

“Sometimes he wakes so far from himself that he can鈥檛 even remember who he is. 鈥淲here am I?鈥� he asks, desperate, and then, 鈥淲ho am I? Who am I?鈥�
And then he hears, so close to his ear that it is as if the voice is originating inside his own head, Willem鈥檚 whispered incantation. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You鈥檙e the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You鈥檙e the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a swimmer. You鈥檙e a baker. You鈥檙e a cook. You鈥檙e a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You鈥檙e an excellent pianist. You鈥檙e an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I鈥檓 away. You鈥檙e patient. You鈥檙e generous. You鈥檙e the best listener I know. You鈥檙e the smartest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e the bravest person I know, in every way.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a lawyer. You鈥檙e the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a mathematician. You鈥檙e a logician. You鈥檝e tried to teach me, again and again.
鈥淵ou were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.”
― A Little Life
And then he hears, so close to his ear that it is as if the voice is originating inside his own head, Willem鈥檚 whispered incantation. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You鈥檙e the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You鈥檙e the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a swimmer. You鈥檙e a baker. You鈥檙e a cook. You鈥檙e a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You鈥檙e an excellent pianist. You鈥檙e an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I鈥檓 away. You鈥檙e patient. You鈥檙e generous. You鈥檙e the best listener I know. You鈥檙e the smartest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e the bravest person I know, in every way.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a lawyer. You鈥檙e the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e a mathematician. You鈥檙e a logician. You鈥檝e tried to teach me, again and again.
鈥淵ou were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.”
― A Little Life

“兀賮賰乇 賮賷 丕賱賲噩丕夭丕鬲 胤賵丕賱 丕賱賵賯鬲貙 賵兀賳丕 兀氐毓丿 丕賱丿乇噩貙 賵兀賳丕 丕爻鬲賲毓 廿賱賶 兀睾賳賷丞貙 賵兀賳丕 兀睾賷乇 孬賷丕亘賷貙 賵兀賳丕 兀鬲丨丿孬 賲毓 丕賱睾乇亘丕亍貙 兀爻賲賷 爻毓賷賷 毓胤卮賸丕 賱丕 賷賳賮匕貙 賵賲丨丕賵賱丕鬲賷 禺賷賵胤 丿禺丕賳貙 賵兀賷丕賲賷 兀賵乇丕賯賸丕 賱卮噩乇 丕賱禺乇賷賮貙 兀賲丕 賯賱亘賷貙 賮胤丕卅乇賹 丿丕卅賲購 丕賱鬲乇賯亘”
― 丕賱卮丕毓乇 賵丕賱賯乇氐丕賳
― 丕賱卮丕毓乇 賵丕賱賯乇氐丕賳

“Who am I? Who am I?鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You鈥檙e the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You鈥檙e the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs. You鈥檙e a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen. You鈥檙e a swimmer. You鈥檙e a baker. You鈥檙e a cook. You鈥檙e a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You鈥檙e an excellent pianist. You鈥檙e an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I鈥檓 away. You鈥檙e patient. You鈥檙e generous. You鈥檙e the best listener I know. You鈥檙e the smartest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e the bravest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e a lawyer. You鈥檙e the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it. You鈥檙e a mathematician. You鈥檙e a logician. You鈥檝e tried to teach me, again and again. You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.鈥�
"And who are you?"
"I'm Willem Ragnarsson. And I will never let you go.”
― A Little Life
鈥淵ou鈥檙e Jude St. Francis. You are my oldest, dearest friend. You鈥檙e the son of Harold Stein and Julia Altman. You鈥檙e the friend of Malcolm Irvine, of Jean-Baptiste Marion, of Richard Goldfarb, of Andy Contractor, of Lucien Voigt, of Citizen van Straaten, of Rhodes Arrowsmith, of Elijah Kozma, of Phaedra de los Santos, of the Henry Youngs. You鈥檙e a New Yorker. You live in SoHo. You volunteer for an arts organization; you volunteer for a food kitchen. You鈥檙e a swimmer. You鈥檙e a baker. You鈥檙e a cook. You鈥檙e a reader. You have a beautiful voice, though you never sing anymore. You鈥檙e an excellent pianist. You鈥檙e an art collector. You write me lovely messages when I鈥檓 away. You鈥檙e patient. You鈥檙e generous. You鈥檙e the best listener I know. You鈥檙e the smartest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e the bravest person I know, in every way. You鈥檙e a lawyer. You鈥檙e the chair of the litigation department at Rosen Pritchard and Klein. You love your job; you work hard at it. You鈥檙e a mathematician. You鈥檙e a logician. You鈥檝e tried to teach me, again and again. You were treated horribly. You came out on the other end. You were always you.鈥�
"And who are you?"
"I'm Willem Ragnarsson. And I will never let you go.”
― A Little Life
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