High calls low and low calls high. I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate your thoughts. The lower you are, the… - Yann Martel

The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving.

"There's no boot."
No boot?"
No."
That makes me sad."
I ate it."
You ate the boot?"
Yes."
Was it good?"
No. Were the cigarettes good?"
No. I couldn't finish them."
I couldn't finish the boot."

The worst pair of opposites is boredom and terror. Sometimes your life is a pendulum swing from one to the other. The sea is without a wrinkle. There is not a whisper of wind. The hours last forever. You are so bored you sink into a state of apathy close to a coma. Then the sea becomes rough and your emotions are whipped into a frenzy. Yet even these two opposites do not remain distinct. In your boredom there are elements of terror: you break down into tears; you are filled with dread; you scream; you deliberately hurt yourself And in the grip of terror — the worst storm — you yet feel boredom, a deep weariness with it all.