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being a leader is making the people you love hate you a little more each day.”
“you’ll learn that war only destroys. No one escapes from a war. No one. Not even the survivors. You accept things that would appal you at any other time because life has temporarily lost all meaning.” “War makes monsters of men,”
I notice how dark blue his own are, like water running over a slate.
“We gave them a decent burial. I’m so sorry, Viola. I know how lonely you must be, and nothing would please me more than if, one day, maybe, you could consider me as your–”
“If you ever want to see how small you are in the plan of God, just stand at the edge of an ocean.”
“To live is to fight,” she snaps. “To preserve life is to fight everything that man stands for.”
The blond soldier whistles when he sees our faces, and I can feel caked blood under my nose. “I can get you something for that,” he says. “She’s a healer,” Mistress Coyle says. “She can do it herself.” “I’m Lee,” he says to me, a grin on his face.
“You’re sitting out here all by yourself?” I look up. Lee, the blond soldier, is standing there, smiling all toothy.
“Jesus, pigpiss.” Davy spits again. “It’s not like any of the rest of us got girlfriends. They’re all in ruddy jail or setting off bombs every week or walking around in groups so big you can’t even talk to ’em.” “She ain’t my girlfriend,” I say.
Davy, hearing his name, calls from far across the field. “What?” I call back, “Why do you keep letting this one back over here?”
“Why does he call you Hildy?” Lee says, appearing at the back door with a basket of flour he just pounded. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt and the skin up to his elbows is dusty white. I look at his bare arms for a second and look away quickly.
And we both see her rise in his Noise, we both feel how much he don’t wanna leave her. It’s so strong, I have to look away from him. But it sorta makes me wanna hit him, too.
The best liar is the one who believes her lie is true.”
It’s not that you should never love something so much it can control you. It’s that you need to love something that much so you can never be controlled.
Never trust a politician, Todd. They have no fixed centre, so you can never believe them.
