When You Reach Me

by Rebecca Stead

And when the veil lifts, we can see the world as it really is, just for those few seconds before it settles down again. We see all the beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love. But mostly we are happy not to. Some people learn to lift the veil themselves. Then they don’t have to depend on the wind anymore.

Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten.

“Well, it’s simple to love someone,” she said. “But it’s hard to know when you need to say it out loud.”

Common sense is just a name for the way we’re used to thinking.