He spent hours thinking about what he would do once he was on the other side, imagining the job, the car, the house. Other days he could think only about the coast guards, the ice-cold water, the money he’d have to borrow, and he wondered how fourteen kilometers could separate not just two countries but two universes.
-- Murad (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote represents the stark fear Murad faces in leaving Morocco to emigrate illegally to Spain. He is simultaneously able to find excitement at the prospect of a new life while he is also suffering debilitating fear and worry about whether he will make the journey safely.

She’d also had a string of hobbies that she took up with astonishing passion and then abandoned a few months later for no apparent reason—jewelry making, box collecting, the flute, sign language. But what if this was different? What if he lost her...
-- Larbi (chapter 2)