Zooey

“When I was little, I was out riding my brand-new blue bicycle when I decided to see how far I could keep going without looking back even once.
I could feel with my back how my neighborhood was receding, further and further away... but I kept pedaling with all my might, my mind almost going blank. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart, thumping wildly in my ears. Even now, I remember it sometimes. What exactly was I trying to do that day? What was it that I wanted to prove?

It's no good. My mind just keeps fogging over. I have this irritating sound stuck in my head. What is it? This sound... Ohh... I know what it is.
This is... the sound of emptiness.”
― Chica Umino, Honey and Clover, Vol. 7

“It's okay to spin around and around in the same place. Just so long as you're singing your heart out.
THAT's what life's all about.”
― Chica Umino, Honey and Clover, Vol. 4

“Christmas always used to get me down. There was something oppressive about all those twinkling colored lights.
"Are you happy?" "Do you fit in anywhere?" ....is what it felt like they were asking me.”
― Chica Umino