My Name Is Venus Black

by Heather Lloyd

We all feel so destined. It had to be me, we think. But the truth is, we all just barely made it here.

The stupidest little thing we do can alter the future for so many people. That means everything you ever did, you almost didn’t do.

Nothing is as it appears. It’s like that with space. Objects that look round might not be, and stars that look close to each other might be billions of miles apart. And it’s the same with people. Only instead of standing too far away to see the truth, you’re probably standing too close.

The very person you find it hardest to forgive is the one YOU NEED TO LET GO OF THE MOST.

Loren Eiseley’s Star Thrower.

What I can’t figure out is why good memories hurt as much as bad ones. Maybe it’s because you’re not on guard against them, so they hit full force, like a slap from a wave.

Even in the early throes of grief, Inez had understood that when you lose as much as she had—her entire family—you also lose your chance to enjoy the kind of casual disregard for God that regular people can enjoy.

Soon, the question for Inez became: What does one do with a God you are exhausted from hating but can never forgive?

she suddenly knew as surely as she knew anything that God didn’t mind if she couldn’t forgive him. He didn’t expect her to. And it didn’t change how he felt about her.

It’s not that she trusts God to answer. That jig is up. But she prays as a way to hang on to hope.

Never assume you can take back anything. Never assume you have time to face facts later. And never underestimate the power of a parent’s betrayal.