Viki

“He was frightened of everything, it sometimes seemed, and he hated that about himself. Fear and hatred: often, it seemed that those were the only two qualities he possessed. Fear of everyone else; hatred of himself.”
― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life

“Then she reached out and held him. Cold. But what did that matter? So was she.”
― M.L. Wang, The Sword of Kaigen

“With a wave of this body’s hand all the braziers are snuffed out in this Inverted Theater. The movement is sudden, as is the disappearance of the light, the darkness you are submerged in so complete you can feel it as a presence that surrounds you, blocking sight of even your own hand. It is not so much an absence as it is an overwhelming smog. You can feel it in your chest. The tightness of your breath. The darkness is closing in on you.

Such was the quality of night in the Old Country, or what they then knew as the true dark, which, when the sun fell from its daily perch, was total and unyielding.

What else could they have hoped for, with no moon in the sky?”
― Simon Jimenez, The Spear Cuts Through Water

“In that moment of awe, Takeru realized how much he owed this woman, who had borne his children, who had fought, and fought, and fought for a family she had never asked for. She had given him her life and demanded nothing in return. Mamoru hadn’t inherited his strength from his father. It had come from her.”
― M.L. Wang, The Sword of Kaigen