Katherine Paterson: "Bukan karena dia keberatan memberitahu Leslie bah...

"Bukan karena dia keberatan memberitahu Leslie bahwa dia takut untuk pergi; dia berpikiran takut. Seolah-olah dia dibuat dengan potongan besar yang hilang - salah satu teka-teki May Belle dengan celah besar di mana mata seseorang seharusnya. Tuhan, akan lebih baik dilahirkan tanpa lengan daripada menjalani hidup tanpa nyali."

--- Katherine Paterson

Versi Bahasa Inggris

It wasn't so much that he minded telling Leslie that he was afraid to go; it was that he minded being afraid. It was as though he had been made with a great piece missing - one of May Belle's puzzles with this huge gap where somebody's eye should have been. Lord, it would be better to be born without an arm than to go through life with no guts.