Home > Work > Gives Light (Gives Light, #1)
21 " It's done, isn't it?" I nodded. I gave him his letter. He didn't seem interested in opening it. He tossed it on the side table without a second look.”“the furniture began. Cut timber sat in a bin next to the hearth. I couldn't see much of the walls, but they smelled musty, like they hadn't been cleaned in a long while. Mr. Black Day lit a lamp; I saw the dust sitting on the walls like carpets. "It's done, isn't it?" I nodded. I gave him his letter. He didn't seem interested in opening it. He tossed it on the side table without a second look. Should I leave? I gestured over my shoulder to the door. "What's wrong with you? Say something." Apologetic, I pointed at my throat. "Oh. Sorry.”“He had nothing to be sorry about. I wanted to let him know that. But before I could so much as a smile, he slumped over at the table and started crying. Alarmed, I did the only thing I could think of doing: I set my basket on the floor and squeezed Mr. Black Day's shoulders. "My wife," he said. His voice was so quiet, I could barely hear him; I had to hold my breath and strain my ears. "My wife... "
― , Gives Light (Gives Light, #1)
22 " I won't let them," Rafael said. "I won't let anyone take you away. I won't let anyone hurt you. I'll protect you. I'll always protect you. I don't care how. I just will. "
23 " We linked arms, and the Titan-man led us in prayer. He called out to the Great Mystery of the universe and thanked it for the bounty by which we all lived, the generosity of the growing land and of the animals who gave us their lifeblood, and most importantly, he said, the compassion of the human heart. The prayer, I thought, was profoundly touching, and maybe more meaningful than anything I had ever heard in a church. "
24 " Each time someone laughed, each time Annie elbowed me or Rafael prodded me or Aubrey asked me, wheedling slightly, to take his side in an argument, I had this feeling of floating on air, miles and miles above the clouds. Each laugh was like a song I’d always wanted to learn without ever realizing I didn’t already know it. Each laugh was a new experience on its own, and yet a familiar one, and I felt that I should be thanking someone for it, but I didn’t know who. "
25 " Relieved and overjoyed, I felt kind of like a five-year-old, too. I felt like a lamb that’s found its way home again, or the small child each of us secretly hides at heart. "
26 " We’d held each other before, on lazy summer days, between private kisses and languid touches, but never anything that I would have considered a true hug: selfless support not instigated by desire, comfort for comfort’s sake. This was different. "
27 " I don't know how your dad could have left you alone, anyway," Rafael said indignantly. "It's obvious you're the coolest person on the planet. "