We Do Not Part

by Han Kang

There are people who brandish their sharpest weapon as they are taking their leave. We know this from experience. They do this so as to slice the tenderest part of the person they are leaving with the precision that proximity grants us.

Sometimes, with some dreams, you awake and sense that the dream is ongoing elsewhere.

There are people who actively change the course of their own life. They make daring choices that others seldom dream of, then do their utmost to be accountable for their actions and the consequences of those actions. So that in time, no matter what life path they strike out on, people around them cease to be surprised.

We finished our food in silence. When you’ve known someone a good while, you intuit when it’s best not to speak.

like someone doomed to only ever speak the truth.

While the flakes burrowing into my sneakers were spine-tinglingly cold, there was an unbelievable softness to the snow underfoot, and with each step I couldn’t tell whether I was feeling pain or pleasure.