Ray Flores

“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

“Nothing lasts forever. Not the good things, not the bad. So just find what makes you happy, and do it for as long as you can.”
― Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip

“Sometimes the people you loved left you halfway through a story. Sometimes they left you without a goodbye. And, sometimes, they stayed around in little ways. In the memory of a musical. In the smell of their perfume. In the sound of the rain, and the itch for adventure, and the yearning for that liminal space between one airport terminal and the next. I hated her for leaving, and I loved her for staying as long as she could. And I would never wish this pain on anyone.”
― Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip