"“Feelings like that don’t give you any choice, do they?” Aomame said. “They come at you whenever they want to. It’s not like choosing food from a menu.” “It is in one way: you have regrets after you make a mistake.” They shared a laugh. Aomame said, “It’s the same with menus and men and just about anything else: we think we’re choosing things for ourselves, but in fact we may not be choosing anything. It could be that everything’s decided in advance and we pretend we’re making choices. Free will may be an illusion. I often think that.” “If that’s true, life is pretty dark.” “Maybe so.” “But if you can love someone with your whole heart—even if he’s a terrible person and even if he doesn’t love you back—life is not a hell, at least, though it might be kind of dark. Is that what you’re saying?” Ayumi asked. “Exactly.” “But still,” Ayumi said, “it seems to me that this world has a serious shortage of both logic and kindness.” “You may be right,” Aomame said. “But it’s too late to traded in for another one.” “The exchange window expired a long time ago,” Ayumi said. “And the receipt’s been thrown away.” “You said it.” “Oh, well, no problem,” Aomame said. “The world’s going to end before we know it.”"