Modesty Kager

“His gaze, which had been following the circling fruit, flickered to mine. I did not have time to look away before he said, softly but distinctly, “Catch.” A fig leapt from the pattern in a graceful arc towards me. It fell into the cup of my palms, soft and slightly warm. I was aware of the boys cheering.

One by one, Achilles caught the remaining fruits, returned them to the table with a performer’s flourish. Except for the last, which he ate, the dark flesh parting to pink seeds under his teeth. The fruit was perfectly ripe, the juice brimming. Without thinking, I brought the one he had thrown me to my lips. Its burst of grainy sweetness filled my mouth; the skin was downy on my tongue. I had loved figs, once.”
― Madeline Miller, The Song of Achilles

“I thought to myself, time was never on my side—after all of this, it was, because it led me to the right place at the right time.”
― Charlena E. Jackson, Pinwheels and Dandelions

“I know it is hard to trust, but sometimes we have to take a chance. There was a time when nobody could put out my fire, not even water. The wind knew my pain because it helped fuel my fire, and it spread effortlessly without even trying. My heart was bruised in ways that nobody could ever imagine. However, I survived. I’ve had many days that used to be uncertain. Now, I am exactly where I belong. I am home.”
― Charlena E. Jackson, Pinwheels and Dandelions

“I breathe deeply and say over to myself: - 'You are at home. You are at home.' But a sense of strangeness will not leave me, I cannot feel at home amongst these things . . . I am not myself there. There is a distance, a veil between us.”
― Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front