what it means to live

“Have you ever been hurt, Madam? And I don’t mean hurt in the physical sense, and I don’t even mean the light sting of a smarting pride. I mean real, raw hurt that becomes a tangible thing inside your chest. It's the kind of pain that makes you feel like you can’t breathe, the kind of pain that makes you rethink every single decision you’ve ever made. It's encompassing, it's dreadful, it's incredibly lonely.”

“Goodness! I’m glad to say that I very much have not.”

“Hm. I’m sorry for you, then, Madam. That is very unfortunate.”

“Unfortunate?! That sounds dreadful! I’m extremely fortunate to not have that kind of pain anywhere in my memory.”

“Ah, but that means you haven’t lived. I pity you for that.”