It was how wars really ended, Dieffenbaker supposed -- not at truce tables but in cancer wards and office cafeterias and traffic jams. Wars died one tiny piece at a time, each piece something that fell like a memory, each lost like an echo that fades in winding hills. In the end even war ran up the white flag. Or so he hoped. He hoped that in the end even war surrendered.

Summary

This quote suggests that wars do not truly end through formal negotiations, but rather through the gradual erosion of their influence and impact on people's lives. The speaker believes that wars die piece by piece, symbolized by small moments of connection and shared humanity in everyday settings. Each fragment of war, like a memory or fading echo, contributes to its ultimate surrender. It reflects the hopeful notion that even the most intense conflicts will eventually relent and give way to peace.

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