Oh, there are many things I can’t do,” Ophelia replies. “But I try not to think of them. Such thoughts only weigh a person down.

No matter how old a person gets, they can still dream. They can still believe in miracles.

Do you think there’s ever any joy for people who carve their happiness out of someone else’s hurt?

All those children I thought were just passing through have taken up residence in my heart. I can close my eyes and picture their faces, which is enough to make me feel warm all over.

Being sick robs a person of their health and being poor robs them of life’s luxuries, but being pitied robs them of their will to live.

As I grow ever closer to the end of my time, I look back at this life and tell you that the only thing I would wish to give up is the regret I’ve carried in my heart for all these years. At long last I have come to realize the things I once counted as regrets were indeed blessings that I was too blind to see.

She’d bottled herself up like a person already cremated.

It’s funny how thinking of somebody other than yourself can help your heart to heal.

I say “I’m fine,” because that’s what you do. When someone asks how you are, you say fine, regardless of whether it’s true.

I remind myself that loving my sister means I have to step back and give her the dignity of independence.