Stephen Thomas > Quotes

“There are three kinds of beautiful things, he thought. The first, like the sparrow, come into the world of themselves. The second, like the axe, are made for a purpose. The third are shaped from pure sorrow and touch the sky.”
― Stephen Thomas, In the Day of the Flood

“Pérha, whose name meant “prayer”, came from the coastlands and spoke in a strange accent. She pronounced Deghóm’s name in her own tongue: ‘Demagóma.’ Deghóm had heard that accent all her life. It was Méri, the common language of the sea-peoples. Their own dialect was simply called Déngi, ‘the tongue.’ The girls said Deghóm sounded like a foreigner, but they loved her none the less for it.
Pérha told the story of Deghóm’s birth solemnly, like a prayer taught to a child. Even amid the song, she heard her milk-mother’s soft voice.
“Tunégata, lubagúna… She was so weak, that dear woman…”
― Stephen Thomas, In the Day of the Flood