The Aftermath

The mind remembers what the soul can bear.

Rachael could find no solace in other people's tales of woe. Pain was uniquely one's own, and undiminished by a democracy of suffering.

It was somehow easier to love a person who wasn't there.

We will continue to march, even if everything shatters, because today Germany hears us, and tomorrow, the whole world. And because of the Great War, the world lies in ruins, but devil may care, we build it up again.

Lewis could feel something swelling inside him, at his sinuses and in his chest. He had worked hard to keep this ghost at bay, but now it was pressing in, coming to claim its dues. The tears were coming, and he had to swallow to hold them. He stood up.

Pain was uniquely one's own, and undiminished by a democracy of suffering.

On the other side, apartment blocks—intact except for the fronts, which had been completely blown off, revealing the rooms and furniture within—stood like giant doll’s houses.