alanna!

“I had rehearsed losing him not just to ward off suffering by taking it in small doses beforehand; but, as all superstitious people do, to see if my willingness to accept the very worst might induce fate to soften its blow. Like soldiers trained to fight by night, I lived in the dark so as not to be blinded when darkness came.”
― André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name

“It dawns on Margot that, old as she is, it’s her mother’s first time on this earth, too. Against her will, she softens.”
― Dantiel W. Moniz, Milk Blood Heat

“Frankie wonders if she means it, if this near-universal disdain a daughter can feel for a mother might be necessary for the appreciation that comes later, if this is what it takes to love.”
― Dantiel W. Moniz, Milk Blood Heat