Aysha

“This life is difficult. We lose fathers, brothers, mothers, songbirds and pieces of ourselves. Whips strike the innocent, honors go to the guilty, and there is too much loneliness. I would be a fool to pray for my children to escape all of that. Ask for too much and it might actually turn out worse. But I can pray for small things, like fertile fields, a mother’s love, a child’s smile—a life that’s less bitter than sweet.”
― Nadia Hashimi, The Pearl that Broke Its Shell

“Why doesn't anyone ask me anything about the last two years?" I asked her.
"The answer is very simple. We're afraid to ask because we're afraid of knowing... Maybe if we don't talk about it, and maybe if we pretend it never happened, it will be forgotten.”
― Marina Nemat, After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed

“He said to himself that he really had not suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked God, in the depths of his soul, for having permitted that he, a miserable man, should be so loved by this innocent being."

Jean Valjean about Cossette”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“n'oublie pas, dit le renard, c'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante. -c'est le temps que j'ai perdu pour ma rose... fit le petit prince, afin de souvenir...”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince: Pangeran Kecil