“Now is History as fast as the mind remembers.”

“For the first time I realized adults could back themselves into corners so remote that love, or its memory, could no longer reach them.”

“[I]t wasn't history that was too fragile, but me.”

“I read once that water is a symbol for emotions. And for a while now I've thought maybe my mother drowned in both.”

“After a minute I leaned back, elbows on the table, and looked up for the twinkle of the first star in the evening sky. When we were little, it was a ritual Finn and I did on the front porch. He'd make his wish silently, and I would too, but I never could keep a secret; and I'd tell him what I wished every time. He'd always tell me it wouldn't come true, but I didn't believe him. I'd had plenty of them come true, from a new box of crayons showing up out of nowhere to a bag of candy left on my bed. It had been a while, though, and the only thing I'd wish for now was impossible. I found the first star in a patch of burnt-orange sky, above the crinkly purple mountains in the distance, and then I wished my brother back anyway.”

“Name.” It was a demand this time, not a question...“Fuck you.”“Good name. I like it. Easy to remember. Mind if I call you Fuck for short?”

“He always told me to look strong even if I didn't feel it, because sometimes that's all you can do.”