Kay yawned and rested her forehead against the windowpane, her fingers idly strumming the guitar: the strings sang a hollow, lulling tune, as monotonously soothing as the Southern landscape, smudged in darkness, flowing past the window. An icy winter moon rolled above the train across the night sky like a thin white wheel.

Turning, she looked out at the icy landscape, the soaring trees, branches dark and bitten blue with frost. And for a moment, she had something like a premonition, a feeling that something terrible was watching her, something hungry and sick. She could nearly hear it out there, panting between the trees, its breath ragged and spoiled.

“Up here in the north country (areas with high levels of snow), we'd like to see 10 percent more deer, in the middle snow fall zone we could have up to 50 percent more deer, and in southern areas where we have a lot of agriculture in the landscape, perhaps around 15 percent fewer deer.”

“China is changing the world's economic landscape, and FedEx has been part of this great change since we established express operations in China more than 20 years ago. This strategic investment in the long-term growth of China will broaden and deepen our relationship by improving access to important markets, fueling economic development for years to come.”

As her body expanded so did her interior landscape. She imagined minarets, skyscrapers, entire cities being constructed inside her. Thighs thickened, belly became basketball-sized, buttocks deepened with dimples. Even her taste-buds shifted, and she held her tongue out for crushed ice, chalk, charcoal.

“I love Spain for its landscapes and weather, so I am happy to make my debut at the Vuelta, ... I suffered bronchitis at the Tour that forced me to quit and I've been treating it for 20 days, leaving me totally inactive. Even though I lack a little race speed, I've felt good in training.”

“He may or may not have viewed himself as a fine artist, but he did photos for himself as well as commercial photos. We have several samples of his Pyramid Lake photos that he did for himself. He viewed his commercial work as sales items to make money and saw his landscapes as more artistic.”

If [hand-drawn animation] is a dying craft, we can't do anything about it. Civilization moves on. Where are all the fresco painters now? Where are the landscape artists? What are they doing now? The world is changing. I have been very fortunate to be able to do the same job for 40 years. That's rare in any era.

The journey across the landscape of loss to the inner self takes courage and persistence. It is a risky venture, with lots of false trails and humanising errors. It requires gentleness to know your limits, yet willingness to apply pressure in the direction of growth. It is a journey that is not cost-free, nor is it ever finished. But, especially in the pitch darkness, it is a journey on which there is always hope.

I sometimes try to imagine what would have happened if we’d known the bonobo first and the chimpanzee only later—or not at all. The discussion about human evolution might not revolve as much around violence, warfare and male dominance, but rather around sexuality, empathy, caring and cooperation. What a different intellectual landscape we would occupy!