Asmaa Egyptologist

“Black was One. There were no shades to black. Black was absolute, impenetrable. Black absorbed all the colors. If you fell into black, it swallowed you whole. Yet here was a different kind of black. It was black ice and burning coal. It was well-water and desert night. It was dark tempest and glassy calm. It was Black battling Black, opposite and polar, and yet still . . . all black.”
― Leylah Attar, The Paper Swan

“You don’t always get the treasure by holding on. Sometimes the magic happens when you let go.”
― Leylah Attar, The Paper Swan

“الانتظار محنة، في الانتظار تتمزق أعضاء الأنفس. في الانتظار يموت الزمن وهو يعي موته. والمستقبل يرتكز على مقدمات واضحة ولكنه يحتمل نهايات متناقضة . فليعب كل ملهوف من قدح القلق ما شاء”
― Naguib Mahfouz, الحرافيش

“But it’s not always enough, you know? And sometimes, it spills over because you can’t control it, because you need to make others feel your pain, your hurt, your rage, because it’s tough to walk around all scarred up, in a world full of slick billboards and bright, smiley toothpaste ads and shiny, happy people. Life’s not always fair. So suck it, lick it, stroke it, fuck it.”
― Leylah Attar, The Paper Swan