Marian

“That your eyes are like bits of sky seen through the leaves. And that, like the rain washes the mud from the leaves, you... how did he say it? Oh yes. That you wash the darkness from the world.”
― Jessica Khoury, Origin

“Get control of yourself, Zahra!
My name isn’t Zahra. I am Smoke-on-the-Wind, Curl-of-the-Tiger’s-Tail, Girl-Who-Gives-the-Stars-Away.
He loves you!
He is just a mortal. Just a boy, a moment in time that will soon pass.
His name is Aladdin.
I have known a thousand and one like him. I will know a thousand and one more. He is nothing.
He is everything. ”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish

“He laughs. "No! Aguaje is for girls. If a man eats to much of it, he starts to look like a woman."

"That is the most unscientific thing I've ever heard."

"Then you haven't met my cousin Jacari." Eio swings the string of fruit back and forth. " Too much aguaje. Now the mothers use him as wet nurse."

My mouth freezes in mid-bite, and I stare at him. "You're teasing me."

A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe.”
― Jessica Khoury, Origin

“There is only one thing more numerous than the stars,” I say, looking up to the heavens. “And that is the darkness that holds them.”
― Jessica Khoury, The Forbidden Wish