[There are things in her memory that should not exist there, though the longer Caren lives with them, the more she feels some reconciliation with them and the less she hopes things will even out and disappear. To hear Gray describe a stagnant, perfect world makes her spine feel like the first cracking line that snakes up glass.]

Hah, [she breathes slightly in understanding.] So a world that is both beautiful and hollow holds no appeal to you.

I do not think an ideal world can be without flaw. It cannot even be with pain or unhappiness. The center cannot hold... and it's human to change.