He could not say “bad dog.”He could not say “good boy.”He could not say anything.Quiet breathed like some darkening monster at the window of Theo’s mind.

Theo cast his emerald eyes back to the girl at the order window. He could hardly breathe. Her radiance was as inescapable as the sun. Love is never stronger than the love in the young. There, love is unreasonable and preposterous and beautiful. Theo did not realize it at the time, but his young self was dying inside to the man he would become.

They drove through the small town. Theo could see little through the windshield, but his senses were alive. The three of them—the beater, the boy, and the dog—said nothing all the way home, anchored in the weight of their terrible love.

Theo continued weeping, and with each tear, he marched his way into manhood.

Every thought you have, every move you make, is like a pebble dropped into water, Theo. It continues to make ripples. That’s why it is so important your rhythms be true to life’s Spirit. For in that way, your future will always rest in compassion. For such is life’s Spirit. It is the spirit of compassion. May this office and your cadence thrum with the kindness of your holy hands, Dr. Snow.

It is impossible to stop cadence. A bell rings long after the clapper hits the cup.

That is the one thing sorrow surely does—in our pain, it reveals the deep treasures of this marred and beautiful world. And guides like Shadow do this for us—they make us travelers. They break our hearts so we can flow to the greater heart where happiness, too, becomes a sacred matter.

To take their land we called them ‘demons,’ ‘savages.’ It is easy to kill a demon. It is much harder to kill a man.

The King of Sea and Sky was proud of Theo’s mastery. Being a novice was safe. When you are learning how to do something, you do not have to worry about whether or not you are good at it. But when you have done something, have learned how to do it again, you are not safe anymore. Being a master opens you up to judgment.

For some, being a vet was a means to make a living. For Theo, helping animals was a photo of his soul, the coat of his will.