This Is Where It Ends

by Marieke Nijkamp

The only things that give us purpose are the stories that tie us together.

Fear and survival are two sides of the same coin.

Terror is our strongest force because we’re only afraid when we have something to lose—our lives, our loves…our dignity.

“Grief is one big, gaping hole, isn’t it?” I say quietly. I don’t even know if he hears me, but my words are as much for myself as for him. “It’s everywhere and all consuming. Some days you think you can’t go on because the only thing waiting for you is more despair. Some days you don’t want to go on because it’s easier to give up than to get hurt again.”

there were two types of people in this world: those who belong to the soil and the good, rich earth, planting their seeds to blossom, and those who belong to the road and the endless horizons, carrying their home on their shoulders wherever they go.

Death brings life; life brings death.

There are no words in that fleeting moment between hope and the knowledge. There is no way to express how a heart can burst and break at the same time, how the sun can cut through the darkness but will cast shadows everywhere.

You can’t always keep your loved ones with you. You can’t always settle your life in one place. The world was made to change. But as long as you cherish the memories and make new ones along on the way, no matter where you are, you’ll always be at home.”