[That smile is so perfectly blue--not a color but the essence of what it means--that for a moment he simply stares at her, forgetting the question entirely. It's sheer luck that when he speaks it's sort of in line with what she'd wanted to know.]

It's like when you're floating in the dead center of the ocean, where under you it's all dark, and over you it's all light. You're at peace and you know at any moment the water might take your life.