Serena

“Yesterday I knew I had no future, and that it was impossible for me to accept my life as it is now. And yet today, that same messy life seems full of hope. Potential. The impossible, I suppose, happens via living. Will my life be miraculously free from pain, despair, grief, heartbreak, hardship, loneliness, depression? No. But do I want to live? Yes. Yes. A thousand times, yes.”
― Matt Haig, The Midnight Library

“this is how bees make honey:
they suck careful nectar from open flowers
and bring their bounty back to the hive,
where they kiss it from mouth to mouth
until it runs thick and sweet.
every parent we have ever loved walked this glorious earth
gathering nectar from the flowers of their lives,
kissing it into the mouths of their children,
and now the honey is ours.”
― Laura Steven, Our Infinite Fates

“in the last thousand years:
empires have risen and fallen
and I have loved you,
plagues have leaped from rat to daughter
and I have loved you
humanity has conquered sea and sky
and I have loved you
kings have been slain and forests razed and witches
burned and and gold struck and maps redrawn and
fortunes traded and volcanoes erupted and moons
landed and cathedrals sculpted and rivers dirtied
and masterpieces painted and battlefields bloodied
and I love you,
and I have loved you,
and I will love you.”
― Laura Steven, Our Infinite Fates

“He felt himself lose consciousness. And then... he did... THUMP!
And as his mind faded, that which lay beneath came forward.
THUMP!
A cold, unfeeling thing that held no thoughts, no considerations. Only instincts.
THUMP!
When thoughts disappeared, there was no hesitation. No tactics, no strategy, no considerations- only action.
THUMP!
Jake was unconscious; this could not be disputed. But his body was very much awake. A part of that which was "Jake" dwelled deep within. And that part had now taken over as he stopped his fall and attacked the King of the Forest. He didn't need to think about it; he just knew that the King was an enemy.
And enemies had to be killed.”
― Zogarth, The Primal Hunter