“The angels threw glitter up there, just for you, Zoe, Daddy had told her. They celebrated almost as much as I did the day you were born. Every time you look up there you remember how special you are - so special the angels threw a big party.”

“The thought weaves into her unexpectedly, as so many thoughts do, time again. How do you make the remembering stop?”

“Pieces. A bit for someone here. A bit there. And sometimes they don't add up to anything whole. But you are so busy dancing. Delivering. You don't have time to notice. Or are afraid to notice. And then one day you have to look. And it's true. All of your pieces fill up other people's holes. But they don't fill your own.”

“abuelita speaks no english. she doesn't need to, zoe thinks. her smile fills and communicates so much more than the empty, half-said words of zoe's life. ”

“How can you be sure?""I'm a doctor, Jenna. And a scientist.""Does that make you an authority on everything? What about a soul, Father? When you were so busy implanting all your neural chips, did you think about that? Did you snip my soul from my old body, too? Where did you put it? Show me! Where? Where in all this groundbreaking technology did you insert my soul?”

“what's fate to you, opal? she asks. opal leans back, too. oh, lots of things. lots and lots of things all pushed up against each other that makes something else happen. so much pushing it just can't happen any other way - unless you push back to make it not. ”

“My timing is off. But I had to get it out. Some things you have to tell, no matter how stupid they may sound. Some things you can't save for later. There might not be a later. ”