Extraits

“Eriku is a free verse. Passion, energy, and rhythm. But Akio... Akio is waka, carefully composed, controlled, polished, and elegant. There is something timeless about him. Everything would be---and was---so easy with Eriku. But he doesn't challenge me enough. Not like Akio does. Love is so many things. And for me, it's a push and a pull.”

“Just remember when you're asking what Japan wants from you, make sure you ask what you want from yourself, too. Don't bury who you are to become who others think you should be.”

Nous sommes deux arbres qui ont chacun leurs propres racines mais qui poussent l'un à côté de l'autre. A chacun sa manière de déployer ses branches vers le soleil.

p339

- Non c'est cohérent. Alors, si je comprend bien, l'amour ça se choisit?

- L'amour, c'est plein de choses, dit-elle en parlant plus bas. Et, selon les gens, il se manifeste à des moments différents et de diverses manières. Pour le trouver, il m'a fallu beaucoup de bienveillance, de temps, de maturité, d'encouragements. Et aussi de la distance. Mais ça en vaut la peine. Je ne regrette pas toutes ces années sans ton père. C'est grâce à l’ascension qu'on apprécie la vue.

p 317

“I see you shrinking smaller and smaller. Giving your time, your smiles, your enegry. Yet, it is not enough. They'll have your bones, too.”

“It’s the climb that makes you appreciate the view.”

“Follow your heart...You lead with your heart.”

“This need for me to settle somewhere, on something. To make some choices about my life. What is the life I've dreamed of? Growing up in America, when I was younger, I didn't see many kids who looked like me in books, in video games, on television. What I did see were stereotypes---good at math, studying, working hard. Narrow versions of myself. Now, my world has expanded. I can have things at the touch of my fingertips. But there are still rules to abide by. Princess rules. What I can do and can't. Like my major. I may choose it but within certain parameters. Does life always come with constraints? Is that part of growing up?”

“... What happened to my promise to take your sorrows and buy them deep?... I saw your call. I didn't answer. Foolish me. I thought it is better to be lonely than to be insecure.”

“Gaman is one of those special words in Japanese that doesn’t have an English equivalent. It is the art of perseverance through tough times. It is a part of duty. A sign of growing up. Maturity.”