Narrator (Sayuri as an elderly woman) A story like mine should never be told. For my world is as forbidden as it is fragile; without its mysteries it cannot survive. Narrator (Sayuri as an elderly woman) At the temple, there is a poem called "Loss", carved into the stone. It has three words...but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read "Loss"... Only feel it. Narrator (Sayuri as an elderly woman) The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves... Until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.