Shades Quotes

We've searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Shades. Here they are! All 200 of them:

β€œ
I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.
”
”
Sylvia Plath (The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath)
β€œ
- "Why don't you like to be touched?" - "Because I'm fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Laters, baby.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.
”
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John Green (Paper Towns)
β€œ
I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me. Perhaps I've spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.
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Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
β€œ
I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair. Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets. Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps. I hunger for your sleek laugh, your hands the color of a savage harvest, hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails, I want to eat your skin like a whole almond. I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body, the sovereign nose of your arrogant face, I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes, and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight, hunting for you, for your hot heart, Like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.
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Pablo Neruda
β€œ
You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
This is me, Ana. All of me...and I'm all yours. What do I have to do to make you realize that? To make you see that I want you any way I can get you. That I love you.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.
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Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1))
β€œ
I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it." "Seen what?" Her smile widened. "Everything.
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V.E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Hide not your talents, they for use were made, What's a sundial in the shade?
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Benjamin Franklin
β€œ
I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.” β€œI apologize for shooting you in the leg.” said Lila. β€œI was myself entirely.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are all alight. Then world behind and home ahead, We'll wander back and home to bed. Mist and twilight, cloud and shade, Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
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J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1))
β€œ
People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.
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Markus Zusak (The Book Thief)
β€œ
We aim to please Miss Steele
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
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The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.
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Haruki Murakami (Dance Dance Dance)
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Never trust a man who can dance.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
What is it about elevators?
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
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Scars are not shameful, not unless you let them be. If you do not wear them, they will wear you.
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Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
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Don't get your panties in such a twist... and give me back mine.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.
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Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
β€œ
You love me,” I whisper. His eyes widen further and his mouth opens. He takes a huge breath as if winded. He looks torturedβ€”vulnerable. β€œYes,” he whispers. β€œI do.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
I'd like to bite that lip.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Asleep by the Smiths Vapour Trail by Ride Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum Dear Prudence by the Beatles Gypsy by Suzanne Vega Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!) MLK by U2 Blackbird by the Beatles Landslide by Fleetwood Mac Asleep by the Smiths (again!) -Charlie's mixtape
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Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
β€œ
Toska - noun /ˈtō-skΙ™/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness. "No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.
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Vladimir Nabokov
β€œ
Love isβ€”a shade of what I feel.
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RenΓ©e Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1))
β€œ
You wanted hearts and flowers,” he murmurs. I blink at him, not quite believing what I’m seeing. β€œYou have my heart.” And he waves toward the room. β€œAnd here are the flowers,” I whisper, completing his sentence. β€œChristian, it’s lovely.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
From his inside jacket pocket he produces a ring and gazes up at me, his eyes bright gray and raw, full of emotion. "Anastasia Steele, I love you. I want to love, cherish and protect you for the rest of my life. Be mine. Always. Share my life with me. Marry me".
”
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Why don't you like to be touched" Ana whispered, staring up into soft grey eyes. "Because I'm fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.
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William Ernest Henley (Invictus)
β€œ
I saw the world in black and white instead of the vibrant colours and shades I knew existed.
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Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1))
β€œ
I gave him a smile. I was aiming for sweet, but he turned a shade paler and scooted a bit farther from me. Note to self: work more on sweet and less on psycho-killer.
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Ilona Andrews (Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, #3))
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Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
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Anonymous Greek Proverb
β€œ
I've kissed a prince, Mom. I hope it doesn't turn into a frog.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
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Christian, you are the state lottery, the cure for cancer, and the three wishes from Aladdin's lamp all rolled into one
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
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He makes me graceful, that's his skill. He makes me sexy, because that's what he is. He makes me feel loved, because in spite of his fifty shades, he has a wealth of love to give.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
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I don't know whether to worship at your feet or spank the living shit out of you.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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Oh, fuck the paperwork
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
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Warren Buffett
β€œ
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, And too often is his gold complexion dimm'd: And every fair from fair sometimes declines, By chance or natures changing course untrimm'd; By thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
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William Shakespeare (Shakespeare's Sonnets)
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I am going to have coffee with Christian Grey... and I hate coffee.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Love and loss,” he said, β€œare like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.
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Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.
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Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
Well my gun fires seven different shades of shit, so what's your favorite color, punk?
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Gerard Way
β€œ
I wasn't aware we were fighting. I thought we were communicating,
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Maybe its like you said before, all of us being cracked open. Like each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And then things happen - these people leave us, or don’t love us, or don’t get us, or we don’t get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack in places. And I mean, yeah once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable. Once it starts to rain inside the Osprey, it will never be remodeled. But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And its only that time that we see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face to face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade, but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.
”
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John Green (Paper Towns)
β€œ
She bent most of the rules. She broke the rest.
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Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
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You’re the only person I’d fly three thousand miles to see.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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All the diversity, all the charm, and all the beauty of life are made up of light and shade.
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Leo Tolstoy (Anna Karenina)
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I want you sore, baby,” he murmurs, and he continues his sweet, leisurely torment, backward, forward. β€œEvery time you move tomorrow, I want you to be reminded that I’ve been here. Only me. You are mine.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
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Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness.
