43
" Look, I wanted to mention something to you," I said. Play it off as casual. Play it off as no big deal. Be cool.Her lips curled up in an amused smile. " Okay?" " You know what a horrible prankster Will can be." She nodded and I continued: " I may have just done something to get back at him and I swear," I said, resting a hand on her shoulder, " I swear, Hanna, you'll think it's hilarious... eventually." " Eventually?" " Absolutely. Eventually." She considered me through narrowed eyes. " This is just a prank, right? No shaved heads or scars?" I pulled back to study her. " That was a very specific question. Scars?" I shook my head, clearing it. " And no, no, no, no. Just a silly little prank." I gave Hanna my best smile, the one Chloe said made panties drop. But apparently it only made Hanna more suspicious.Her eyes narrowed further. " What would I need to do?" " Nothing," I said. " You'll probably see some weird stuff but just... go along with it." " So, basically be oblivious." " Exactly," I said." And this will be funny?" " Hilarious." She thought about it for a full ten seconds before reaching out to shake my hand. " You're on. "
46
" From all that urges and admonishes, the romantic turns away. He wants to dream, enjoy, immerse himself, instead of clearing his way by striving and wrestling. That which has been and rises out of what is past occupies him far more than what is to become and also more than what wants to become; for the word of the future would always be command. Experiences with their many echoes and their billows stand higher in his estimation than life with its tasks; for tasks always establish a bond with harsh reality. And from this he is in flight. He does not want to struggles against fate, but rather to receive it with an ardent and devout soul; he does not want to wrestle for the blessing, but to experience it, abandoning himself, devoid of will, to what spells salvation and bliss. "
― ,
55
" Are we taking the Subaru?”
“No. We’ll run.”
Running is not part of my plan. Stopping right here is my plan.
“I’m not actually supposed to run,” I try to say. “The arm and everything.”
“I’m sorry about your arm.”
“Really?”
He swoops me up as if I weigh nothing, leans me against his chest, and carries me the way grooms are supposed to carry brides over thresholds. He is cold now, away from the fire. He smells of mushrooms. “Are you afraid of heights?”
He keeps my good arm against him, and doesn’t even jostle my cast arm. It’s smooth and quick and I don’t have time to ...He sets me down on the rolling ground in a large clearing in the middle of tall pine trees. My breath whooshes out like I’d been holding it.
“Oh, that was amazing,” I say before I realize it.
“You’re glowing. I thought you hated me.”
“I do. But flying? I don’t hate flying. I read this book once where—”
“You read?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I like philosophy myself. It’s good to have a daughter who reads.”
I swallow, shift my weight on my feet. They won’t be able to follow us here; we left no tracks. I can’t believe we flew. “Can all pixies fly? Because I was totally unprepared for that. I mean, I didn’t read that.”
“Only ones with royal blood. You can. "
― Carrie Jones , Need (Need, #1)
57
" His face was glistening with cold. He was beautiful, the snow in his eyelashes like diamonds, the cool pink of his cheeks, the wet red of his lips. He was staggering toward her." I have to leave you." His breath came in uneven bursts. " You won't be safe with me." Whatever he was, he could not be bad. An amazing and terrible thought entered Valerie's mind, clearing away all others." Peter..." She stepped toward him, arms out. They gave in to each other, finally, their bodies fitting together. Her fingers warmed his cheek, and his arms slipped underneath her crimson cloak as her long blond hair blew around them. Enveloped in a shelter of white, standing out in black and red, were just the two of them. Nothing else anywhere. Valerie knew that she could never be apart from him, that she was what he was and that she would be his always.She didn't care if he was the Wolf or not. And if he was a Wolf, then she would be one, too.She made he choice and brought her lips to his. "
58
" I started in our neighborhood, buying a pastrami burrito at Oki Dog and a deluxe gardenburger at Astro Burger and matzoh-ball soup at Greenblatt's and some greasy egg rolls at the Formosa. In part funny, and rigid, and sleepy, and angry. People. Then I made concentric circles outward, reaching first to Canter's and Pink's, then rippling farther, tofu at Yabu and mole at Alegria and sugok at Marouch; the sweet-corn salad at Casbah in Silver Lake and Rae's charbroiled burgers on Pico and the garlicky hummus at Carousel in Glendale. I ate an enormous range of food, and mood. Many favorites showed up- families who had traveled far and whose dishes were steeped with the trials of passageways. An Iranian cafe near Ohio and Westwood had such a rich grief in the lamb shank that I could eat it all without doing any of my tricks- side of the mouth, ingredient tracking, fast-chew and swallow. Being there was like having a good cry, the clearing of the air after weight has been held. I asked the waiter if I could thank the chef, and he led me to the back, where a very ordinary-looking woman with gray hair in a practical layered cut tossed translucent onions in a fry pan and shook my hand. Her face was steady, faintly sweaty from the warmth of the kitchen.
Glad you liked it, she said, as she added a pinch of saffron to the pan. Old family recipe, she said.
No trembling in her voice, no tears streaking down her face. "
― Aimee Bender , The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake