. . . “I WANT TO LIVE” WAS SPUN FROM THE THREADS OF A SPIDERWEB. IT TAKES SO LITTLE, SO INFINITELY LITTLE, FOR SOMEONE TO FIND HIMSELF ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BORDER, WHERE EVERYTHING—LOVE, CONVICTIONS, FAITH, HISTORY—NO LONGER HAS MEANING. THE WHOLE MYSTERY OF HUMAN LIFE RESIDES IN THE FACT THAT IT IS SPENT IN THE IMMEDIATE PROXIMITY OF, AND EVEN IN DIRECT CONTACT WITH, THAT BORDER, THAT IT IS SEPARATED FROM IT NOT BY KILOMETERS BUT BY BARELY A MILLIMETER.

. . . IT TAKES SO LITTLE, A TINY PUFF OF AIR, FOR THINGS TO SHIFT IMPERCEPTIBLY, AND WHATEVER IT WAS THAT A MAN WAS READY TO LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR A FEW SECONDS EARLIER SEEMS SUDDENLY TO BE SHEER NONSENSE.