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Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
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I thought I'd broken you." "Broken? Me? Oh no, Ana. Just the opposite." He reaches out and takes my hand. "You're my lifeline'" he whispers.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Don’t leave me,” he whispers. β€œOh, for crying out loudβ€”no! I am not going to go!” I shout and it’s cathartic. There, I’ve said it. I am not leaving. β€œReally?” His eyes widen. β€œWhat can I do to make you understand I will not run? What can I say?” He gazes at me, revealing his fear and anguish again. He swallows. β€œThere is one thing you can do.” β€œWhat?” I snap. β€œMarry me,” he whispers.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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For the ones who dream of stranger worlds.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
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I want your world to begin and end with me.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
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Just think how many books I could've sold if Harry had been a bit more creative with his wand." -[On the success of 50 Shades of Grey]
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J.K. Rowling
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Are you on your own?" "No. There are six people staring at me right now wondering who the hell i'm talking to." shit..."Really?" I gasp, panicked. "Yes. Really. My girlfriend," he announces away from the phone. holy cow! "They probably all thought you were gay, you know.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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One by one they were all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.
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James Joyce (Dubliners)
β€œ
Sure I do,” countered Lila cheerfully. β€œThere’s Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London,” she recited, ticking them off on her fingers. β€œSee? I’m a fast learner.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
There's a very fine line between pleasure and pain. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
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Hesitation is the death of advantage.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
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Why is he scared of the dark?" I meant the words for a joke, but Shade nodded seriously. "Like all monsters. Because it reminds him of what he truly is".
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Rosamund Hodge (Cruel Beauty)
β€œ
We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! Our dried voices, when We whisper together Are quiet and meaningless As wind in dry grass Or rats' feet over broken glass In our dry cellar Shape without form, shade without colour, Paralysed force, gesture without motion; - The Hollow Men
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T.S. Eliot (Poems: 1909-1925)
β€œ
As Athera. To grow. As Pyrata. To burn. As Illumae. To light. As Orense. To open. As Anase. To dispel. As Hasari. To heal. As Travars. To Travel.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Men aren't really complicated, Ana, honey. They are very simple, literal creatures. They usually mean what they say. And we spend hours trying to analyze what they've said - when really it's obvious. If I were you, I'd take him literally. That might help.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Life is never going to be boring with Christian, and I’m in this for the long haul. I love this man: my husband, my lover, father of my child, my sometimes Dominant……my Fifty Shades.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Til shade is gone, til water is gone Into the shadow with teeth bared Screaming defiance with the last breath To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day.
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Robert Jordan (The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time, #3))
β€œ
Anastasia Steele. I love you. I want to love, cherish, and protect you for the rest of my life. Be mine. Always, Share my life with me. Marry me.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Why don't you like me ?" "Because you never stay with me.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
When you have lived as long as I have, the div replied, you find that cruelty and benevolence are but shades of the same color.
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Khaled Hosseini (And the Mountains Echoed)
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So okay― there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You've blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.
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Stephen King (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft)
β€œ
We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.
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Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time they were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila felt like a pin in Kell's world. One he was sure to snag on.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
It's very hard to grow up in a perfect family when you're not perfect.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
I hug him tightly. β€œI can’t imagine my life without you, Christian. I love you so much it frightens me.” β€œMe, too,” he breathes. β€œMy life would be empty without you. I love you so much.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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I think you can only be truly mad at someone you really love.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
I'm anything but fine. I feel like the sun has set and not risen for five days, Ana. I'm in perpetual night here".
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Shades of a new morning standing still are worse than the shades of night. At least a person can understand the dark of night. It’s not fickle like the day.
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Sarah E. Wright (This Child's Gonna Live (Contemporary Classics by Women))
β€œ
Maybe there was no one way to define it. Maybe there were as many shades of love as the blues of the sky.
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Mary E. Pearson (The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles, #1))
β€œ
You know so little of war. Battles may be fought from the outside in, but wars are won from the inside out.
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
I am tired of people saying that poor character is the only reason people do wrong things. Actually, circumstances cause people to act a certain way. It's from those circumstances that a person's attitude is affected followed by weakening of character. Not the reverse. If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others and judging their lives as either black or white, good or bad. We all live our lives in shades of gray.
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Shannon L. Alder
β€œ
There are no monsters in the world, and no saints. Only infinite shades woven into the same tapestry, light and dark. One man’s monster is another man’s beloved. The wise know that.
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Katherine Arden (The Winter of the Witch (The Winternight Trilogy, #3))
β€œ
What happened to her?” β€œWe finished.” β€œWhy?” β€œShe wanted more.” β€œAnd you didn’t?” He shakes his head. β€œI’ve never wanted more, until I met you.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
I still want more," I whisper. "I know," he says. "I'll try." I blink up at him, and he reliquishes my hand and pulls at my chin, releasing my trapped lip. "For you, Anastasia, I will try.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Some people steal to stay alive, and some steal to feel alive. Simple as that.
”
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Supposing I’ve said I hate him, or worse still, that I love him, in my sleep.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
She was a thief, a runaway, a pirate, a magician. She was fierce, and powerful, and terrifying. She was still a mystery. And he loved her.
”
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Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
I gasp, and I'm Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he's the serpent, and I cannot resist.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.
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”
Jane Austen
β€œ
I've never wanted more, until I met you. - Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey
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”
E.L. James
β€œ
I have discovered with advancing years that few things are entirely black or white, but more often different shades of grey.
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”
Jeffrey Archer (A Prisoner of Birth)
β€œ
Whatever I am, let it be enough
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Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Are you still mad at me?" "Yes." "I'll go back to sleep, then." "Good.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Maybe there was no right or wrong, no black or white, only a thousand shades of gray when it came to pain and what we each held ourselves responsible for.
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Mia Sheridan (Archer's Voice)
β€œ
My inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five year old.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Oh yes, your relationship with Miss Bard is positively ordinary." "Be quiet." "Crossing worlds, killing royals, saving cities. The marks of every good courtship.
