The Cellist of Sarajevo

by Steven Galloway

What makes the difference, he realizes, is whether you want to stay in the world you live in. Because while he will always be afraid of death, and nothing can change that, the question is whether your life is worth that fear. Do you face the terror that must come with knowing you’re about to die for the sake of one last glimpse of life? Dragan is surprised to find his answer is yes.

There must come a point where so much has been turned to rubble that ruining a little more makes no difference.

There are dead among the living, and they will be here long after this madness ends, if it ever ends.

Because civilization isn’t a thing that you build and then there it is, you have it forever. It needs to be built constantly, re-created daily. It vanishes far more quickly than he ever would have thought possible. And if he wishes to live, he must do what he can to prevent the world he wants to live in from fading away. As long as there’s war, life is a preventative measure.

The music demanded that she remember this, that she know to a certainty that the world still held the capacity for goodness. The notes were proof of that.