“A visitor is a friend, he brings news, good or bad, which is bread to the hungry minds in lonely places. A real friend who comes to the house is a heavenly messenger, who brings the panis angelorum.”

“Max.” Fang let go of my hand. “Right now, it’s really all about—us.” He swooped down to the right in a big semicircle, ending facing me. Slowly we climbed upward, until we were almost vertical, flying straight up to the sun. While carefully synchronizing our wings—they almost touched—Fang leaned in, gently put one hand behind my neck, and kissed me. It was just about as close to heaven as I’ll ever get, I guess. I closed my eyes, lost in the feeling of flying and kissing and being with the one person in the world I completely,utterly trusted. When we finally broke apart, we looked down at the others, who were way far below us now. Angel was shading her eyes, looking up at us with a big smile. She was sitting on a dolphin’s back, and I hoped soon someone would explain to the dolphin that he shouldn’t let Angel take advantage of his good nature. Still looking up at us, Angel gave us a big thumbs-up. “She approves,” Fang said with a hint of amusement.”Jeez,” I wondered aloud. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

“The moon will guide you through the night with her brightness, but she will always dwell in the darkness, in order to be seen.”

“To like many people spontaneously and without effort is perhaps the greatest of all sources of personal happiness.”

“Happy is the soul that has a friend. Happier is the soul that trusts in the truth of the heart of a friend. Happiest is the soul that knows the solemnity of friendship and honours its laws.”

“At the end of the day your ability to connect with your readers comes down to how you make them feel.”

“The noble man is chiefly concerned with wisdom and friendship; of these, the former is a mortal good, the latter and immortal one.”

“Love doesn’t make the world go ’round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile.”

“Friendships – and indeed most relationships – are measured in the closeness of hearts, minds and soul ties… not in the distance of physical miles or even the passing of time.”

“Of all the means to insure happiness throughout the whole life, by far the most important is the acquisition of friends.”

“I look back now and realize that the gift of a true friend is that she sees you not the way you see yourself or the way others see you. A true friend sees you for who you are and who you can become.”