Jenn Malzone

“His sheer presence made a room feel warmer, made me feel like I'd been blessed. I understood exactly why people wanted to be near him, like he was kind of talisman...I knew firsthand that after talking to him, I didn't feel lonely at all. My body felt more at ease, my thoughts happier. I felt like life might yet have good things in store for me. And it wasn't a heady, unmoored feeling, but a quiet, rolling wave.
This feels good, I thought. I'm just happy he's here. I don't need him to be mine. I wanted to appreciate him the way I did giant trees in the park, which gave people shelter and relief but didn't belong to anybody. Since I'd always assumed he was something to be shared, to me he was akin to cake, or a hot spring, or good music, a steady presence I could rely on to be there when I needed to catch my breath.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories

“Tomo-chan didn't have a lot of friends, but she did treasure many things: her coworkers, her parents, her pet parakeet, her pothos plants, romantic movies...the list was endless. Life, for Tomo-chan, was about making sure she was neatly surrounded by all the things that were important to her.”
― Banana Yoshimoto, Dead-End Memories: Stories

“Franny gave her sister a tired smile. 'Oh, my love', she said. 'What do the only children do?'
'We'll never have to know', Caroline said.”
― Ann Patchett, Commonwealth

“As long as I’m busy working on a project, I can keep my impulse control issues in check. I just can’t let my brain go idle, that’s when the demons take hold, the demons that tempt me, et cetera.”
― Anna Dorn, Perfume & Pain