Sometimes he could almost forget that it was there, the way you forget about the sky or the earth underfoot, but there were other times when it seemed as if there was nothing else in the world.

“There’s always a bear,”

“This was a pain that did not touch the body, a pain that did not race along the…”

“My great beard. I am his queen, but I will always be his cub as well, and he wi…”

“I learned long ago that it is considered rude to vomit on your brother”