The Little Shop of Grand Curiosities (Tales from the Faraway North, #1)

by Iris Lake

“I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.”

I used to think of life as the anxious waiting before a major happening, the days no more interesting than an assortment of distracting tasks to pass the time. Until, somewhere along the way, I realized that this profound something was never going to happen, and all these distractions—the small, unnoticeable things—were the very point of life.

Money was a little tight, but they didn’t mind because, as stated by Father, they were getting old, and when you were old, you were happy just watching the ocean and the trees and the albatrosses flapping by on the frothy skyline.

I had so many more books to read, and kisses to give, and stargazing to do, and people to meet, and risks worth taking.

“Just because my life doesn’t look like yours, it doesn’t mean that it’s miserable or unimportant,” I declared. “I happen to enjoy leading a small life. Not everybody is dreaming of having some grand adventure.”

So what? I loved my books. And there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. I loved books more than cake, more than stormy nights and crackling fires, more than afternoon naps and waking up to a steaming cup of tea. I could go without many things in this life, but not without books.

“Books aren’t just sources of information or windows to the world or even lighthearted entertainment. Books are mirrors for our souls. They force us to contemplate every small and grand aspect of life, and then they make us question how we fit into it. Reading is such a self-reflective practice that you both find and lose yourself at once.”

“I don’t disagree, darling,” he said. “But all this self-reflection means nothing if you never show the world the person you discovered in there.”

Although, to be fair to the monsters, history has had countless examples of humans acting far more atrociously than any mindless beast ever could. A human’s rationalized cruelty was perhaps the scariest thing in the whole wide world.

I only find danger exciting when it’s written on paper,”

If life was measured in moments of courage, I began to fear that mine was very small indeed.

Are we human because we fall in love or do we fall in love because we are human?

I wondered what it was like to go through life like that. Gliding. Acting instead of questioning. Being instead of fearing.

But what was the point of life without the heartache, the love, the moments of ineffable happiness?

“You can’t force people to change, Nepheli. You can only show them kindness and acceptance and understanding. And if they wish to change, then they will do it in their own way.

If you always try to force people into seeing the world the way you do, you will never love anybody. You will only love the pieces of yourself you find in others.”

“Life is too short not to dress like a princess at every given opportunity.”

I thought the curse would stop the pain. But, in a way, it only misplaced it. I should have known. Unfelt pain always finds its way back to you.”

Love was the greatest cure in every fairytale, but in reality, it took a lot more to heal a person. It took patience and kindness and determination. It took failure and setbacks too.

To be known for all you were was lovely. But to be known for all the things you could be was extraordinary.

“It’s hard to form friendships as an adult, isn’t it?”

“It’s the worst,” I groaned. “I get all panicky and in my head every time I have to talk to someone I don’t know. And then I go home and overanalyze every little interaction until I never want to leave my house again. If overthinking was unlawful, I would spend the rest of my life in prison.”

What was it about the stars that always made us dream? We looked upon the sky every night, and instead of seeing a graveyard of celestial objects, we saw beauty and possibility. Perhaps it was our nature. We were bodies of light, and we couldn’t help but worship the things that guided us through the darkness.

I’d never been very respectful of the gods, but in the lines and curves of her body, I knew there was faith to be found.

And the wonderful thing about fear is that it is the most infectious disease in the world. It spreads and festers and rots.

“I don’t know if it was stars, destiny, or just incredible luck that you found that necklace and that we found each other. I suppose people always like to think that something or someone up there is rooting for them. We might never know. But what I do know, what I’m certain of with every morsel and fiber of my being is that all these years you kept my heart safe, and I can only hope now that you’ll continue to do so. Because it’s still yours. You’ve had it, and you will have it for as long as you want it. I’m yours, for as long as you want me.”