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41 " And though grief weighed her down—she couldn’t take a step without seeing Sister Maria Andrzeja’s empty eyes—she also felt lighter, untethered at last from a past that had always been an invisible weight. She was not Jerusza’s—she never had been, and she knew that now. But neither was she her German father’s. She belonged only to herself, a dove of the dark forest, the forest that called to her now. "
― Kristin Harmel , The Forest of Vanishing Stars
42 " so long.” His words fell quickly, as if he was trying to force them out before he could change his mind. “I just want you to know, in case we are separated, that I think you are extraordinary.” “Zus—” He held up a hand to stop her, his voice deepening. “Perhaps you still love Aleksander. But I—I wish my own heart was not so broken, Yona, because if it was whole, I think I would fight for you. I would tell you that I refuse to let you go, that I will not let you disappear into that forest without me ever again. But I don’t think I am capable of that, of all that comes with those kinds of feelings. And perhaps you don’t want to hear these things anyhow, so I will simply tell you good luck. And I wanted you to know, in case we do not see each other again, that I think you are far more special than you seem to see. "
43 " May I say something, too?” She hesitated, fighting the urge to look away from him. “I don’t know much about these things. But I think that broken hearts heal. I think that perhaps the only way through that kind of pain is to move forward. I think that losing people you love changes you forever, but I think that God finds a way to let the light in. "
44 " Humans had a responsibility to do more than just protect themselves. In the face of evil, they were compelled to save each other. "
45 " The universe is always in balance, she said - summer and winter, day and night, sustenance and poison, good and evil. To know the light, you must also know the darkness. "