Elena

“It reminded me, that when we know about suffering, when we are proximal to it, we are capable of extraordinary generosity. We can do and be so much for each other. But only when we see one another in our full humanity. Not as statistics or problems, but as people who deserve to be alive in the world.”
― John Green, Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection

“Assassins are a monstrous breed. Either they attack when you are at your worst, or they are having a go at you on your birthday. I have never known a more dishonourable profession.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“One should be patient with saints, I suppose. Though the trouble with being patient,” she said, “is that, generally speaking, there’s no one to see you doing it.”
― Susanna Clarke, The Wood at Midwinter

“Oh, it is wonderful to be home again—I would never deny that; I find my realm even more lovely, more perfectly suited to happiness and comfort, than even I remembered it. Truly, I pity Folk who live elsewhere, for there can be nothing that rivals the beauty of these forests and hills. And so, Em, when I say that I am wretchedly ill at ease without your company, that I feel as if I am missing a limb, that I cannot be content even amidst the wonder of my realm, you will understand the depth of my feelings. Surely you must miss me a little as well? I know your heart by now, Em; it is not all stone and pencil shavings, as you are wont to pretend.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales