82
" stories are all around us, that we are swimming in literature, even at Stung Meanchey. If literature is about us—our hopes and dreams, our trials and struggles—could she have been talking about people: friends, neighbors, strangers, enemies? At first I dismiss the thought, since most people’s stories feel so mundane compared to the exciting tales of dragons and maidens, old men and boats, young love, and valiant war. I suppose that outwardly that may be true, but she also taught that life’s most difficult battles are those fought within—and that would include everyone. "
― Camron Wright , The Rent Collector
84
" It's peculiar, our nature to want to save others. During the war, you worked feverishly to save the children. Lilli was doing her best to save you, I was trying to save the men in my section, and , by the time it was over , we all failed.
But Audrey, did we ? Because here you are, popping up out of nowhere, your box bringing with it a whispered feeling that you are here to prod ne forward. And so, perhaps, we are all saving each other after all, "
― Camron Wright , In Times of Rain and War
89
" In my fairy- tale ending, we would have both survived the war and called it a miracle, but it seems that triumph in life is infinitely more subtle. I am damaged from the war, but I'm not broken. My heart is, at times, lonely, but I am still loved. Life was never meant to be as perfect as I had supposed; rather we are to adapt, make our best choices, and then live with the consequences, learning that it will all be okay. "
― Camron Wright , In Times of Rain and War