Emery

“Our world is governed by the mirror principle. Everything you do in life is reflected back on you in time . Hurt someone, and it’ll rebound on you eventually. Affairs inevitably cause a great deal of pain — especially when there’s family involved. . All that suffering will come back to haunt you.”
― Mai Mochizuki, The Full Moon Coffee Shop

“We are all stardust and stories.”
― Erin Morgenstern, The Starless Sea

“He went back to his first morning in Oxford: climbing a sunny hill with Ramy, picnic basket in hand. Elderflower cordial. Warm brioche, sharp cheese, a chocolate tart for dessert. The air that day smelled like a promise, all of Oxford shone like an illumination, and he was falling in love.

'It's so odd,' Robin said. Back then they'd already passed the point of honesty; they spoke to one another unfiltered, unafraid of the consequences. 'It's like I've known you forever.'

'Me too,' Ramy said.

'And that makes no sense,' said Robin, drunk already, though there was no alcohol in the cordial. 'Because I've known you for less than a day, and yet...'

'I think,' said Ramy, 'it's because when I speak, you listen.'

'Because you are fascinating.'

'Because you're a good translator.' Ramy leaned back on his elbows. 'That's just what translation is, I think. That's all speaking is. Listening to the other and trying to see past your biases to glimpse what they're trying to say. Showing yourself to the world, and hoping someone else understands.”
― R.F. Kuang, Babel

“someone will remember us
I say
even in another time”
― Sappho, If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho