“The past stays on you the way powdered sugar stays on your fingers. Some people can get rid of it but it’s still there, the events and things that pushed you to where you are now.”

“Widge can see the past." Poppet says suddenly. "That's why his stories are so good." "The past is easier," Widget says. "It's already there.""In the stars?" Bailey asks."No." Widget says. "On people. The past stays on you the way powdered sugar stays on fingers. Some people can get rid of it but it's still there, the events and t hings that pushed you to where you are now.”

“The night that seemed endless hours before is now slipping through your fingers, ticking by as it falls into the past and pushes you towards the future.”

“Celia, wait,” Marco says, standing but not moving closer to her. “You are breaking my heart. You told me once that I reminded you of your father. That you never wanted to suffer the way your mother did for him, but you are doing exactly that to me. You keep leaving me. You leave me longing for you again and again when I would give anything for you to stay, and it is killing me.” “It has to kill one of us,” Celia says quietly.”

“Where do you get your ideas? people ask. Sometimes they’re at the bottoms of cups of tea. Sometimes they’re lurking in my shower. Sometimes they’re waiting patiently in glass cases in museums.”

“All you need to catch a fairy is an old birdhouse and some shiny stuff. You know, like glass and glitter, or pieces of colored plastic or metal things that’ll sparkle when the sun hits them.You can paint the birdhouse, but it doesn’t really matter what color. It’s not like how hummingbirds like red things, fairies aren’t that picky.So you take your birdhouse and shiny stuff and just hang it somewhere. High but not too high. Trees are good but fairies are everywhere so trees aren’t like, a requirement.You don’t even need to put anything over the birdhouse entrance. Once they get in they won’t be able to figure out how to get out.Fairies are kind of stupid.”

“Sting told me if I love somebody I should set them free.I doubt Sting ever loved anyone with wings. If he did he might rethink such a stupid sentiment.I suppose the point is to wait for your love to come back to you voluntarily.I wonder if there’s a difference between setting something free and letting it go?I probably did it wrong.I should stop taking advice from my radio.I worry that you’re lost.I keep a heart-shaped cage unlocked for you, out on the street where it can easily be seen.So if one day you return at least you’ll have a place to stay.”