The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from Several Works by Edgar Allan Poe: individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of
the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the
attention of no single individual before. And the rumour of this
new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose
at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of
disapprobation and surprise--then, finally, of terror, of horror,
and of disgust.
In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may
well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited
such sensation. In truth the masquerade licence of the night was
nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod,
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The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from Almayer's Folly by Joseph Conrad: fell on his ears in a jumble of torturing sentences, the meaning
of which escaped the utmost efforts of his brain. Who spoke the
Malay words? Who ran away? Why too late--and too late for what?
What meant those words of hate and love mixed so strangely
together, the ever-recurring names falling on his ears again and
again--Nina, Dain; Dain, Nina? Dain was dead, and Nina was
sleeping, unaware of the terrible experience through which he was
now passing. Was he going to be tormented for ever, sleeping or
waking, and have no peace either night or day? What was the
meaning of this?
He shouted the last words aloud. The shadowy woman seemed to
 Almayer's Folly |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Tono Bungay by H. G. Wells: grounded like a snowflake on a windless day. I lay flat for an
instant and then knelt up and got on my feet atremble, but very
satisfied with myself. Cothope was running down the hill to me.
...
But from that day I went into training, and I kept myself in
training for many months. I had delayed my experiments for very
nearly six weeks on various excuses because of my dread of this
first flight, because of the slackness of body and spirit that
had come to me with the business life. The shame of that
cowardice spurred me none the less because it was probably
altogether my own secret. I felt that Cothope at any rate might
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