“She needed care and time; enough space not to feel threatened, but not so much that she could retreat.”

“Whenever she sat still, just looking at something, she got the feeling that she was wasting precious time when she should be doing things to meet people. She could be spending her time so much better, because there was still so much to learn.”

“No, she was just a woman. And that meant she could feel, she could need, she could give and she could receive.”

“There was too much to feel strongly about, she was stretched too thin, so she could not quite feel anything about anything.”

“God, she wanted this. Wanted him. He made her feel wanted, needed. He lit fires inside her she hadn’t known could burn so fierce, in places she didn’t even know existed. Nothing in life could ever make her feel this complete, this whole. He was as much a part of her as her own soul.”

“She did not care very much for other little girls, but if she had plenty of books she could console herself.”