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“‘Normal’ is a bedtime story—a fable—that humans tell themselves to feel better when faced with overwhelming evidence that most of what’s happening around them is not ‘normal’ at all.”
“Will this ever stop?” I asked quietly. “The Congregation?” Matthew’s voice was worried. “I don’t know.” “No.” My head rose in surprise. “I don’t care about that.” “What do you mean, then?” I kissed him on his quizzical mouth. “This feeling when I’m with you—as if I’m fully alive for the first time.” Matthew smiled, his expression uncharacteristically sweet and shy. “I hope not.”
This was so different from books and movies, where love was made into something tense and difficult. Loving Matthew was much more like coming into port than heading out into a storm.
‘The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed.’”
“You have found a woman who is worthy of you, with courage and hope to spare, Matthaios.” “I know,” Matthew said, taking my hand. “Know this, too: You are equally worthy of her. Stop regretting your life. Start living it.”
“You will not be alone either, Philippe de Clermont,” I whispered fiercely. “I’ll find a way to be with you in the darkness, I promise. And when you think the whole world has abandoned you, I’ll be there, holding your hand.” “How could it be otherwise,” Philippe said gently, “when you are in my heart?”
“All that children need is love, a grown-up to take responsibility for them, and a soft place to land.”
“No matter what else you have been before or might one day be, this is who you are. And you are my life.”
“Vampires reckon time differently than warmbloods do,” he said, still unwilling to release me. “How long is a vampire minute, then?” I asked, snuggling under his chin. “It’s hard to say,” Matthew murmured. “Some length of time between an ordinary minute and forever.”
“One should find wholeness in marriage, Gabriel, but it should not be a prison for either party,” said Rabbi Loew.
“What if I have a nightmare?” Jack whispered. “Nightmares are like Master Harriot’s star glass. They are a trick of the light, one that makes something distant seem closer and larger than it really is.” “Oh.” Jack considered Matthew’s response. “So even if I see a monster in my dreams, it cannot reach me?” Matthew nodded. “But I will tell you a secret. A dream is a nightmare in reverse. If you dream of someone you love, that person will seem closer, even if far away.”
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. —PHILIPPE DE CLERMONT, OFTEN ATTRIBUTED TO CHARLES DARWIN
the wolf who wins is the wolf you feed. The evil wolf feeds on anger, guilt, sorrow, lies, and regret. The good wolf needs a diet of love and honesty, spiced up with big spoonfuls of compassion and faith. So if you want the good wolf to win, you’re going to have to starve the other one.”
“If you truly love someone, you will cherish what they despise most about themselves.”
“To every question I have ever had, or ever will have, you are the answer.”
