““It was all very well to pretend you were not afraid of death, Bea thought, but people only said that because they had not looked death in the eye. They had not understood that it meant everything you have always taken for granted and loved without even knowing it-the world around you, the memories you carry with you, your hopes for the future- all of this being extinguished like a candle flame that is blown out. And afterwards, there would be nothing. Not even emptiness. Not even loneliness. Not even pain.””
![“Dear Mr. Fraser, I write to inform you that I shall not visit Helwater this quarter; official affairs detain me. […] These affairs concern an inquiry into the explosion of a cannon in Germany, June last. I was summoned before an official Commission of Inquiry, which… He wrote steadily, pausing now…” quote by Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/44a/diana-gabaldon-185_afraid-of-death_dear-mr-fraser-i-write-to-inform-you-tha_131151.jpg)
