“Change is a lot more frightening when you are older,” Quest continued, conversationally. He did not look afraid. If anything, he seemed slightly wistful. “Gradually, gradually, your body lets you down. You reach a certain age . . . and almost every change is bad news. Bulletins from the front in a war you are losing. At your age, you are still asking yourself: Who should I be? I must ask myself: Did I manage to be the person I wanted to be, in the end? And how many chances do I have left to be that person?” Of course, Hark did have urgent reasons to be afraid of dying, but he understood that
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