Stepsister

by Jennifer Donnelly

“Change is a kiss in the dark. A rose in the snow. A wild road on a windy night,”

No one jeers louder at a hanging than the cutthroat who got away.

The wolves in the woods have sharp teeth and long claws, but it’s the wolf inside who will tear you apart.

History books say that kings and dukes and generals start wars. Don’t believe it. We start them, you and I. Every time we turn away, keep quiet, stay out of it, behave ourselves.

“That’s what we do with our pain,” she said, watching the butterfly rise. “We make it into something beautiful.” “We make it into something meaningful,” said the diva. “We make it matter,” whispered the actress.

“Here are the things girls die of: hunger, disease, accidents, childbirth, and violence. It takes more than heartache to kill a girl. Girls are tough as rocks.”

If I don’t like who I am, why should you?”

The skin-and-bones dog who shows up at your door. The broken-winged bird you nurse back to health. The kitten you find crying at the side of the road. You think you’re saving them, don’t you? Ah, child. Can’t you see? They’re saving you.

Weeping

“I think we all make mistakes. What matters is that we don’t let our mistakes make us.”