A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.
Neil GaimanRead
I wonder if I shall ever see her again, and I realize that I scarcely care. I can feel the sheets beneath me, and the cold air on my chest. I feel fine. I feel absolutely fine. I feel nothing at all.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects a sense of emotional detachment and acceptance of the present moment, regardless of past connections.
In this quote by Neil Gaiman, the speaker expresses a moment of introspection, where they ponder the possibility of reuniting with someone significant yet realize that their feelings have faded to indifference. This realization accompanies a physical awareness of their surroundings, emphasizing a state of emotional numbness and peace, suggesting that sometimes moving on from past relationships leads to an unexpected sense of serenity.
Themes
DetachmentIndifferencePresentPeaceEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
During a reflective speech about personal growth and letting go of the past.
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As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.
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The important thing to understand about American history, wrote Mr. Ibis, in his leather-bound journal, is that it is fictional, a charcoal-sketched simplicity for the children, or the easily bored.
Neil GaimanRead
Nothing’s changed. You’ll go home. You’ll be bored. You’ll be ignored. No one will listen to you, really listen to you. You’re too clever and too quiet for them to understand. They don’t even get your name right.
Neil GaimanRead
I like the stars. It's the illusion of permanence, I think. I mean, they're always flaring up and caving in and going out. But from here, I can pretend...I can pretend that things last. I can pretend that lives last longer than moments. Gods come, and gods go. Mortals flicker and flash and fade. Worlds don't last; and stars and galaxies are transient, fleeting things that twinkle like fireflies and vanish into cold and dust. But I can pretend.
Neil GaimanRead
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