--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What did you write on the back of the…" description: "\"“What did you write on the back of the postcard?” “It was going to be a surprise.” “I’m too old for surprises. Besides, surprises always come with a sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/andre-aciman-459_surprise_what-did-you-write-on-the-back-of-the-po_381356.jpg" --- # What did you write on the back of the postcard?” “It was… ![“What did you write on the back of the postcard?” “It was going to be a surprise.” “I’m too old for surprises. Besides, surprises always come with a sharp edge that is meant to hurt. I don’t want to be hurt—not by you. Tell me.” “Just two words.” “Let me guess: If not later, when? ” “Two words, I…” quote by André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/andre-aciman-459_surprise_what-did-you-write-on-the-back-of-the-po_381356.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/andre-aciman-459_surprise_what-did-you-write-on-the-back-of-the-po_381356.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66b/andre-aciman-459_surprise_what-did-you-write-on-the-back-of-the-po_381356.jpg) > ““What did you write on the back of the postcard?” “It was going to be a surprise.” “I’m too old for surprises. Besides, surprises always come with a sharp edge that is meant to hurt. I don’t want to be hurt—not by you. Tell me.” “Just two words.” “Let me guess: If not later, when? ” “Two words, I said. Besides, that would be cruel.” I thought for a while. “I give up.” “ Cor cordium , heart of hearts, I’ve never said anything truer in my life to anyone.”” [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The dialogue explores the tension between desire for intimacy and fear of emotional pain, suggesting that honesty can be both a risk and a relief. **In simple terms:** Honesty can be painful but freeing. Key Takeaway Speak truthfully, even if it hurts. Themes intimacy vulnerability communication Mood reflective intimate Type literary dialogue When to use this quote - confessing love - asking for honesty - handling emotional risk Key Concepts psychology human connection fear of rejection Questions to Reflect On - Can you be honest without fearing hurt? - What does “sharp edge” symbolize in relationships? A Different Perspective Honesty may not always protect you from pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Later Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later-words-696289/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Surprises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprises/) [Thought Cor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-cor-3457739/) [Two Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-words/) [Words Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-said/) ## Related quotes > [“As for what, exactly, was said about the future, all I can say is that, speaking as indirectly as we were, transferred between us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/as-for-what-exactly-was-said-about-the-future-all-i-can-say-is-that/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The point is not what I see, but what I feel; I cannot see the ether, yet I feel it enter and depart, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-perry/the-point-is-not-what-i-see-but-what-i-feel-i-cannot-see-the-ether/) [Sarah Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-perry/) > [“In truth, language seems less like a series of cells in which we are imprisoned than like a set of tools that help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-truth-language-seems-less-like-a-series-of-cells-in-which-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Two words from him, and I had seen my pouting apathy change into I’ll play anything for you till you ask me to stop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/two-words-from-him-and-i-had-seen-my-pouting-apathy-change-into-i-ll-2/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Two words from him, and I had seen my pouting apathy change into I’ll play anything for you till you ask me to stop,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/two-words-from-him-and-i-had-seen-my-pouting-apathy-change-into-i-ll/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/little-surprises-around-every-corner-but-nothing-dangerous/) [Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/) > [A lot interests me - but nothing surprises me particularly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/a-lot-interests-me-but-nothing-surprises-me-particularly/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The future can ever promise but one thing and one thing only: surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/the-future-can-ever-promise-but-one-thing-and-one-thing-only-surprises/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [It surprises me how often we hold ourselves back until we have no choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/it-surprises-me-how-often-we-hold-ourselves-back-until-we-have-no/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) > [A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise... Because this is how life is full of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-bashevis-singer/a-story-to-me-means-a-plot-where-there-is-some-surprise-because-this/) [Isaac Bashevis Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-bashevis-singer/) > [there are times when life surprises one, and anything may happen, even what one had hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-glasgow/there-are-times-when-life-surprises-one-and-anything-may-happen-even/) [Ellen Glasgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-glasgow/) > [Bibles laid open, millions of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/bibles-laid-open-millions-of-surprises/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Life is full of surprises, isn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/life-is-full-of-surprises-isn-t-it/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [History is full of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/history-is-full-of-surprises/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) ## More by André Aciman > [Don't all writers have a hidden nerve, call it a secret chamber, something irreducibly theirs, which stirs their prose and makes it tick and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/don-t-all-writers-have-a-hidden-nerve-call-it-a-secret-chamber/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I wanted him to remember the morning on Monet's berm when I'd kissed him not the first but the second time and given him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-wanted-him-to-remember-the-morning-on-monet-s-berm-when-i-d-kissed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Rituals are how we step into our private field of dreams, a small Elysium all our own. Rituals are made not just for us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/rituals-are-how-we-step-into-our-private-field-of-dreams-a-small/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I desperately wanted to give him something. By contrast, taking seemed so bland, so facile, so mechanical.