Only the Pretty Lies

by Rebekah Crane

It’s much easier to idolize the dead. The living constantly fail us. But in death, we remember a person as near perfect.

There’s beauty in imitation, and every once in a while, a cover song can even rival the original.

That’s what good friendship is, I suppose—a place to unload the clutter of the mind.

One of the biggest fallacies about life is this: Most people think that by telling the truth, their lives can go back to the way they were. But that’s a lie. What was can never be again. The truth creates a whole new reality. And until someone is ready to confront the truth, it’s better to just keep your mouth shut.

It’s a pretty lie—the kind of lie meant to keep the peace, to keep life comfortable.

“The only reason moments smell better after they’re gone is because we can’t go back,”

“Anger is the thief of time.

grief is a tidal wave. Instinct tells us to run, but no matter how quick we are, the tidal wave eventually sweeps us off our feet and knocks us down so hard that survivors emerge drenched, bruised, and nearly unrecognizable.

“Grief rewires the body.”

“People want a witness to their pain,” Rayne said. “Not a judge.”

“Bigotry isn’t a disease, Amoris. You don’t just have it or not have it. It’s something you participate in, whether you like it or not. Excusing people for bigotry only makes it worse.”

is your comfort really more valuable than my humanity?”

Why is it so hard for humans to quit what they know is hurting them? Why is it so hard to admit we’re doing it all wrong?

Silence is the worst kind of screaming.

People don’t like deserters. Especially people who benefit from the system, because the more people who refuse to live by the rules, the more the system crumbles. You have to decide how you want to live. Lines are easy to follow. They’re comforting. It’s why most people stay where they are.”

because that’s what the world does to people who see what we refuse to see—what we blind ourselves to. To make our own selves feel more comfortable, we negate the voices of others we simply don’t want to hear.

left this giant hole in my chest where all my mistakes echo.

Because lies, no matter how pretty, are just that. And cowards always look for the easy way out.

His eyes convey only honesty, merciless honesty.

I’m pretty sure most people who fall in love are scared. All of a sudden, you care a lot more about what happens. It isn’t just you anymore. You have to deal with someone else’s pain, which, let’s be honest, isn’t easy. But someone else’s pain shouldn’t have to be suitable, or palatable, or convenient, or even make sense, for us to deal with it. Pain is pain. It isn’t up for debate. It just is.

“Books are like hearts,” he says. “They should be shared with the people we trust.”

“When did love become something a person deserves? Love is a human right, not a reward for good behavior.”