The History of Love

by Nicole Krauss

Bruno, I have been tempted to blow on your head and make a wish.

If I leave with a crick in my neck and a fading hard-on it was a good seat.

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.

With each day that passes he’s blinded a little less by the beauty of the world.

I’d like to think that I would have done it differently. I would have held my son in my arms. I would have told him, Once upon a time you were a fish. A fish? he’d have asked. That’s what I’m telling you, a fish. How do you know? Because I was also a fish. You, too? Sure. A long time ago. How long? Long. Anyway, being a fish, you used to know how to swim. I did? Sure. You were a great swimmer. A champion swimmer, you were. You loved the water. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did I love the water? Because it was your life!

Now that mine is almost over, I can say that the thing that struck me most about life is the capacity for change.