Rubaba Hasan

“For you, a thousand times over”
― Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

“At the end of that week, Navin arrived to marry me. I was repulsed by the sight of him, not because I had betrayed him but because he still breathed, because he was there for me and had countless more days to live. And yet without his even realizing it, firmly but without force, Navin pulled me away from you, as the final gust of autumn wind pulls the last leaves from the trees. We were married, we were blessed, my hand was placed on top of his, and the ends of our clothing were knotted together. I felt the weight of each ritual, felt the ground once more underfoot.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth

“I returned to my existence, the existence I had chosen instead of you.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri, Unaccustomed Earth

“I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings