Message in a Bottle

by Nicholas Sparks

Once burned, twice shy,

Hoping to clear her mind, she absently began to clean up the clutter on her desk. Pens went in the drawer, articles she’d used in research were filed away, the stapler was reloaded, and pencils were sharpened and set in a coffee cup on her desk.

if you discovered something that made you tighten inside, you had better try to learn more about it. If you simply ignored the feeling, you would never know what might happen, and in many ways that was worse than finding out you were wrong in the first place. Because if you were wrong, you could go forward in your life without ever looking back over your shoulder and wondering what might have been.

You—and you alone—have always been the only thing I wanted, and now that you are gone, I have no desire to find another.

Curiosity was fine as long as it didn’t take over your life

I can guarantee he’s not what you’re imagining already. No one ever is.

If everyone who thought they might fail didn’t even try, where would we be today?”

she were able to move through life on her own terms. To him, these were the things that really mattered. Without them, beauty was nothing.

I didn’t think it was possible to love someone as much as I love you,”

I know there’s a part of you that believes you can change someone, but the reality is that you can’t. You can change yourself, and Garrett can change himself, but you can’t do it for him.”

“Then count your blessings.

“I love you, too, Garrett. But sometimes love isn’t enough.”