The Hanging City Quotes

“humans and trolls have a history. No human township would treat her kindly. Indeed, they’d likely kill her. I’m merely grateful I’m not dead.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“But there are different sorts of strength. A different strength for every person, if they know where to find it.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“You believe him?” “I do. I don’t think he’d have a reason to lie to me.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“When I look at the stars, at the universe, I realize how very small I am. And how very small others are. Small people, small problems, and none of it really matters in the great vastness of it all. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Somehow it encourages me to be . . . bigger.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“I believe,” he begins softly, “that error, made in ignorance, is forgivable.” I dare to peek through my fingers at him. “You’re not angry?” “I never was.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“I’ve found strength in the night sky when I could find none in humankind,”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“The only god who listens to the trollis is Regret. He is the only one who cares for the world’s castaways”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“A fur haphazardly covers our hips and legs. My breasts are fully exposed, but I can’t find it in me to be embarrassed, even by the fading pink marks left over from the night’s ardor.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“I know from the moment we come together that I am changed forever. That I will never again be the woman I was.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“make it to the bed, but we cannot simply give in to our passions.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“etches his lips down my neck, my collar, and I am undone, grasping fistfuls of his hair to keep me present.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“relearn his mouth, tasting it inside and out, pressing onto the tips of my shoes to get closer to him. He’s so damnably tall—”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“thoughts of that bed—of what we could do in that bed—flit through my mind, bringing heat to my skin.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“then I am on his lap, tracing his mouth with my tongue,”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“Our mouths learn one another slowly, measurably. It’s tantalizing, invigorating.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“She’s bathed recently and has pulled her hair into a tight, wet bun at the base of her skull.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“When I look at the stars, at the universe, I realize how very small I am. And how very small others are. Small people, small problems, and none of it really matters in the great vastness of it all. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Somehow it encourages me to be . . . bigger.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg , The Hanging City

“Despite its majesty, the bridge is not as spectacular as it appears from a distance. It, too, has fallen to the elements. The centuries of drought. Rocks crack, wood splinters, iron rusts. Décor has chipped and worn. Yet the bearings still appear strong, as do the girders. As though they’ve been maintained.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“As I approach the canyon wall, I see darkness stretch below the bridge. The sun is descending but is not yet set. That darkness is not shadow but stone.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“The gods made the stars, and through them made creatures in pairs: the fette and aerolass to rule the air, the merdan and gullop to rule the sea, and the humans and trolls to rule the earth. And so we did, before the earth changed and ruled us instead. According to the stories, in the time before, humans dominated, despite trolls being larger and stronger. War-torn brutes. Angry. Animals. Merciless. In all the tales told at bedside and campfire, trolls are always the enemy.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“I believe,” he begins softly, “that error, made in ignorance, is forgivable.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“When I look at the stars, at the universe, I realize how very small I am. And how very small others are. Small people, small problems, and none of it really matters in the great vastness of it all. Somehow, that makes me feel better. Somehow it encourages me to be . . . bigger”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“Bruises from those who should love you sting more than others. Deep and lasting, they bleed into your spirit, no matter how common they become. Something shatters with each strike, and it isn’t always bone.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City

“Every time I found a new township, this promise has come to mind, along with the hope that maybe here will be where I belong. Here will be my home. Here I’ll find my family. A good family. Someone who loves me. I think of this every time I’ve left as well. Chased or scared away. Next time, I think. Next time, it will work out. The broken road just stretches a little farther.”
― Charlie N. Holmberg, The Hanging City