Ylla

“We’re lucky we don’t have to share. Lots of people have to—you told me so yourself.” “Share?” Gittel had looked appalled. Chaim remembered the face she’d made at the time, adding, “Papa, we have so little, how could we possibly share?” He’d looked at her, shook his head. “Many people have far less, and that you must never forget.”
― Jane Yolen, Mapping the Bones

“Could it be that humans had an infinite capacity to make themselves at home in the direst of situations? Or did one just adjust expectations downward, so as to be able to get through each day?”
― Jane Yolen, Mapping the Bones

“As Mama once told me, “We called him Boy for the first two months of his life, but when his third-month birthday came around and we saw that sweet smile—especially when you were close to him, reaching out for him—we realized that he had chosen life. So we named him Chaim after your zaide, your grandfather, but also because ‘chaim’ in Hebrew means ‘life.’” I cannot imagine what my life would have been like without my twin.”
― Jane Yolen, Mapping the Bones