“When, suddenly, on an ordinary Wednesday, it seemed to Barney that the world tilted and ran downhill in all directions, he knew he was about to be haunted again.”
“Later, when Barney was in bed, not thinking of great-uncles, dead or alive or even mislaid, not even thinking of the ghost, he felt something strange begin in his mind... a kind of stirring and opening as if some butterfly were struggling out of its chrysalis and trying to unfold crumpled wings.”
“He could not remember his own mother and Claire had come as a wonderful surprise, giving him a hug when he came home from school, asking him about his day, telling him about hers, arranging picnics and unexpected parties and helping him with hard homework.”