--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had…" description: "\"“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory of it had left a stale taste on his ton..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png" --- # For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away… ![“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory of it had left a stale taste on his tongue,a shadow on his heart,nothing more.” quote by Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png) > ““For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory of it had left a stale taste on his tongue,a shadow on his heart,nothing more.”” [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage captures a fleeting return to normalcy after trauma, where the protagonist briefly forgets his suffering, only to realize it lingers as a subtle, lingering ache. **In simple terms:** Brief respite from lingering pain Key Takeaway Trauma can feel momentarily erased but leaves a subtle trace Themes memory trauma resilience illusion recovery Mood melancholic reflective hopeful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - after a battle - post‑loss reflection - recovering from a nightmare - momentary peace - re‑engaging with daily life Key Concepts psychological impact sensory metaphor character introspection Practical Applications - writing therapeutic narratives - designing mental‑health prompts Questions to Reflect On - What does the 'stale taste' symbolize about unresolved grief? - How might brief relief affect long‑term healing? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) [Dustfinger Felt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dustfinger-felt-372987/) [Felt Away](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/felt-away-372988/) [Left Stale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-stale-372989/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Moment Dustfinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment-dustfinger-372986/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“ It's a world full of terror and beauty (here her writing became so small Meggie could hardly make it out) and I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/it-s-a-world-full-of-terror-and-beauty-here-her-writing-became-so/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Banks felt more alone and further away for having just talked to Sophia than he had before her call. But it was always like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-robinson/banks-felt-more-alone-and-further-away-for-having-just-talked-to/) [Peter Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-robinson/) > [I met you, I cherish you. I spoke with you, I love you. You came to my house, I felt you... Now you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olajide-oluwatobiloba/i-met-you-i-cherish-you-i-spoke-with-you-i-love-you-you-came-to-my/) [Olajide Oluwatobiloba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olajide-oluwatobiloba/) > [But with a sigh he had released her hand, while she was so lost in the fantasy that she hadn't felt it go away,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/but-with-a-sigh-he-had-released-her-hand-while-she-was-so-lost-in-the/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live. Only in books could you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-world-was-a-terrible-place-cruel-pitiless-dark-as-a-bad-dream-not/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [So Mo began filling the silence with words. He lured them out of the pages as if they had only been waiting for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/so-mo-began-filling-the-silence-with-words-he-lured-them-out-of-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I hate having bad dreams about the people I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-having-bad-dreams-about-the-people-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [“Don't let what's happened spoil your life; it doesn't have to. If help is offered, take it if you want it. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-3/don-t-let-what-s-happened-spoil-your-life-it-doesn-t-have-to-if-help/) [P D James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-3/) > [I pray that fear would just be a dream, a bad dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-blanchard/i-pray-that-fear-would-just-be-a-dream-a-bad-dream/) [Anastasia Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-blanchard/) > [The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved Southwards week by week, easily, lazily, lingering as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/the-past-was-like-a-bad-dream-the-future-was-all-happy-holiday-as-i/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [“The only bad dreams are those not worth chasing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-bad-dreams-are-those-not-worth-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Ben and Freda were happy for Cindy. She had recovered from the horrible abuses she had suffered the previous year. Her last bad dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/ben-and-freda-were-happy-for-cindy-she-had-recovered-from-the/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) ## More by Cornelia Funke > [ There was another reason \[she\] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/there-was-another-reason-she-took-her-books-whenever-they-went-away/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“A story is a labyrinth, it looks as if there were several ways to go, but only one is right, and there's a nasty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-story-is-a-labyrinth-it-looks-as-if-there-were-several-ways-to-go/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her full on the mouth. His skin was wet with rain. When she didn't pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/he-put-his-hands-on-her-shoulders-and-kissed-her-full-on-the-mouth/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Don't let it worry you, not being able to speak,'Dustfinger had often told her. 'People tend not to listen anyway, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/don-t-let-it-worry-you-not-being-able-to-speak-dustfinger-had-often/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“And he will have a great aunt called Elinor who tells him there's a world not like this one. A world with neither fairies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/and-he-will-have-a-great-aunt-called-elinor-who-tells-him-there-s-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [“Yes, Mo would come. Meggie could think of nothing else as Fenoglio led her away with him, his arm around her as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/yes-mo-would-come-meggie-could-think-of-nothing-else-as-fenoglio-led/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [When it came to hiding, even Gwin had nothing to teach Dustfinger. A strange sense of curiosity had always driven him to explore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/when-it-came-to-hiding-even-gwin-had-nothing-to-teach-dustfinger-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Because fear kills everything," Mo had once told her. