Nonesuch

Highlights

Smiles between strangers, an awkward goodwill. A speculative suspicion, travelling from eye to eye, that there might be some other way altogether, some essential and uncostumed way, of seeing these rivalrous animals you stood among, this rivalrous animal you were yourself. Some other thing they all were, or might be, if you could but know it.

Anything might happen. Moment to moment, anything at all. But by now, she thought, glancing at the faces, everyone here knew that. This was hope, not delusion.