”
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Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
It's much easier to wear your pain on the outside...
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Krasivaya. It means beautiful, but with strength. Unique.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
It was finally becoming clear to her that love wasn't about finding someone perfect to marry. Love was about seeing through to the truth of a person, and accepting all their shades of light and dark. Love was an ability.
”
”
Lisa Kleypas (Tempt Me at Twilight (The Hathaways, #3))
β€œ
Was it harder to die, or harder to be the one who survived?
”
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Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
Let me love you," he says hoarsely. "Yes," I answer, and turning, he hauls me into his arms, his lips seeking mine, beseeching me, worshipping me, cherishing me...loving me.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
So you're my boss now," I snap. "Technically, I'm you're boss's boss's boss." "And technically, it's gross moral turpitude- the fact that i am fucking my boss's boss's boss." "At the moment, you're arguing with him." Christian scowls.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Are you smirking at me, Mr. Grey?” I ask sweetly. Pompous ass.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
The bodies in my floor all trusted someone. Now I walk on them to tea.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
I lay awake for hours and watched you sleep," he murmurs. "I might have loved you even then.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Bad magic, Kell had called it. No, thought Lila now. Clever magic. And clever was more dangerous than bad any day of the week.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Your stepfather? I'd like to meet him." Oh no... why? "I'm not sure that's a good idea." Christian unlocks the door, his mouth in a grim line. "Are you ashamed of me?" "No!" It's my turn to sound exasperated. "Introduce you to my dad as what? 'This is the man who deflowered me and wants to start a BDSM relationship'. You're not wearing running shoes.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Everyone’s immortal until they’re not.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Raising the ordinary to extraordinary
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
If you're in the room, I want to be next to you. If you're gone, I think about you. You're who I want to talk to. In a fight, I want you at my back. When we're together the sun is shining. When we're apart, everything is in shades of gray.
”
”
James Patterson (Fang (Maximum Ride, #6))
β€œ
I hate fighting with you,” he whispers. β€œWell, stop being such an arse.” He chuckles and the captivating sound reverberates through his chest. He tightens his hold on me. β€œArse?” β€œAss.” β€œI prefer arse.” β€œYou should. It suits you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Oh Christian... my possessive, jealous, control freak Christian.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
What are we drinking to?" "The living," said Rhy. "The dead," said Alucard and Lila at the same time. "We're being thorough," added Rhy.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
I love him. Simple.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Why, oh why have I fallen for someone who is plain crazyβ€”beautiful, sexy as fuck, richer than Croesus, and crazy with a capital K?
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
He grabs me suddenly and yanks me up against him, one hand at my back holding me to him and the other fisting in my hair. "You're one challenging woman," He kisses me, forcing my lips apart with his tongue, taking no prisoners. "It's taking all my self-control not to fuck you on the hood of this car, just to show you that you're mine, and if I want to buy you a fucking car, I'll buy you a fucking car," he growls.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness. His eyes wide and bleak and tortured. I can soothe him. Join him briefly in the darkness and bring him into the light.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
I saw the days of the year stretching ahead like a series of bright, white boxes, and separating one box from another was sleep, like a black shade. Only for me, the long perspective of shades that set off one box from the next day had suddenly snapped up, and I could see day after day after day glaring ahead of me like a white, broad, infinitely desolate avenue.
”
”
Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)
β€œ
Life isn't made of choices, it's made of trades. Some are good, some are bad, but they all have a cost.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
You shall be my roots and I will be your shade, though the sun burns my leaves. You shall quench my thirst and I will feed you fruit, though time takes my seed. And when I'm lost and can tell nothing of this earth you will give me hope. And my voice you will always hear. And my hand you will always have. For I will shelter you. And I will comfort you. And even when we are nothing left, not even in death, I will remember you.
”
”
Mark Z. Danielewski (House of Leaves)
β€œ
Good men are often more practical than pretty " said Mother. "Andrius just happens to be both.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, of trials endured together, of quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.
”
”
Antoine de Saint-ExupΓ©ry (Wind, Sand and Stars)
β€œ
From: Christian Grey Subject: My Life's Mission... Date: September 5, 2011 09:25 To: Anastasia Grey Is to spoil you, Mrs. Grey. And keep you safe because I love you. Christian Grey Smitten CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
We have to learn to walk before we can run
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
A life worth having is a life worth taking.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Kell would say it was impossible. What a useless word, in a world with magic.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Let me ask you something first. Do you want a regular vanilla relationship with no kinky fuckery at all?" My mouth drops open. "Kinky fuckery?" I squeak. "Kinky fuckery." "I can't believe you said that.' "Well, I did. Answer me," he says calmly. I flush. My inner goddess is down on bended knee with her hands clasped in supplication begging me. "I like your kinky fuckery," I whisper.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Sweet Jesus, you're wearing stockings."--Christian Grey
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
I consider myself a stained-glass window. And this is how I live my life. Closing no doors and covering no windows; I am the multi-colored glass with light filtering through me, in many different shades. Allowing light to shed and fall into many many hues. My job is not to direct anything, but only to filter into many colors. My answer is destiny and my guide is joy. And there you have me.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
β€œ
He's naked except for those soft ripped jeans, top button casually undone. Jeez, he looks so freaking hot. My subconscious is frantically fanning herself, and my inner goddess is swaying and writhing to some primal carnal rhythm.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Anoshe was a word for strangers in the street, and lovers between meetings, for parents and children, friends and family. It softened the blow of leaving. Eased the strain of parting. A careful nod to the certainty of today, the mystery of tomorrow. When a friend left, with little chance of seeing home, they said anoshe. When a loved one was dying, they said anoshe. When corpses were burned, bodies given back to the earth and souls to the stream, those left grieving said anoshe. Anoshe brought solace. And hope. And the strength to let go.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
But the thing about people, Kell had discovered, is that they didn't really want to know. They thought they did, but knowing only made them miserable.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind, Possessing and caressing me. Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes, They call me on and on across the universe, Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box They tumble blindly as they make their way Across the universe Sounds of laughter shades of love are Ringing through my open ears inciting and inviting me Limitless undying love which shines around me like a Million suns, and calls me on and on Across the universe
”
”
John Lennon
β€œ
Of course. Silly me. Such a sad, exciting score, which no doubt you can play? So many accomplishments, Mr. Grey.” β€œAnd the greatest one is you, Miss Steele.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
So she told me a story. A story about a boy who was born with very green eyes, and the man who was so captivated by their color that he searched the world for a stone in exactly the same shade.” His voice is fading now, falling into whispers so quiet I can hardly hear him. β€œShe said the boy was me. That this ring was made from that very same stone, and that the man had given it to her, hoping one day she’d be able to give it to me. It was his gift, she said, for my birthday." He stops. Breathes. β€œAnd then she took it off, slipped it on my index finger, and said, β€˜If you hide your heart, he will never be able to take it from you'.
”
”
Tahereh Mafi (Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3))
β€œ
I am the middle sister. The one in between. Not oldest, not youngest, not boldest, not nicest. I am the shade of gray, the glass half empty or full, depending on your view. In my life, there has been little that I have done first or better than the one preceding or following me. Of all of us, though, I am the only one who has been broken.
”
”
Sarah Dessen (Just Listen)
β€œ
There's something about you Anastasia, that calls to me on some deep level I don't understand. It's a siren's call. I can't resist you, and I don't want to lose you.... don't run, please - have a little faith in me and a little patience please
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Sometimes kindness can be delivered in a clumsy way.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
Placing my head on my knees, I let the irrational tears fall unrestrained. I am crying over the loss of something I never had. How ridiculous. Mourning something that never was - my dashed hopes, my dashed dreams, and my soured expectations.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Fear can’t hurt you,” she said. β€œWhen it washes over you, give it no power. It’s a snake with no venom. Remember that. That knowledge can save you.
”
”
Maureen Johnson (The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1))
β€œ
Andrius, I'm...scared." He stopped and turned to me. "No. Don't be scared. Don't give them anything Lina, not even your fear.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
I have never known what to make of you. Not since the day we met. And it terrifies me. You terrify me. And the idea of you walking away again, vanishing from my life, that terrifies me most of all.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
Standing there on display was painful enough. Now came the truly unfortunate task of socializing.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemyβ€”love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
I know where you sleep, Bard." She smirked. "Then you know I sleep with knives.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
On vis och," he told himself. Dawn to dusk. A phrase that meant two things in his native tongue. A fresh start. A good end.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
I always want more, with you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Why am I so drawn to you?" He muttered, almost to himself. "Why is it so hard to let go? I thought... at first... it was Ariella, that you remind me of so much. But it's not." Though he didn't smile, his eyes lightened a shade. "You're far more stubborn than she ever was." I sniffed. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black," I whispered, and a faint, tiny grin finally crossed his face, before his expression clouded and he lowered his head, touching his forehead to mine. "What do you want of me, Meghan?" he asked, a low thread of anguish flickering below the surface. Tears blurred my vision, all the fear and heartache of the past few days rising to the surface. "Just you," I whispered. "I just want you." -Ash and Meghan
”
”
Julie Kagawa (The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, #2))
β€œ
Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness. There's love and emotion trying to express itself, but at the time, it just ends up being awkward.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
You smell heavenly. I slept on your side of your side of the bed because your pillow smells of you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
I have fallen for someone who's so emotionally shut down, I will only get hurt- deep down I know this- someone who by his own admission is completely fucked up.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
P.S. I also note that you included the Stalker's Anthem "Every Breath You Take" I do enjoy our sense of humor, but does Dr. Flynn know?
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
We’ve chased the dawn, Anastasia, now the dusk.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Even a pain in the ass needs someone to care about them
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
To be a poet is to have a soul so quick to discern, that no shade of quality escapes it, and so quick to feel, that discernment is but a hand playing with finely-ordered variety on the chords of emotion--a soul in which knowledge passes instantaneously into feeling, and feeling flashes back as a new organ of knowledge.
”
”
George Eliot (Middlemarch)
β€œ
But I'm a selfish man. I've wanted you since you fell into my office. You are exquisite, honest, warm, strong, witty, beguilingly innocent; the list is endless. I'm in awe of you. I want you, and the thought of anyone else having you is like a knife twisting in my dark soul.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
I want my world to start and end with you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
I've never wanted more, until I met you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Caring was a thing with claws. It sank them in, and didn’t let go. Caring hurt more than a knife to the leg, more than a few broken ribs, more than anything that bled or broke and healed again. Caring didn’t break you clean. It was a bone that didn’t set, a cut that wouldn’t close.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
Look, everyone talks about the unknown like it's some big scary thing, but it's the familiar that's always bothered me. It's heavy, builds up around you like rocks, until it's walls and a ceiling and a cell.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
I was waiting for you," he says softly, his eyes dark gray and luminous. "That's... that's such a lovely thing to say." "It's true. I didn't know it at the time." He smiles his shy smile. "I'm glad you waited." "You are worth waiting for, Mrs. Grey.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
No. No!” he says. β€œI . . .” He looks wildly around the room. For inspiration? For divine intervention? I don’t know. β€œYou can’t go. Ana, I love you!” β€œI love you, too, Christian, it’s just—” β€œNo . . . no!” he says in desperation and puts both hands on his head. β€œChristian . . .” β€œNo,” he breathes, his eyes wide with panic, and suddenly he drops to his knees in front of me, head bowed, long-fingered hands spread out on his thighs. He takes a deep breath and doesn’t move. What? β€œChristian, what are you doing?” He continues to stare down, not looking at me. β€œChristian! What are you doing?” My voice is high-pitched. He doesn’t move. β€œChristian, look at me!” I command in panic. His head sweeps up without hesitation, and he regards me passively with his cool gray gazeβ€”he’s almost serene . . . expectant. Holy Fuck . . . Christian. The submissive.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Okay, this is the wisdom. First, time spent on reconnaissanse is never wasted. Second, almost anything can be improved with the addition of bacon. And finally, there is no problem on Earth that can't be ameliorated by a hot bath and a cup of tea.
”
”
Jasper Fforde (Shades of Grey (Shades of Grey, #1))
β€œ
Magnus? Magnus Bane?” β€œThat would be me.” The man blocking the doorway was as tall and thin as a rail, his hair a crown of dense back spikes. Clary guessed from the curse of his sleepy eyes and the gold tone of his evenly tanned skin that he was part Asian. He wore jeans and a black shirt covered with dozens of metal buckles. His eyes were crusted with a raccoon mask of charcoal glitter, his lips painted a dark shade of blue. He raked a ring-laden hand through his spiked hair and regarded them thoughtfully. β€œChildren of the Nephilim,” he said. β€œWell, well. I don’t recall inviting you. I must have been drunk.
”
”
Cassandra Clare (City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1))
β€œ
My inner goddes has her sequins on and is warming up to dance the rumba.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
His head turns fractionally toward me, his eyes darkest slate. I bite my lip. β€œOh, fuck the paperwork,” he growls. He lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, he’s got both of my hands in one of his in a vice-like grip above my head, and he’s pinning me to the wall using his hips. Holy shit. His other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and his lips are on mine. It’s only just not painful. I moan into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He takes full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Inside me! I gasp, and all the muscles deep in my belly clench. My inner goddess is doing the dance of the seven veils.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
I planted a seed of hatred in my heart. I swore it would grow to be a massive tree whose roots would strangle them all.
”
”
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
You love strapping me in, don’t you?” β€œIn any form,” he says, a wicked grin playing on his lips. β€œYou are a pervert.” β€œI know.” He raises his eyebrows and his grin broadens. β€œMy pervert,” I whisper. β€œYes, yours.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Aren't you afraid of dying?" he asked Lila now. She looked at him as if it were a strange question. And then she shook her head. "Death comes for everyone," she said simply. "I'm not afraid of dying. But I am afraid of dying here." She swept her hand over the room, the tavern, the city. "I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
Everyone thinks I have a death wish, you know? But I don't want to die - dying is easy. No, I want to live, but getting close to death is the only way to feel alive. And once you do, it makes you realize that everything you were actually doing before wasn't actually living. It was just making do. Call me crazy, but I think we do the best living when the stakes are high.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
My world was ordered, calm, and controlled, then you came into my life with your smart mouth, your innocence, your beauty, and your quiet temerity ...and everything before you was just dull, empty, mediocre ...it was nothing.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
Does this mean you’re going to make love to me tonight, Christian?” Holy shit. Did I just say that? His mouth drops open slightly, but he recovers quickly. β€œNo, Anastasia it doesn’t. Firstly, I don’t make love. I fuck… hard. Secondly, there’s a lot more paperwork to do, and thirdly, you don’t yet know what you’re in for. You could still run for the hills. Come, I want to show you my playroom.” My mouth drops open. Fuck hard! Holy shit, that sounds so… hot. But why are we looking at a playroom? I am mystified. β€œYou want to play on your Xbox?” I ask. He laughs, loudly. β€œNo, Anastasia, no Xbox, no Playstation. Come.”… Producing a key from his pocket, he unlocks yet another door and takes a deep breath. β€œYou can leave anytime. The helicopter is on stand-by to take you whenever you want to go, you can stay the night and go home in the morning. It’s fine whatever you decide.” β€œJust open the damn door, Christian.” He opens the door and stands back to let me in. I gaze at him once more. I so want to know what’s in here. Taking a deep breath I walk in. And it feels like I’ve time-traveled back to the sixteenth century and the Spanish Inquisition. Holy fuck.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
Looking for trouble, he'd say. You're gonna look til you find it. Trouble is the looker, she'd answer. It keeps looking till it finds you. Might as well find it first. Why do you want to die? I don't, she'd say. I just want to live.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
I’ve learned that a storm isn’t always just bad weather, and a fire can be the start of something. I’ve found out that there are a lot more shades of gray in this world than I ever knew about. I’ve learned that sometimes, when youΒ΄re afraid but you keep on moving forward, that’s the biggest kind of courage there is. And finally, I’ve learned that life isn’t really about failure and success. It’s about being present, in the moment when big things happen, when everything changes, including yourself.
”
”
Cynthia Hand (Hallowed (Unearthly, #2))
β€œ
I would have told you earlier, but as it was your birthday . . . What do you give the man who has everything? I thought I’d give you . . . me.” He puts the keychain down on the bedside table and snuggles in beside me, pulling me into his arms against his chest so that we’re spooning. β€œIt’s perfect. Like you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
A low whistle behind him as Alucard appeared at the entrance. 'Picking out a gift?' asked the captain. 'No.' 'Good, then take this'. He dropped a ring into Kell's hand. Kell frowned. 'I'm flattered, but I think you're asking the wrong brother.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
Oh," the girl said, shaking her head. "Don't be so simple. People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. You know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways." Her eyes became distant. "There are far, far worse things to be than a monster.
”
”
Jim Butcher (Ghost Story (The Dresden Files, #13))
β€œ
There's a joy in my helplessness, joy in my surrender to him, and to know that he can lose himself in me the way he wants to. I can do this. He takes me to these dark places, places I didn't know existed, and together we fill them with blinding light. Oh yes...blazing, blinding light." -Anastasia Steele
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Myths do not happen all at once. They do not spring forth whole into the world. They form slowly, rolled between the hands of time until their edges smooth, until the saying of the story gives enough weight to the wordsβ€”to the memoriesβ€”to keep them rolling on their own.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β€œ
So you’ll get your kicks by exerting your will over me.” β€œIt’s about gaining your trust and your respect, so you’ll let me exert my will over you. I will gain a great deal of pleasure, joy, even in your submission. The more you submit, the greater my joy – it’s a very simple equation.” β€œOkay, and what do I get out of this?” He shrugs and looks almost apologetic. β€œMe,” he says simply.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
They danced in silence for several long moments, spinning together and apart, a slower version of their cadence in the ring. And then, out of nowhere, Lila asked, β€œWhy?” β€œWhy what?” β€œWhy did you ask me to dance?” He almost smiled. A ghost. A trick of the light. β€œSo you couldn’t run away again before I said hello.” β€œHello,” said Lila. β€œHello,” said Kell. β€œWhere have you been?
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Nothing, in truth, can ever replace a lost companion. Old comrades cannot be manufactured. There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories, so many bad times endured together, so many quarrels, reconciliations, heartfelt impulses. Friendships like that cannot be reconstructed. If you plant an oak, you will hope in vain to sit soon under its shade. For such is life. We grow rich as we plant through the early years, but then come the years when time undoes our work and cuts down our trees. One by one our comrades deprive us of their shade, and within our mourning we always feel now the secret grief of growing old. If I search among my memories for those whose taste is lasting, if I write the balance sheet of the moments that truly counted, I surely find those that no fortune could have bought me. You cannot buy the friendship of a companion bound to you forever by ordeals endured together.
”
”
Antoine de Saint-ExupΓ©ry (Wind, Sand and Stars)
β€œ
Don't you see?" said Calla. "He wasn't coming to pay your debt. He was coming to see if you'd returned to pay it yourself." Lila felt her face go hot. "I do not know why you two are circling each other like stars. It is not my cosmic dance. But I do know that you come asking after one another, when only a few strides and a handful of stars divide you.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Good evening, Mrs. Grey," Christian says softly. He's standing by the piano, dressed in a tight black T-shirt, and jeans...those jeans- the ones he wore in the playroom. Oh my. They are over washed pale-blue denim, snug, ripped at the knee and hot. He saunters over to me, his feet bare, the top button of the jeans undone, his smoldering eyes never leaving mine. "Good to have you home. I've been waiting for you.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β€œ
They crashed into each other as if propelled by gravity, and he didn't know which one of them was the object and which the earth, only that they were colliding. The kiss was Lila pressed into a single gesture. Her brazen pride and her stubborn resolve, her recklessness and her daring and her hunger for freedom. It was all those things, and it took Kell's breath away.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know. So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord. Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it. Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands. Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed. Ask the questions that have no answers. Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold. Call that profit. Prophesy such returns. Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years. Listen to carrion β€” put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come. Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts. So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men. Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth? Go with your love to the fields. Lie down in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction. Practice resurrection.
”
”
Wendell Berry
β€œ
[Ana] β€œYou’re a sadist?” β€œI’m a Dominant.” His eyes are a scorching gray, intense. β€œWhat does that mean?” I whisper. β€œIt means I want you to willingly surrender yourself to me, in all things.” I frown at him as I try to assimilate this idea. β€œWhy would I do that?” β€œTo please me,” he whispers as he cocks his head to one side, and I see a ghost of a smile. Please him! He wants me to please him! I think my mouth drops open. Please Christian Grey. And I realize, in that moment, that yes, that’s exactly what I want to do. I want him to be damned delighted with me. It’s a revelation.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β€œ
You have a house if not a home," she spat. "You have people who care for you if not about you. You may not have everything you want, but I'd wager you have everything you could ever need, and you have the audacity to claim it all forfeit because it is not love." "I--" "Love doesn't keep us from freezing to death, Kell," she continued, "or starving, or being knifed for the coins in our pocket. Love doesn't buy us anything, so be glad for what you have and who you have because you may want for things but you need nothing.
”
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Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β€œ
How do you know when the Sarows is coming? (Is coming is coming is coming aboard) When the wind dies away but still sings in your ears, (In your ears in your head in your blood in your bones.) When the current goes still but the ship, it drifts along, (Drifts on drifts away drifts alone.) When the moon and the stars all hide from the dark, (For the dark is not empty at all at all.) (For the dark is not empty at all.) How do you know when the Sarows is coming? (Is coming is coming is coming aboard) Why you don't and you don't and you won't see it coming, (You won't see it coming at all.)
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
So here's the truth - I love you. I love everything about you – the way you stick up for people even when it costs you. The way you keep trying to do the right thing even when you're not exactly sure what the right thing is. I love how you put words together. You're as skilled with words as any knife fighter with a blade. You can put an enemy down on his back, or you can raise people up so they find what's best in themselves. You've changed my life. You've given me the words I need to become whatever I want. I love how you talk to lytlings. You don't talk down to them. You respect them, and anybody can tell you're actually interested in what they have to say. I love the way you ride a horse – how you stick there like an upland thistle, whooping like a Demonai. I love the way you throw back your head and stomp your feet when you dance. I love how you go after what you want – whether it's kisses or a queendom. I love your skin, like copper dusted over with gold. And your eyes – they're the color of a forest lake shaded by evergreens. One of the secret places that only the Demonai know about. I love the scent of you – when you've been out in the fresh air, and that perfume you put behind your ears sometimes. Believe it or not, I even love your road smell – of sweat and horses and leather and wool. I want to breathe you in for the rest of my life.
”
”
Cinda Williams Chima (The Crimson Crown (Seven Realms, #4))
β€œ
The walls weren't moving, and the room was open - gaping. No colors, but shades of darkness, of night . Only those star-flecked violet eyes were bright, full of color and light. He gave me a lazy smile before he leaned forward. I pulled away, but his hands were like shackles. I could do nothing as his mouth met with my cheek, and he licked away a tear. His tongue was hot against my skin, so startling that I couldn't move as he licked away another path of salt water, and then another. My body went taut and loose all at once and I burned, even as chills shuddered along my limbs. It was only when his tongue danced along the damp edges of my lashes that I jerked back. He chuckled as I scrambled for the corner of the cell. I wiped my face as I glared at him. He smirked, sitting down against a wall. "I figured that would get you to stop crying." "It was disgusting." I wiped my face again. "Was it?" He quirked an eyebrow and pointed to his palm - to the place where my tattoo would be. "Beneath all your pride and stubbornness, I could have sworn I detected something that felt differently. Interesting." "Get out." "As usual, your gratitude is overwhelming.
”
”
Sarah J. Maas (A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1))
β€œ
Kell has only two faces. The one he wears for the world at large, and the one he wears for those he loves.” He sipped his wine. β€œFor us.” Lila’s expression hardened. β€œWhatever he feels for me, it isn’t love.” β€œBecause it isn’t soft and sweet and doting?” Rhy rocked back, stretching against the pillar. β€œDo you know how many times he’s nearly beat me senseless out of love? How many times I’ve done the same? I’ve seen the way he looks at those he hates …” He shook his head. β€œThere are very few things my brother cares about, and even fewer people.
”
”
Victoria Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β€œ
I want you, Anastasia,” he murmurs. β€œI love and I hate, and I love arguing with you. It’s very new. I need to know that we’re okay. It’s the only way I know how.” β€œMy feelings for you haven’t changed,” I whisper. His proximity is overwhelming, exhilarating. The familiar pull is there, all my synapses goading me toward him, my inner goddess at her most libidinous. Staring at the patch of hair in the V of his shirt, I bite my lip, helpless, driven by desireβ€”I want to taste him there. He’s so close, but he doesn’t touch me. His heat is warming my skin. β€œI’m not going to touch you until you say yes,” he says softly. β€œBut right now, after a really shitty morning, I want to bury myself in you and just forget everything but us.
”
”
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β€œ
Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria: 1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and amenable ... They do not create scenes over a hammer or a mislaid eraser; they do not make you feel they are conferring a great benefit on you when they live with you, and they don't make a scandal when they leave. (...) 2) They have compassion for other people besides beggars and cats. Their hearts suffer the pain of what is hidden to the naked eye. (...) 3) They respect other people's property, and therefore pay their debts. 4) They are not devious, and they fear lies as they fear fire. They don't tell lies even in the most trivial matters. To lie to someone is to insult them, and the liar is diminished in the eyes of the person he lies to. Civilized people don't put on airs; they behave in the street as they would at home, they don't show off to impress their juniors. (...) 5) They don't run themselves down in order to provoke the sympathy of others. They don't play on other people's heartstrings to be sighed over and cosseted ... that sort of thing is just cheap striving for effects, it's vulgar, old hat and false. (...) 6) They are not vain. They don't waste time with the fake jewellery of hobnobbing with celebrities, being permitted to shake the hand of a drunken [judicial orator], the exaggerated bonhomie of the first person they meet at the Salon, being the life and soul of the bar ... They regard prases like 'I am a representative of the Press!!' -- the sort of thing one only hears from [very minor journalists] -- as absurd. If they have done a brass farthing's work they don't pass it off as if it were 100 roubles' by swanking about with their portfolios, and they don't boast of being able to gain admission to places other people aren't allowed in (...) True talent always sits in the shade, mingles with the crowd, avoids the limelight ... As Krylov said, the empty barrel makes more noise than the full one. (...) 7) If they do possess talent, they value it ... They take pride in it ... they know they have a responsibility to exert a civilizing influence on [others] rather than aimlessly hanging out with them. And they are fastidious in their habits. (...) 8) They work at developing their aesthetic sensibility ... Civilized people don't simply obey their baser instincts ... they require mens sana in corpore sano. And so on. That's what civilized people are like ... Reading Pickwick and learning a speech from Faust by heart is not enough if your aim is to become a truly civilized person and not to sink below the level of your surroundings. [From a letter to Nikolay Chekhov, March 1886]
”
”
Anton Chekhov (A Life in Letters)
β€œ
November 20. Andrius's birthday. I had counted the days carefully. I wished him a happy birthday when I woke and thought about him while hauling logs during the day. At night, I sat by the light of the stove, reading Dombey and Son. Krasivaya. I still hadn't found the word. Maybe I'd find it if I jumped ahead. I flipped through some of the pages. A marking caught my eye. I leafed backward. Something was written in pencil in the margin of 278. Hello, Lina. You've gotten to page 278. That's pretty good! I gasped, then pretened I was engrossed in the book. I looked at Andrius's handwritting. I ran my finger over this elongated letters in my name. Were there more? I knew I should read onward. I couldn't wait. I turned though the pages carefully, scanning the margins. Page 300: Are you really on page 300 or are you skipping ahead now? I had to stifle my laughter. Page 322: Dombey and Son is boring. Admit it. Page 364: I'm thinking of you. Page 412: Are you maybe thinking of me? I closed my eyes. Yes, I'm thinking of you. Happy birthday, Andrius.
”
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Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β€œ
believe that this way of living, this focus on the present, the daily, the tangible, this intense concentration not on the news headlines but on the flowers growing in your own garden, the children growing in your own home, this way of living has the potential to open up the heavens, to yield a glittering handful of diamonds where a second ago there was coal. This way of living and noticing and building and crafting can crack through the movie sets and soundtracks that keep us waiting for our own life stories to begin, and set us free to observe the lives we have been creating all along without ever realizing it. I don’t want to wait anymore. I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting. The Heisman Trophy winner knows this. He knows that his big moment was not when they gave him the trophy. It was the thousand times he went to practice instead of going back to bed. It was the miles run on rainy days, the healthy meals when a burger sounded like heaven. That big moment represented and rested on a foundation of moments that had come before it. I believe that if we cultivate a true attention, a deep ability to see what has been there all along, we will find worlds within us and between us, dreams and stories and memories spilling over. The nuances and shades and secrets and intimations of love and friendship and marriage an parenting are action-packed and multicolored, if you know where to look. Today is your big moment. Moments, really. The life you’ve been waiting for is happening all around you. The scene unfolding right outside your window is worth more than the most beautiful painting, and the crackers and peanut butter that you’re having for lunch on the coffee table are as profound, in their own way, as the Last Supper. This is it. This is life in all its glory, swirling and unfolding around us, disguised as pedantic, pedestrian non-events. But pull of the mask and you will find your life, waiting to be made, chosen, woven, crafted. Your life, right now, today, is exploding with energy and power and detail and dimension, better than the best movie you have ever seen. You and your family and your friends and your house and your dinner table and your garage have all the makings of a life of epic proportions, a story for the ages. Because they all are. Every life is. You have stories worth telling, memories worth remembering, dreams worth working toward, a body worth feeding, a soul worth tending, and beyond that, the God of the universe dwells within you, the true culmination of super and natural. You are more than dust and bones. You are spirit and power and image of God. And you have been given Today.
”
”
Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)
β€œ
Dear Max - You looked so beautiful today. I'm going to remember what you looked like forever. ... And I hope you remember me the same way - clean, ha-ha. I'm glad our last time together was happy. But I'm leaving tonight, leaving the flock, and this time it's for good. I don't know if I'll ever see any of you again. The thing is, Max, that everyone is a little bit right. Added up all together, it makes this one big right. Dylan's a little bit right about how my being here might be putting the rest of you in danger. The threat might have been just about Dr. Hans, but we don't know that for sure. Angel is a little bit right about how splitting up the flock will help all of us survive. And the rest of the flock is a little bit right about how when you and I are together, we're focused on each other - we can't help it. The thing is, Maximum, I love you. I can't help but be focused on you when we're together. If you're in the room, I want to be next to you. If you're gone, I think about you. You're the one who I want to talk to. In a fight, I want you at my back. When we're together, the sun is shining. When we're apart, everything is in shades of gray. I hope you'll forgive me someday for turning our worlds into shades of gray - at least for a while. ... You're not at your best when you're focused on me. I mean, you're at your best Maxness, but not your best leaderness. I mostly need Maxness. The flock mostly needs leaderness. And Angel, if you're listening to this, it ain't you, sweetie. Not yet. ... At least for a couple more years, the flock needs a leader to survive, no matter how capable everyone thinks he or she is. The truth is that they do need a leader, and the truth is that you are the best leader. It's one of the things I love about you. But the more I thought about it, the more sure I got that this is the right thing to do. Maybe not for you, or for me, but for all of us together, our flock. Please don't try to find me. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, besides wearing that suit today, and seeing you again will only make it harder. You'd ask me to come back, and I would, because I can't say no to you. But all the same problems would still be there, and I'd end up leaving again, and then we'd have to go through this all over again. Please make us only go through this once. ... I love you. I love your smile, your snarl, your grin, your face when you're sleeping. I love your hair streaming out behind you as we fly, with the sunlight making it shine, if it doesn't have too much mud or blood in it. I love seeing your wings spreading out, white and brown and tan and speckled, and the tiny, downy feathers right at the top of your shoulders. I love your eyes, whether they're cold or calculating or suspicious or laughing or warm, like when you look at me. ... You're the best warrior I know, the best leader. You're the most comforting mom we've ever had. You're the biggest goofball, the worst driver, and a truly lousy cook. You've kept us safe and provided for us, in good times and bad. You're my best friend, my first and only love, and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, with wings or without. ... Tell you what, sweetie: If in twenty years we haven't expired yet, and the world is still more or less in one piece, I'll meet you at the top of that cliff where we first met the hawks and learned to fly with them. You know the one. Twenty years from today, if I'm alive, I'll be there, waiting for you. You can bet on it. Good-bye, my love. Fang P.S. Tell everyone I sure will miss them
”
”
James Patterson