Before she realized he was next to her, he had placed his hands over hers on the countertop, then hooped his fingers through hers. Gretel looked up at him, so startled she might as well have been shot. 'I just wanted to wake you up', he said. Which is exactly what he did. One look at him and her heart was racing. One look, and whatever had been before was all over.

Being an outsider is the one thing we all have in common.

I feel like my eyes are killing me at the end of the day and that I shouldn't use them.

I always felt and still feel that fairy tales have an emotional truth that is so deep that there are few things that really rival them

Abra DeMadrigal didn't look young enough to be my sister anymore. Her sorrow weighed her down and aged her. She was still beautiful, but she looked very far away. No wonder our people had raven eyes, so distant, so sad. No matter how wise she was, my mother looked like a woman who hadn't truely believed how much evil there was in our world. Not until this moment.

I must keep my head and not give in to desire, for desire is what causes women to drown.

Outside, the September air was enticingly fragrant, yellow with pollen and rich, lemony sunlight.