Hannah

“Shame holds more value than coin ever can.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Six of Crows

“I asked him for it.
For the blood, for the rust,
for the sin.
I didn’t want the pearls other girls talked about,
or the fine marble of palaces,
or even the roses in the mouth of servants.
I wanted pomegranates—
I wanted darkness,
I wanted him.
So I grabbed my king and ran away
to a land of death,
where I reigned and people whispered
that I’d been dragged.
I’ll tell you I’ve changed. I’ll tell you,
the red on my lips isn’t wine.
I hope you’ve heard of horns,
but that isn’t half of it. Out of an entire kingdom
he kneels only to me,
calls me Queen, calls me Mercy.
Mama, Mama, I hope you get this.
Know the bed is warm and our hearts are cold,
know never have I been better
than when I am here.
Do not send flowers,
we’ll throw them in the river.
‘Flowers are for the dead’, ‘least that’s what
the mortals say.
I’ll come back when he bores me,
but Mama,
not today.”
― Daniella Michalleni

“...
But even if the minute hand, too quickly
squeezes the wick between its fingertips,
Joy
still looks like honey and sunshine in their eyes,
helping old mum and dad out of the car,
sagging like candle wax

as life, in a breeze, is gone already
whisking the leaves on their tombstone,
engraved,
no wind can ever erase them.”
― Ximena Escobar, The Secret Beautiful

“Fear was an artificial condition. It's imposed from the outside. So it's possible to fight it. You should do the things you're afraid of.”
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition