"What is it? My dear?"
"Ah, how can we bear it?"
"Bear what?"
"This. For so short a time. How can we sleep this time away?"
"We can be quiet together, and pretend- since it is only the beginning- that we have all the time in the world."
"And every day we shall have less. And then none."
Would you rather, therefore, have had nothing at all?"
"No. This is where I have always been coming to. Since my time began. And when I go away from here, this will be the midpoint, to which everything ran, before and from which everything will run. But now my love, we are here, we are now, and those other times are running elsewhere."

Byatt