As you ramble on through life, Brother, Whatever be your goal, Keep your eye upon the doughnut, And not upon the hole. - Margaret Atwood

I planned my death carefully, unlike my life, which meandered along from one thing to another, despite my feeble attempts to control it.

More often than not, she acted as if she wanted to protect him, from the image of herself — herself in the past. She liked to keep only the bright side of herself turned towards him. She liked to shine.

And then she began to cry, and when I asked her why she was doing that, she said it was because I was to have a happy ending, and it was just like a book; and I wondered what books she'd been reading.