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-fear-kills-everything-mo-had-once-told-her-your-mind-your/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Perhaps there's another, much larger story behind the printed one, a story that changes just as our own world does. And the letters on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/perhaps-there-s-another-much-larger-story-behind-the-printed-one-a/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Mo could paint pictures in the empty air with his voice alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/mo-could-paint-pictures-in-the-empty-air-with-his-voice-alone/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I remember the feeling. Whenever my father got so absorbed in a book that we might have been in visible I felt like taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-remember-the-feeling-whenever-my-father-got-so-absorbed-in-a-book/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [I wish you luck,' she said, kissing him on the cheek. He still had the most beautiful eyes of any boy she'd ever seen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/i-wish-you-luck-she-said-kissing-him-on-the-cheek-he-still-had-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [Because by now Elinor had understood this, too: A longing for books was nothing compared with what you could feel for human beings. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/because-by-now-elinor-had-understood-this-too-a-longing-for-books-was/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal. The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/the-night-breathed-through-the-apartment-like-a-dark-animal-the/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) > [A reader doesn't really see the characters in a story; he feels them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/a-reader-doesn-t-really-see-the-characters-in-a-story-he-feels-them/) [Cornelia Funke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) [Explore all 286 Cornelia Funke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/) ## More Bad dream quotes > [“The other day Nan said, 'Nothing can ever be quite the same for any of us again.' It made me feel rebellious. Why shouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/the-other-day-nan-said-nothing-can-ever-be-quite-the-same-for-any-of/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [“Ben and Freda were happy for Cindy. She had recovered from the horrible abuses she had suffered the previous year. Her last bad dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shafter-bailey/ben-and-freda-were-happy-for-cindy-she-had-recovered-from-the/) [Shafter Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shafter-bailey/) > [“The only bad dreams are those not worth chasing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-bad-dreams-are-those-not-worth-chasing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is perhaps best regarded as a bad dream between two awakenings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/life-is-perhaps-best-regarded-as-a-bad-dream-between-two-awakenings/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [The past was like a bad dream; the future was all happy holiday as I moved Southwards week by week, easily, lazily, lingering as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-grahame/the-past-was-like-a-bad-dream-the-future-was-all-happy-holiday-as-i/) [Kenneth Grahame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-grahame/) > [I pray that fear would just be a dream, a bad dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-blanchard/i-pray-that-fear-would-just-be-a-dream-a-bad-dream/) [Anastasia Blanchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-blanchard/) > [“Don't let what's happened spoil your life; it doesn't have to. If help is offered, take it if you want it. But in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james-3/don-t-let-what-s-happened-spoil-your-life-it-doesn-t-have-to-if-help/) [P D James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james-3/) > [“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-thought-about-the-idea-of-how-much-a-person-could-take-people/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [I hate having bad dreams about the people I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-having-bad-dreams-about-the-people-i-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I only have two kinds of dreams: the bad and the terrible. Bad dreams I can cope with. They're just nightmares, and they end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-only-have-two-kinds-of-dreams-the-bad-and-the-terrible-bad-dreams-i/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When you are having bad dreams, turn your pillow over. The good dreams are on the other side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit/when-you-are-having-bad-dreams-turn-your-pillow-over-the-good-dreams/) [Rohit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit/) > [“By now you must have guessed: I come from another planet. But I will never say to you, Take me to your leaders. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/by-now-you-must-have-guessed-i-come-from-another-planet-but-i-will/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Sometimes life begins like a bad dream and ends up like a kid's fairytale. 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Maybe there’s a God above this subGod who’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/maybe-the-god-we-see-the-god-who-calls-the-daily-shots-is-merely-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Browse all 257 Bad dream quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-dream/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the memory of it had left a stale taste on his tongue,a shadow on his heart,nothing more.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornelia Funke" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad dream" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c04/cornelia-funke-908_bad-dream_for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-ha_12965.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For a moment Dustfinger felt as if he had never been away- as if he had simply had a bad dream, and the…” — Cornelia Funke", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cornelia Funke", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornelia-funke/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For a moment Dustfinger felt as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornelia-funke/for-a-moment-dustfinger-felt-as-if-he-had-never-been-away-as-if-he/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```