--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What does it feel like?” I know what he…" description: "\"“What does it feel like?” I know what he is talking about, but still I ask, “What does what feel like?” “The deliria.” He pauses. Then I hear him slide..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/lauren-oliver-109_feel-like_what-does-it-feel-like-i-know-what-he-is_2323273.png" --- # What does it feel like?” I know what he is talking about… ![“What does it feel like?” I know what he is talking about, but still I ask, “What does what feel like?” “The deliria.” He pauses. Then I hear him slide slowly out of bed. He is kneeling in the space between our bunks. I cannot move or breathe. If I turn my head, our lips will be six inches apart…” quote by Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/lauren-oliver-109_feel-like_what-does-it-feel-like-i-know-what-he-is_2323273.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/lauren-oliver-109_feel-like_what-does-it-feel-like-i-know-what-he-is_2323273.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ca/lauren-oliver-109_feel-like_what-does-it-feel-like-i-know-what-he-is_2323273.png) > ““What does it feel like?” I know what he is talking about, but still I ask, “What does what feel like?” “The deliria.” He pauses. Then I hear him slide slowly out of bed. He is kneeling in the space between our bunks. I cannot move or breathe. If I turn my head, our lips will be six inches apart. Less. “What does it feel like to be infected?” “I—I can’t describe it.” I force the words out. Can’t breathe, can’t breathe, can’t breathe. His skin smells like smoke from a wood fire, like soap, like heaven. I imagine tasting his skin; I imagine biting his lips. “I want to know.” His words are a whisper, barely audible. “I want to know with you.”” [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A desperate yearning for intimate connection amid illness and fear, expressed through vivid sensory details and a plea for shared experience. **In simple terms:** Desire for closeness despite suffering. Key Takeaway Seek empathy and honest communication. Themes intimacy illness desire fear sensory perception Mood anxious intense poignant Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - hospital bedside - terminal illness - caregiver conversations - intimate moments Key Concepts psychology human connection mortality Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance physical and emotional intimacy in crisis? - What does sharing pain reveal about us? A Different Perspective The intense focus on physical sensations may obscure emotional nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Does Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/does-feel/) [Feel Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-like/) [Like Infected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-infected-272710/) [Smells Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smells-like/) [Tasting Skin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tasting-skin-5561268/) ## Related quotes > [What does it feel like to be infected?" "I-- I can't describe it." I force the words out. Can't breathe, can't breathe, can't breathe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/what-does-it-feel-like-to-be-infected-i-i-can-t-describe-it-i-force/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Having a crush is a bit like being infected with the most annoying, troubling and yet delicious disease you could get. 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Play-Doh was pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-blackwell/john-davis-smells-like-play-doh-when-we-were-in-elementary-school-it/) [Tammy Blackwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-blackwell/) > [Don't you hate it when you get on a elevator and someone smells like they took a bath in perfume or cologne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jreyes/don-t-you-hate-it-when-you-get-on-a-elevator-and-someone-smells-like/) [JREYES](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jreyes/) ## More by Lauren Oliver > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [This is what happens when you try to help people. You get screwed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/this-is-what-happens-when-you-try-to-help-people-you-get-screwed/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“At least when I'm sleeping I can dream myself back to Alex, can dream myself into a different world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/at-least-when-i-m-sleeping-i-can-dream-myself-back-to-alex-can-dream/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [People are like ants: Just a few of them give all the orders. And most of them spend their lives getting squashed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/people-are-like-ants-just-a-few-of-them-give-all-the-orders-and-most/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Summer explodes into Portland. In early June the heat was there but not the color--the green were still pale and tentative, the morning had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/summer-explodes-into-portland-in-early-june-the-heat-was-there-but/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Mistake, mistake, mistake. 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I wonder whether he's thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/julian-is-somewhere-among-those-lights-in-that-blur-of-people-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [A room full of words that are nearly the truth but not quite, each note fluttering off the steam of its rose like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/a-room-full-of-words-that-are-nearly-the-truth-but-not-quite-each/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“She’s the kind of person who makes you feel drunk just by being around her, like suddenly the world’s edges are dulled and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/she-s-the-kind-of-person-who-makes-you-feel-drunk-just-by-being/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Stop!” His voice rings out sharply, hard as a slap. He releases me and I stumble backward. “Alex is dead, do you hear me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/stop-his-voice-rings-out-sharply-hard-as-a-slap-he-releases-me-and-i/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [..in that moment i realize how much i love the little everyday routines of my life..the details that are my life's special pattern, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/in-that-moment-i-realize-how-much-i-love-the-little-everyday-routines/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“You can't judge a book by its steel-toed combat boots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-steel-toed-combat-boots/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) [Explore all 1,181 Lauren Oliver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) ## More Feel Like quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. 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I want a man to feel like he has me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laine/i-don-t-ever-want-a-man-to-feel-like-he-owns-me-i-want-a-man-to-feel/) [Laine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laine/) > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Personally, I don't really have a set style or look. It's pretty much what I feel like wearing that day, from a floral-print dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-mitchell/personally-i-don-t-really-have-a-set-style-or-look-it-s-pretty-much/) [Shay Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-mitchell/) > [I feel like I won the Lotto, as far as that show's concerned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gallagher/i-feel-like-i-won-the-lotto-as-far-as-that-show-s-concerned/) [Peter Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gallagher/) > [I feel like I'll always be a brunette, that's just who I am, but I love that I can switch it up and be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-mcphee/i-feel-like-i-ll-always-be-a-brunette-that-s-just-who-i-am-but-i-love/) [Katharine McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-mcphee/) > [“He made me feel like I was nothing but a set of warm holes for him to pleasure himself with. 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Then I hear him slide slowly out of bed. He is kneeling in the space between our bunks. I cannot move or breathe. If I turn my head, our lips will be six inches apart. Less. “What does it feel like to be infected?” “I—I can’t describe it.” I force the words out. Can’t breathe, can’t breathe, can’t breathe. His skin smells like smoke from a wood fire, like soap, like heaven. 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