″ I know what it’s like to spend an entire lifetime trying to pretend that I’m okay, that I’m “fine.” I know what it’s like to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, convincing people that I have it all together. I know how exhausting it is and how many nights I cried alone in my bed, too tired to carry the burden anymore. What I do know is the freedom when I decided that I wasn’t going to pretend anymore.”
“‘I’m fine.’ It’s a lie. I am not fine. My head is a symphony of pain, a sadistic master maestro conducting an opus of excruciating, devastating perfection.”
“Her pale blue eyes shuttled around, right and left, to see if Anthony was in sight. Not that it would make any difference if he was or wasn’t- he didn’t have to be near you to know what you were thinking. usually, though, unless he had his attention on somebody, he would be occupied with thoughts of his own.
But some things attracted his attention--you could never be sure just what.
‘This weather’s just fine,’ Mom said.
Lollop.”
“Was life that dull, that boring and humdrum for people? He hated to think of his own life stretching ahead of him that way, a long succession of days and nights that were fine, fine—not good, not bad, not great, not lousy, not exciting, not anything.”
“Bonny lass, pretty lass, wilt thou be mine?
Thou shall not wash dishes,
Nor yet serve the swine;
Thou shalt sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam,
And thou shalt eat strawberries, sugar;
and cream!”
“Supposed we have fine weather, fine crops, all the stock in good shape. Now that’s wealth. Real wealth. But what’s the result? Counted in dollars, we’re poor. Sometimes the best crops make a man the poorest.”
“The magic properties of this ring were uncommonly strong, for no sooner had Bulbo put it on, but lo and behold, he appeared a personable, agreeable young Prince enough-with a fine complexion, fair hair, rather stout, and with bandy legs; but these were encased in a such a beautiful pair of yellow morocco boots that nobody remarked them.”