"'Nothing is more unsettling than losing those we've loved. Yet I would propose for your consideration, Reynie, that there is something powerful, even important, in missing them. Missing our loved ones is in itself a connection with them, is it not? Painful, perhaps, but special. [...] When the time comes for you to go away, Reynie, [...] whether that be soon or far down the road, and whether it be for a temporary sojourn elsewhere or a more permanent relocation... [...] When that time comes, my friend, I shall miss you dearly. Just as I miss Rhonda; just as I shall miss all the others whose cherished faces I'm so accustomed to seeing around this table, yet who may find it best, at some point, to leave the table for good. [...] But special people tend to go and do special things, [...] and one must accept it as best one can. Whenever I miss old friends, I remind myself that this very act makes them a part of my life. We may be separated by time and distance, and very often by the lack of hours to write each other proper letters, but we remain friends, and I remain grateful. Violet, for instance, I haven't seen in years, but I think of her every day, and I take pleasure in knowing she's in the world."
--Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages, pp. 206-208
Powerful quote!
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