Aliss

“We are the bones of this city, the heart, the womb. The hidden structure and architecture behind the beautiful facades. We are unseen yet leaned upon, vessels yet not empty, the home for our families. The hopes of our city are thrust upon us, and we will be punished if we fail.”
― Gina Buonaguro, The Virgins of Venice

“And he had to say farewell to his hands, his eyes, to hunger and thirst, to love, to playing the lute, to sleeping and waking, to everything. Tomorrow a bird would fly through the air and Goldmund would no longer see it, a girl would sing in a window and he would not hear her song, the river would run and the dark fish would swim silently, the wind would blow and sweep the yellow leaves on the ground, the sun would shine and stars would blink in the sky, young men would go dancing, the first snow would lie on the distant mountains—everything would go on, trees would cast their shadows, people would look gay or sad out of their living eyes, dogs would bark, cows would low in the barns of villages, and all of it without Goldmund.”
― Hermann Hesse, Narcissus and Goldmund

“I couldn't stop being afraid of myself. Afraid of the monster I saw when I glimpsed my reflection in still pools, in windows...

But all I am is magic. Unmagic.

I am nothing. I am what is beyond nothing. Annihilation.

I am the unraveler. I can pull apart magic with a thought.”
― Holly Black, The Stolen Heir

“I stare at myself in my mirrors, imagining taking a grater to my skin, peeling off the top layer. My bones might be white enough.”
― Louise O'Neill, Only Ever Yours