--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There had been that time and there had…" description: "\"“There had been that time and there had been an infinite number of others, which Alice no longer remembered, because the love of those we don't love in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png" --- # There had been that time and there had been an infinite… ![“There had been that time and there had been an infinite number of others, which Alice no longer remembered, because the love of those we don't love in return settles on the surface and from there quickly evaporates.” quote by Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png) > ““There had been that time and there had been an infinite number of others, which Alice no longer remembered, because the love of those we don't love in return settles on the surface and from there quickly evaporates.”” [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unrequited love fades quickly, leaving only fleeting memories among endless possibilities. **In simple terms:** Unreciprocated love disappears fast. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence of unreturned affection. Themes love memory impermanence Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - creative writing - philosophical reflection Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What do you cherish from past unreciprocated loves? - How does acceptance shape future connections? A Different Perspective Not all love is meant to last; some is fleeting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evaporates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evaporates/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Knowledge that is paid for will be longer remembered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nachman-of-breslov/knowledge-that-is-paid-for-will-be-longer-remembered/) [Nachman of Breslov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nachman-of-breslov/) > [The love of those we don't love in return settles on the surface and from there quickly evaporates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/the-love-of-those-we-don-t-love-in-return-settles-on-the-surface-and/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [If you're someone's first love you'll always be remembered.. not because you were his/her first love but because eventually you'll be the first person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-constant-louise-glow/if-you-re-someone-s-first-love-you-ll-always-be-remembered-not/) Ruth Constant/louise Glow > [When everything is dark, when we are surrounded by despairing voices, when we do not see any exits, then we can find salvation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/when-everything-is-dark-when-we-are-surrounded-by-despairing-voices/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [The undead did not love, but they remembered love with a savage loyalty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/the-undead-did-not-love-but-they-remembered-love-with-a-savage-loyalty/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [When love flies it is remembered not as love but as something else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-love-flies-it-is-remembered-not-as-love-but-as-something-else-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And we shall walk through all our days with love remembered and love renewed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sexton/and-we-shall-walk-through-all-our-days-with-love-remembered-and-love/) [Robert Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sexton/) > [“When she remembered a summer it would be this one. When she remembered love it would be his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-carlyon/when-she-remembered-a-summer-it-would-be-this-one-when-she-remembered/) C.J. Carlyon > [“I automatically leaned back, my head fitting into that spot between his neck and his shoulder. Again, the cliched romantic in me wondered how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-reekles/i-automatically-leaned-back-my-head-fitting-into-that-spot-between/) [Beth Reekles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-reekles/) > [When love flies it is remembered not as love but as something else. Blessed are the uneducated, who forget it entirely, and are never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-love-flies-it-is-remembered-not-as-love-but-as-something-else/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'd rather be the pain that you remembered, than the love you forgot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-d-rather-be-the-pain-that-you-remembered-than-the-love-you-forgot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Somewhere in your heart you are dying to forget someone who love you,and somewhere in your heart you are living to be remembered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/somewhere-in-your-heart-you-are-dying-to-forget-someone-who-love-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It seemed to him that love was like a great fire, and that people went flying here and there among the flame and smoke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-doyle/it-seemed-to-him-that-love-was-like-a-great-fire-and-that-people-went/) Lynn Doyle > [Put a Love Key in your hand and you can feel the difference. Give one as a gift and it will be remembered. Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/love-is-the-key/put-a-love-key-in-your-hand-and-you-can-feel-the-difference-give-one/) [Love Is The Key®](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/love-is-the-key/) > [“The last thing I wanted was to fall in love because, deep down, I remembered that love hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-stirling/the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-fall-in-love-because-deep-down-i/) [Joss Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-stirling/) ## More by Paolo Giordano > [“As a little girl she had liked looking at her palms against the light, the red peeking through her closed fingers. Once she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/as-a-little-girl-she-had-liked-looking-at-her-palms-against-the-light/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [All opening moves were the same, like in chess. You don't have to come up with anything new, there's no point, because you're both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/all-opening-moves-were-the-same-like-in-chess-you-don-t-have-to-come/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“Mathematicians call them twin primes: pairs of prime numbers that are close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/mathematicians-call-them-twin-primes-pairs-of-prime-numbers-that-are/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [Twin primes: pairs of prime numbers that are close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an even number that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/twin-primes-pairs-of-prime-numbers-that-are-close-to-each-other/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [Even though he was afraid to admit it, when he was with her it seemed it was worth doing all those normal things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/even-though-he-was-afraid-to-admit-it-when-he-was-with-her-it-seemed/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“Mattia sentiu os cabelos dela a fazerem-lhe cócegas no pescoço. Sentiu o fino intervalo de ar que os separava a encher-se com o seu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/mattia-sentiu-os-cabelos-dela-a-fazerem-lhe-c-cegas-no-pesco-o-sentiu/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [...finally her hands, so light, holding his head still and catching all his thoughts and imprisoning them there, in the space that no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/finally-her-hands-so-light-holding-his-head-still-and-catching-all/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [With