“I turn around and our eyes meet, and for a moment I see myself in the broken man lying on the bed. My pain is an extension of his. I recognize his tears, because I've cried them many times, and I know they're no ordinary tears. They're the culmination of a life of sorrow and dismantled dreams come to the surface, ready to meet those they've disappointed. They carry with them all the vile agony bottled up in one's soul. They taste of bitterness and torment, and if you don't get rid of them they'll choke you from the inside.”