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“Do ye not understand?"he said, in near desparation. "I would lay the world at your feet, Claire-and I have nothing to give ye!"
He honestly thought it mattered.”
― Voyager
He honestly thought it mattered.”
― Voyager
“Babies are soft. Anyone looking at them can see the tender, fragile skin and know it for the rose-leaf softness that invites a finger's touch. But when you live with them and love them, you feel the softness going inward, the round-cheeked flesh wobbly as custard, the boneless splay of the tiny hands. Their joints are melted rubber, and even when you kiss them hard, in the passion of loving their existence, your lips sink down and seem never to find bone. Holding them against you, they melt and mold, as though they might at any moment flow back into your body.
But from the very start, there is that small streak of steel within each child. That thing that says "I am," and forms the core of personality.
In the second year, the bone hardens and the child stands upright, skull wide and solid, a helmet protecting the softness within. And "I am" grows, too. Looking at them, you can almost see it, sturdy as heartwood, glowing through the translucent flesh.
The bones of the face emerge at six, and the soul within is fixed at seven. The process of encapsulation goes on, to reach its peak in the glossy shell of adolescence, when all softness then is hidden under the nacreous layers of the multiple new personalities that teenagers try on to guard themselves.
In the next years, the hardening spreads from the center, as one finds and fixes the facets of the soul, until "I am" is set, delicate and detailed as an insect in amber.”
― Dragonfly in Amber
But from the very start, there is that small streak of steel within each child. That thing that says "I am," and forms the core of personality.
In the second year, the bone hardens and the child stands upright, skull wide and solid, a helmet protecting the softness within. And "I am" grows, too. Looking at them, you can almost see it, sturdy as heartwood, glowing through the translucent flesh.
The bones of the face emerge at six, and the soul within is fixed at seven. The process of encapsulation goes on, to reach its peak in the glossy shell of adolescence, when all softness then is hidden under the nacreous layers of the multiple new personalities that teenagers try on to guard themselves.
In the next years, the hardening spreads from the center, as one finds and fixes the facets of the soul, until "I am" is set, delicate and detailed as an insect in amber.”
― Dragonfly in Amber
“Oh, Claire, ye do break my heart wi' loving you.”
― Dragonfly in Amber
― Dragonfly in Amber
“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
― I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!
― I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!
“I shook so that it was some time before I realized that he was shaking too, and for the same reason. I don't know how long we sat there on the dusty floor, crying in each others arms with the longing of twenty years spilling down our faces.”
― Voyager
― Voyager
The Nightingale Readers Group
— 567 members
— last activity Oct 21, 2019 01:17PM
Hello and welcome! I’m so glad you found your way here. The Nightingale is a book that really means a lot to me. To be completely honest with you, I ...more
Outlander Series
— 6425 members
— last activity Oct 10, 2025 03:40AM
For fans of Diana Gabaldon and the Outlander Series. Feel free to post, poll, invite, and discuss. Please take a moment to read the rules found in ' ...more
The Life of a Book Addict
— 12136 members
— last activity May 24, 2026 06:59AM
We now read at "On the Same Page." ...more
Carri’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Carri’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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