Snowflake. You catch the snowflake but when you look in your hand you don't have it no more. Maybe you see this dechado. But before you see it it is gone. If you want to see it you have to see it on its own ground. If you catch it you lose it. And where it goes there is no coming back from. Not even God can bring it back.
The quote from Cormac McCarthy's "The Crossing" reflects on the fleeting nature of experience and the transient beauty of moments in life. A snowflake symbolizes something delicate and unique that cannot be held or preserved once grasped. The metaphor suggests that attempts to capture or possess these moments inevitably lead to their loss.
Furthermore, the passage implies that to truly appreciate these experiences, one must observe them in their natural context, rather than trying to confine them. Once something is apprehended, it changes and is no longer the same. The notion that not even God can retrieve what has been lost emphasizes the gravity of such moments and the importance of embracing them as they come.