““I numb myself and begin the body check skimming quickly unwilling to be caught in strangers' tragedies, only looking directly at those whom I would have known had circumstances been different. The search leaves me weak. I am still not hardened. Often caught by a particular sight I begin to read, despite myself, and learn a new name, another event, still another atrocity. I smell again the burning bodies, see the flames, wade through sewers in a last desperate effort, till some present distraction, like hunger or cold, draws me back and I begin closing windows and preparing dinner.””