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-desperately-wanted-to-give-him-something-by-contrast-taking-seemed/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“The man who'll lay the last stone here isn't even born yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/the-man-who-ll-lay-the-last-stone-here-isn-t-even-born-yet/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [Proust is interested in minutiae because life, as he sees it, is seldom ever about things but about our impression of things, not about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/proust-is-interested-in-minutiae-because-life-as-he-sees-it-is-seldom/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Well, since you're not going to do anything with me—can you at least read me a story? I'd settle for that. I wanted him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/well-since-you-re-not-going-to-do-anything-with-me-can-you-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“This is heaven.” And I wouldn’t hear him say another word for at least an hour. There was nothing I loved more in life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/this-is-heaven-and-i-wouldn-t-hear-him-say-another-word-for-at-least/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“He loved the sticky taste. What had I done? I told him and pointed to the bruised evidence sitting on my desk. “Let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/he-loved-the-sticky-taste-what-had-i-done-i-told-him-and-pointed-to/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“When had they separated us, you and me, Oliver? And why did I know it, and why didn't you?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/when-had-they-separated-us-you-and-me-oliver-and-why-did-i-know-it/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“As we were swimming back, he asked as though it were an afterthought, “Are you going to hold last night against me?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-we-were-swimming-back-he-asked-as-though-it-were-an-afterthought/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“To be with you. To be with you, Oliver. With or without my bathing suit. To be with you on my bed. In your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/to-be-with-you-to-be-with-you-oliver-with-or-without-my-bathing-suit/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“I thought I could ever want another living soul, gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-thought-i-could-ever-want-another-living-soul-gently-softly-and/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [“Oliver: But there's the catch: you're still twenty years younger than those gathered around you, which is why I can be twenty-four in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/oliver-but-there-s-the-catch-you-re-still-twenty-years-younger-than/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I cannot write if there is a sense of plenitude. I have to hypothesize that there is a loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/i-cannot-write-if-there-is-a-sense-of-plenitude-i-have-to-hypothesize/) [Andre Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) [Explore all 527 André Aciman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) ## More Surprise quotes > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Every coach in the league does an unbelievable job, and they're prepared and think you're going to outcoach people, or you think that you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d-antoni/every-coach-in-the-league-does-an-unbelievable-job-and-they-re/) [Mike D'Antoni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d-antoni/) > [I want to make myself and the crowd happy by way of something different, and that makes things difficult. I'm never playing something that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/i-want-to-make-myself-and-the-crowd-happy-by-way-of-something/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [No Time For Goodbye is a deliciously smart thriller, full of surprises and perfect pacing. I'm jealous I didn't write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alafair-burke/no-time-for-goodbye-is-a-deliciously-smart-thriller-full-of-surprises/) [Alafair Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alafair-burke/) > [I love Derrick Brown for the surprise of one word waking up next to another. One moment tender, funny or romantic, the next, visceral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-love-derrick-brown-for-the-surprise-of-one-word-waking-up-next-to/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I always want to surprise audiences and tell stories that are entertaining and challenging at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-hechinger/i-always-want-to-surprise-audiences-and-tell-stories-that-are/) [Fred Hechinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-hechinger/) > [Don't let your imagination take you by surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/don-t-let-your-imagination-take-you-by-surprise/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [History is full of surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/history-is-full-of-surprises/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [I can't imagine, I can't get in the mind of a wrestling fan who wants to break news that spoils a surprise for somebody.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-ambrose/i-can-t-imagine-i-can-t-get-in-the-mind-of-a-wrestling-fan-who-wants/) [Dean Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-ambrose/) > [It doesn't matter to me if it has a surprise ending or not. I usually go for the material or the project.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-wahlberg/it-doesn-t-matter-to-me-if-it-has-a-surprise-ending-or-not-i-usually/) [Donnie Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-wahlberg/) > [I think there's something funny about people who laugh in the face of convention or surprise us morally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-waller-bridge/i-think-there-s-something-funny-about-people-who-laugh-in-the-face-of/) [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-waller-bridge/) > [The thing that I like about magazines, paper magazines, and papers in any kind of tangible format is the surprise factor of turning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-millman/the-thing-that-i-like-about-magazines-paper-magazines-and-papers-in/) [Debbie Millman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-millman/) > [And the commitment that I've been giving to the Australian people is that there'll be no surprises and no excuses under a Coalition government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/and-the-commitment-that-i-ve-been-giving-to-the-australian-people-is/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Browse all 3,219 Surprise quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What did you write on the back of the postcard?” “It was going to be a surprise.” “I’m too old for surprises. Besides, surprises always come with a sharp edge that is meant to hurt. I don’t want to be hurt—not by you. Tell me.” “Just two words.” “Let me guess: If not later, when? ” “Two words, I said. 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