow with time, and not get stuck in one place. [...] I think most people live their whole lives repeating the same patterns, again and again and again.
–K, a man from her past, tells Akemi his impression of her—