Stas

“With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed as on the first day of creation. Nobody owned them.”
― Carsten Jensen, We, the Drowned

“What about human beings? said the animals. Do you
think we need human beings?
Why not? said the Twins. And as quick as they could the
right-handed Twin created women, and the left-handed
Twin created men.
They don't look too bright, said the animals. We hope
they won't be a problem.
Don't worry, said the Twins, you guys are going to get
along just fine.”
― Thomas King, The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative

“The only constant in the soul of man is inconstancy; anything and everything else can pass out of fashion--even something as utilitarian as a hill stuffed full of corpses.”
― Scott Lynch, The Lies of Locke Lamora

“If you had been poor in your last life I would have asked you to be rich when you come again. But you were rich. If you had been a coward, I would have asked you to bring courage. But you were a fearless warrior. If you had died young, I would have asked you to get life. But you lived long. So I shall ask you to come again the way you came before.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart