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Kindle Notes & Highlights
by
Amy Harmon
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October 7 - October 10, 2021
Being among the trees was like being watched. No . . . not watched. Watched over. Being acknowledged, being seen, but not being judged. “We welcome you,” the trees whispered. They welcomed him, yet they didn’t impose upon him or ask to know his secrets.
“Desdemona,” Master Ivo whispered, drawing the word out in a long hiss. “She who slays demons.” “Yes,” Dagmar replied. “She was a great warrior in our clan.” “Women don’t make great warriors,” Ivo spat. Dagmar didn’t respond. He didn’t agree. A mother was the fiercest warrior of all.
“I have nothing to give,” she moaned, her face pressed to the earth. “I have nothing but love, and my love will not shelter. My love will not save, or clothe, or feed. My love will only harm.”
“Be careful what you fear,” Ivo replied, grave. “We draw the attention of the fates when our fear grows too loud. The fates are cruel, and they will reward you with what you fear most.”
“I did it again. Every time the clouds wrapped themselves around those cliffs, I would throw myself from them.” “Why?” he pressed. “Because the beauty of the fall was worth the pain of landing.”
“We do not live to endure. We endure so someday we can . . . live. I have endured a great deal, but there have only been a few moments when I have truly lived.”
“I c-can’t sp-speak,” he insisted. “It is your weakness. But weakness can make a man wise. You will listen more. You will think before you speak. You will never believe yourself all-powerful and all-knowing. You will never say what you do not mean.”
I’ve come to believe that home is not a place. Home is inside of us. Home is the people we love. Home is what we strive for.
“Since that day, I have loved you . . . and I have feared you,” he admitted, rushing to confess all. “As I have feared you. There is no love without fear. They walk hand in hand,” she said with a small smile. “That is why it hurts so much.”
“And in the end, we can only sacrifice ourselves. To sacrifice others is no sacrifice at all.”
