They were more to him than he had ever known; they were parts of himself which had slowly developed, as the features and characteristics of ancestors gradually emerge and are emphasized in a descendant as his years increase.

Carmen and Zoe were more a part of himself now than they had ever been.
They were gone, the living spirits of his home.

Anything that reminded him of them, despite the pain of the reminder, was dear to him.

Love was greater than the vengeful desire of injured human nature.

His eyes wandered over the people, over the market.