a little effort, she could get up by herself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/with-a-little-effort-she-could-get-up-by-herself/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“as if moved by a breeze that only she could feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/as-if-moved-by-a-breeze-that-only-she-could-feel/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [She found herself thinking of how it would feel to be safely trapped in his arms, with no more possibility to choose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/she-found-herself-thinking-of-how-it-would-feel-to-be-safely-trapped/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [Mattia thought that he and Alice were like that, twin primes, alone and lost, close but not close enough to really touch each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/mattia-thought-that-he-and-alice-were-like-that-twin-primes-alone-and/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [She tried to open the bottle, but the top slipped through her fingers without moving. He took the bottle from her hand and opened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/she-tried-to-open-the-bottle-but-the-top-slipped-through-her-fingers/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“He was dressed anonymously and had the posture of someone who doesn't know how to occupy the space of his own body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/he-was-dressed-anonymously-and-had-the-posture-of-someone-who-doesn-t/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“Als ik er nu aan terugdenk, was dat het meest verbluffende van de laatste dagen die ik met mijn vader doorbracht: ik had altijd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/als-ik-er-nu-aan-terugdenk-was-dat-het-meest-verbluffende-van-de/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“With photography Alice liked the actions more than the results. She liked opening the back of the camera and unrolling the new film a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/with-photography-alice-liked-the-actions-more-than-the-results-she/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) [Explore all 79 Paolo Giordano quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) ## More Evaporates quotes > [When it becomes really impossible to get away and sleep, then the will to live evaporates of its own accord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/when-it-becomes-really-impossible-to-get-away-and-sleep-then-the-will/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [If I could make albums quicker, I'd be on a roll wouldn't I? Everything just seems to take so much time. I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/if-i-could-make-albums-quicker-i-d-be-on-a-roll-wouldn-t-i-everything/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [“Maybe a spirit evaporates like vapor off the bag of frozen peas you steam in the microwave: the droplets go everywhere, settle wherever they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-hartnett/maybe-a-spirit-evaporates-like-vapor-off-the-bag-of-frozen-peas-you/) [Annie Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-hartnett/) > [Sometimes I think that I want to do something strictly basic, really simple. Just with a few chords. But I won't have anything more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-jenkinson/sometimes-i-think-that-i-want-to-do-something-strictly-basic-really/) [Tom Jenkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-jenkinson/) > [Without work, so much of one's identity just evaporates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/without-work-so-much-of-one-s-identity-just-evaporates/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [If you take a glass of water and separate it from its source - the ocean - then pour the water away from its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/if-you-take-a-glass-of-water-and-separate-it-from-its-source-the/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Whatsoever you hide goes on growing, and whatsoever you expose, if it is wrong it disappears, evaporates in the sun, and if it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/whatsoever-you-hide-goes-on-growing-and-whatsoever-you-expose-if-it/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The love of those we don't love in return settles on the surface and from there quickly evaporates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/the-love-of-those-we-don-t-love-in-return-settles-on-the-surface-and/) [Paolo Giordano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/) > [“Love is like a cloud, if you keep staring at it.. it evaporates”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinod-srivastav/love-is-like-a-cloud-if-you-keep-staring-at-it-it-evaporates/) Vinod Srivastav > [If love means that one person absorbs the other, then no real relationship exists any more. Love evaporates; there is nothing left to love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-oakley/if-love-means-that-one-person-absorbs-the-other-then-no-real/) [Ann Oakley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-oakley/) > [There are a lot of guys who are successful, they make a lot of big money, I mean millions overnight with a contract, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/there-are-a-lot-of-guys-who-are-successful-they-make-a-lot-of-big/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [There is a shy side to me that evaporates when I play on stage, and I like that. I think it's another facet of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-weller/there-is-a-shy-side-to-me-that-evaporates-when-i-play-on-stage-and-i/) [Paul Weller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-weller/) > [Love? That shit is like water. It evaporates leave us at times!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevoy-liburd/love-that-shit-is-like-water-it-evaporates-leave-us-at-times/) Trevoy Liburd > [I open and fill with LOVE and what is not LOVE ... evaporates!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/i-open-and-fill-with-love-and-what-is-not-love-evaporates/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“Prayer never evaporates. It sets into motion forces as inexorable and perhaps as "unhurriable" as a glacier, but when the Lord's arm reaches down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliott/prayer-never-evaporates-it-sets-into-motion-forces-as-inexorable-and/) Elisabeth Elliott [Browse all 19 Evaporates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evaporates/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“There had been that time and there had been an infinite number of others, which Alice no longer remembered, because the love of those we don't love in return settles on the surface and from there quickly evaporates.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paolo Giordano" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-been-an-infinite-number-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Evaporates" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-been-an-infinite-number-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8b/paolo-giordano-4023_evaporates_there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-b_1933469.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There had been that time and there had been an infinite number of others, which Alice no longer remembered…” — Paolo Giordano", "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": "Paolo Giordano", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-giordano/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“There had been that time and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-been-an-infinite-number-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-giordano/there-had-been-that-time-and-there-had-been-an-infinite-number-of/#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 } } ] } ```