“Loneliness hardened in Arthur's stomach.... Frequently he could feel his loneliness: he could locate it with his fingers and if pushed too hard, it hurt. If he ate quickly, it hurt. He drank a lot of water, to flush it out, but it never came. He kept expecting to see it after he'd visited the lavatory. Small and blue. Afraid. He did not know what he would do with it. He did not know what he would do without it.”
Book:The Lamplighters