Mashael

“But maybe it would have been all right, maybe it would have eased the space between Layla and Hadia, if once in a while Layla had also shared how she felt about her daughter: that Hadia was beautiful and thoughtful, that she was a natural leader, that she could do anything she put her mind to, that she was smart in a way that pleased Layla but also frightened her, not knowing what life would be like for a woman like her daughter, or if she would know how to help her navigate it.”
― Fatima Farheen Mirza, A Place for Us

“But one doesn't expect out of life what one has already learned that it cannot give, but rather one begins to see more and more clearly that life is only a kind of sowing time, and the harvest is not here.”
― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

“You're still here," he said. "Is something the matter?"

Sophie sniffed. "I'm old," she began.

But it was just as the Witch had said and the fire demon had guessed. Michael said cheerfully, "Well, it comes to us all in time. Would you like some breakfast?”
― Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle

“If everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light.”
― Rumi