--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only certainty was that they took…" description: "\"“The only certainty was that they took everything with them: money, December breezes, the bread knife, thunder at 3 in the afternoon, the scent of jasm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_devastated_the-only-certainty-was-that-they-took-ev_693495.jpg" --- # The only certainty was that they took everything with… ![“The only certainty was that they took everything with them: money, December breezes, the bread knife, thunder at 3 in the afternoon, the scent of jasmines, love. All that remained were the dusty almond trees, the reverberating streets, the houses of wood and roofs of rusting tin with their…” quote by Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_devastated_the-only-certainty-was-that-they-took-ev_693495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_devastated_the-only-certainty-was-that-they-took-ev_693495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/810/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez-116_devastated_the-only-certainty-was-that-they-took-ev_693495.jpg) > ““The only certainty was that they took everything with them: money, December breezes, the bread knife, thunder at 3 in the afternoon, the scent of jasmines, love. All that remained were the dusty almond trees, the reverberating streets, the houses of wood and roofs of rusting tin with their taciturn inhabitants, devastated by memories.”” [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s material and sensory riches fade, leaving only memories and the stark environment they inhabited. **In simple terms:** Things disappear, memories stay. Key Takeaway Cherish moments, not possessions. Themes impermanence memory loss environment Mood melancholic reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - heritage preservation - personal reflection - urban decay - family storytelling Key Concepts Existentialism nostalgia materialism Questions to Reflect On - What do you hold onto after loss? - How do environments shape memory? A Different Perspective Memories can be painful and may not fully capture lived experience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Once I started on 'Frances' I discovered it was literally a bottomless well. 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I answered with the truth: Age isn't how old you are but how old you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/why-were-you-so-old-when-we-met-i-answered-with-the-truth-age-isn-t/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [Between the covers of the books that no one had ever read again, in the old parchments damaged by dampness, a livid flower had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/between-the-covers-of-the-books-that-no-one-had-ever-read-again-in/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Fear had absorbed her completely and remained there, fixed, tenacious, almost corporeal, as if it were some invisible person who had made up his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/fear-had-absorbed-her-completely-and-remained-there-fixed-tenacious/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“Today I know I was right. The adolescents of my generation, greedy for life, forgot in body and soul about their hopes for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/today-i-know-i-was-right-the-adolescents-of-my-generation-greedy-for/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“...It was then, for the first time, that she understood above all her virtues what was in command was the vanity of a metaphysical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/it-was-then-for-the-first-time-that-she-understood-above-all-her/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) [Explore all 872 Gabriel García Márquez quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) ## More Devastated quotes > [“Authors: The only people you thank for leaving you emotionally devastated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-the-stacks-bookstore/authors-the-only-people-you-thank-for-leaving-you-emotionally/) Love The Stacks Bookstore > [My mom passed down to me her old Levi's denim jacket. 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