Paper Forests Quotes

“But we’ve made the trade: one awful inescapable thing for that golden moment in time, that moment of honeycomb light and a warm summer day tapering to an eternal evening.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“His paint-splattered hands tremble as he rubs at the bruises which decorate his skin, purple and blue roses against a brown canvas.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“The hairs on his arms are raised, and the bite of the wind has left goosebumps across his skin. I imagine that the bite is more than flesh-deep: blood running cold through his veins and his bones becoming chilled.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“Sometimes, a name is all you have left to remember who you are.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“I think about the blanket fort in my bedroom and my painting propped on the mantlepiece, all the signs that I’m meant to be alive, meant to be remembered.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“As the final breaths of air drain out of my lungs, I wonder if there’s any point in continuing to breathe.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“To the right, I see the shadow of a boy from my memories, catch a glimpse of the unnatural sharpness of his teeth, how his fingers bend towards the setting sun like branches. I remember how he smelled like earth, like greenery, as he grabbed my hand and lead me into the trees behind his house, a boy with forests in his eyes and wildness in his veins.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“But the bloody black bruise of August’s anger didn’t fade with the seasons, or the scars, or the burn from the words that followed him through the daylight, and then he realised it was him who was being haunted.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“Then it’s not just the butterflies I can feel on my arms. There’s the ghost of a hand resting on my waist, another tilting my chin upwards. There’s a warm chest pressed against mine. There’s a delicate kiss like a butterfly on my lips. It’s so real, as if I’m seven years old and playing in the garden, as if I’m fourteen years old and having someone’s hands on my hips and their lips on mine for the first time.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“But the colours aren’t real. Nowadays, I’m not sure if my memories are either.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“Sometimes, I think I remember what it was like. You know, before.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“Sleep tight, little warrior," I murmur, tucking the map back into her coat. "Find your way back home for me.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“He taught them how to play chess and they taught him how to sew patches over the rips in his jeans until the air turned warm and they taught him how to cut his jeans into shorts instead.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“It dawns on me that this is the face I will have forever if we can't find the gate: maybe eighteen, mostly dead, the eternal King of the Forest.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests

“I wonder how much longer I'll punish myself before I accept that I have to live with this feeling, no matter how wrong it feels. It's the only thing I have.”
― Tegan Anderson, Paper Forests