“But in another part of her head, the dark part where her oldest fears were housed, she knew there was another sort of reason for staying at home: she was afraid to go away alone.
[...] The characters in stories she read always seemed to go off without a thought or care, but in real life– well, the world was a dangerous place. People were always telling her so. And she would not be able to manage without protection. They were always telling her that, too.”