Abel Tannatek Quotes

“Go away princess. Leave your outlaw alone. You won't change him... go away, Anna, far away, and don't ever come back. The fairy tale doesn't have a happy ending.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“In a dream, in a fairytale, nothing has to be explained, everything happens of its own accord.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“I can’t be forgiven so I am not asking you for forgiveness. We lost each other, and we will never find each other again.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“That was how she saw the storyteller for the last time - in an absolutely silent world, in a staircase. He'd hit his target.
When she fell into darkness, she knew that she would never see him again.
She'd love him to the very end.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“I am not staying with the murderer," she said, her words muffled by his jacket. "I am not staying with the victim Abel Tannatek or the culprit Abel Tannatek. I am staying with the storyteller.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Possibly, she thought, the pool of answers was limited. There are fewer answers in the world than questions, and if you ask me now why that is so, I must tell you that there is no answer to that question.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“The words that I will have to find for that explanation will be sharp and they will hurt, much worse than the thorns of roses.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“He looked at the gun. "Aren't you afraid?"
"Of course I am," Anna said. "Of course I'm afraid. But that doesn't help."
He shook his head. "No," he said, "it doesn't help to be afraid. Bad things happen anyway. You're right.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“They saw him walk away, leave a world he'd never really been part of. They saw him pull his hat down low and get onto his bike. He forgot the Walkman's earplugs. Maybe, Anna thought, he didn't need them anymore; maybe the white noise had finally made it into his head.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“I'm doing a thousand new things in spite of myself," he said. "It's not easy, you know, to jump over your shadow.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“And she imagined how things could be later. It was stupid, but the picture just appeared in her mind. Abel and Magnus shoveling snow together... in twenty years, in thirty. Magnus had grown old, his broad back still strong but bent from time, his hair nearly white at the temples. And Abel... Abel was a different Abel, an adult one, one who was absolutely self-confident and didn't let his eyes dart around the room at lunch, as if he were caught in trap.
"Nonsense," she whispered. "Thirty years? You don't stay with the person you meet at seventeen... what kind of fairy tale are you living in, Anna Leemann?"
And still the picture seemed right.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“The place in her, though, where her tears should have come from, was rough and dry. No, she didn't find any tears in herself to cry for the storyteller.
The storyteller didn't exist anymore.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Abel put his hands on her shoulders. "You're cold. You're shivering."
She nodded. "It's not important..."
"Sure it is," and then, in a very low voice, with a private kind of smile, he said, "Rose girl, I told you the branches would wither and you would freeze. You wanted to stay on board..."
Anna nodded. "I'm staying.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Part of her - unreasonable Anna- still loved him. Maybe she would never stop loving him.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“The white noise from the old Walkman enveloped them both; like a blanket of new snow, it draped itself over them, shutting out all the curious looks.
And the world under the blanket was - surprisingly, wonderfully - absolutely, quiet.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Abel lifted her up - another gesture from former times, from when she'd been smaller - and carried her to the bathroom to find the Band-aid. Suddenly, Anna thought, she's growing up. One day, she'll be too big to be carried around like that. One day, he won't be able to hold onto her, she'll move on, and he'll be left all alone. Maybe the responsibility for Micha is more of an anchor than a burden. A lifeboat. A wooden plank to hold onto so you don't drown.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“There are fewer answers in the world than questions, and if you ask me now why that is so, I must tell you that there is no answer to that question.”
― Antonia Michaelis

“She had taught herself how to knit, and for the mare's scarf - it was green - she had given herself the best grade possible. And ...'
'That's silly!' Micha giggled.
'Well, who is the cliff queen, you or me?' Abel asked. 'It isn't my fault if you're giving yourself grades!”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Anna," he said for the fourth time, as if there was nothing more to say, now that she'd finally answered. Nothing but her name. As if he'd just called to make sure she existed.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Anna took his hand to gauge the swelling. 'Let's at least put something cold around it. Frozen peas work pretty well.'
'Do I have to eat them?'
'No, you just have to inject them into a vein,' Anna said.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“As long as you're better at it than skating...," Anna said and stood up too. She wanted to say more, but that wasn't possible because he was kissing her. Reasonable Anna wanted to draw back the danger of touch. But unreasonable Anna welcomed the kiss like happiness. Maybe, she thought, it's better to take these moments when you get them - there might not be too many in life.”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller

“Abel was brushing the snow off his parka while Micha was dancing around him, still balancing the plate of cookies, singing, 'We're staying, we're staying, we're staying overnight! We're drying! We're drying! We're drying on the line!”
― Antonia Michaelis, The Storyteller