In the quiet

He has the spooky ability to completely compartmentalise his life. I've had loads of arguments with him about this, over the years, and I'm sure you have too. If there's something bothering him or making him unhappy, he can just switch it off. Just like that. And get on with his life as if nothing at all has happened. I don't know anybody else who has that capacity. I've always found it very disturbing, that he can just put things in a box and shut the lid.

Maggie O'Farrell, my lover's lover

The thing is, everyone needs order. It's necessary for the everyday. The thing is, by whose degree do we rely? When is it too much; when is it not enough? The thing is, one shouldn't have to know more than one such character in their life. It is an over-allocation, and unfair. But this conversation is an open trap to discussions on significance, on demonstrable cost, and on true measures of value.

I do have thoughts on the matters. But really, I just want to stop falling asleep to the taste of tears and waking up with blood on my mouth.