Ray Flores

“That was love, wasn't it? It wasn't just a quick drop -- it was falling, over and over again, for your person. It was falling as they became new people. It was learning how to exist with every new breath. It was uncertain and it was undeniably hard, and it wasn't something you could plan for.”
― Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

“I will practice humility: putting my beloved before myself, expecting no praise or reward, for now we are joined in all things.

I will practice compassion: giving gratitude for my beloved, suffering when they suffer, for now we are joined in all things.

I will practice courage: for protecting my beloved from harm, facing all fears from within or without, for now we are joined in all things.

I will practice goodness: offering freely of myself to my beloved, honoring and caring for each other in body and soul, for now we are joined in all things.

I make this pledge to you and you alone, under the eyes of the gods in Heaven, from this moment until the last one of my life.”
― Fonda Lee, Jade City

“Memories are immortal. They’re deathless and precise. They have the power of giving you joy and perspective in hard times. Or, they can strangle you. Define you in a way that’s based more in other people’s tucked-up perceptions than truth.”
― Viola Davis, Finding Me

“The sadness will last forever. It wasn’t a lie. There was sadness, and there was despair, and there was pain—but there was also laughter, and joy, and relief. There was never grief without love or love without grief, and I chose to think that my aunt lived because of them.”
― Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip