Do you know, we're right underneath Springtime Parish? This place is the opposite of springtime. Everything past prime, boarded up for the season. Just above us, the light shines golden on daffodils full of rainwine and heartgrass and a terrible, wicked, sad girl I can't get back to. I don't even know if I want to. Do I want to be her again? Or do I want to be free? I come here to think about that. To be near her and consider it. I think I shall never be free. I think I traded my freedom for a better story. It was a better story, even if the ending needed work.
Catherynne M. ValenteThere's more than one way between your world and ours. There's the changeling road, and there's the Ravishing, and there's those that Stumble through a gap in the hedgerows or a mushroom ring or a tornado or a wardrobe full of winter coats.
Catherynne M. ValenteRemember this when you are queen,โ he whispered hoarsely. โI moved the earth and the water for you.
Catherynne M. ValenteHats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadnโt waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadnโt been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.
Catherynne M. Valente