bel

“I would have thought that I suddenly believed in fairy tales and second chances, and I have never been accused of either’ – he squeezed her hand, and sniffed – ‘till now.”
― Lily Graham, The Paris Secret

“You're a survivor," they tell me. I understand it's meant kindly -- to be empowering -- but surviving has been -- what a waste of my valuable time surviving has been! Hours, days, years, decades! So much time struggling. Precious energy spent, managing the damage so that I can live my life. In a different landscape I might have put that time and energy to better use. ... I don't want to seem ungrateful, I'm glad to be alive, to have a life; but I wonder who I would have been, had I not been interrupted so rudely?”
― Una, Becoming Unbecoming