Ana

“My steps feel lighter now and I realize it’s because I’m running toward something, and not away from it.”
― Clare Mackintosh, I Let You Go

“We all smiled, but not that much, and frowned but rarely cried. Nobody could succeed here, but most people around me seemed to be okay with that . It meant they wouldn't fail either.

I didn't want to be like them. And at the same time, I was beginning to forget how to be different, how to be my own self. It was the feeling of being swallowed up, and I hated it.”
― Jennifer A. Nielsen, A Night Divided

“My mom said I had serious trust issues, but honestly, the more people I met, the more I didn’t want to meet more.”
― Mariana Zapata, From Lukov with Love

“When he gently tipped his forehead onto mine, I grew still. This close, I saw every detail of his face. The bow of his lips, cut as if with the tip of a knife. The eclipses of his eyes.
“Let the aether bear witness,” he said. “I will never keep from you what you should know.” I closed my eyes. “I will never conspire against you, nor betray you by word or thought or deed. I will never, by choice, abandon you to your enemies, nor forsake you in adversity.”
The cord shivered. I could feel the heat of fever in my breath, caught in the space between us.
“In body and spirit, I am bound to this oath.” He clasped my hand to his chest. “Seo í mo mhóid shollúinte.”
― Samantha Shannon, The Mask Falling