Melissa Wolfe

“And it's like some tiny nothing that sets off a natural disaster halfway across the world, only this was the opposite of disaster, how by accident she saved me with that thoughtless act of grace, and she never knew, and how that, too, is the part of the history of love.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

“Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no longer exists, where everything was discovered, and everything was possible. A stick could be a sword, a pebble could be a diamond, a tree, a castle. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house across the field, from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was queen and he was king. In the autumn light her hair shone like a crown. They collected the world in small handfuls, and when the sky grew dark, they parted with leaves in their hair.

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

“19. THE WALL OF DICTIONARIES BETWEEN MY MOTHER AND THE WORLD GETS TALLER EVERY YEAR

Sometimes pages of the dictionaries come loose and gather at her feet, shallon, shalop, shallot, shallow, shalom, sham, shaman, shamble, like the petals of an immense flower. When I was little, I thought that the pages on the floor were words she would never be able to use again, and I tried to tape them back in where they belonged, out of fear that one day she would be left silent.”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

“("Let's stand under a tree," she said.

"Why?"

"Because it's nicer."

"Maybe you should sit on a chair, and I'll stand above you, like they always do with husbands and wives."

"That's stupid."

"Why's it stupid?"

"Because we're not married."

"Should we hold hands?"

"We can't."

"But why?"

"Because, people will know."

"Know what?"

"About us."

"So what if they know?"

"It's better when it's a secret."

"Why?"

"So no one can take it from us.")”
― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love