That was what happened to laughter when you caged it. It became unbearably sad. It was worse than crying.

My favourite mentor brother told me that there were three kinds of people: followers, leaders and scouts. Scouts are capeable of leadership, but they could not tolerate the responsibility of it. Disinclined to take orders either, they invariably flouted authority and fomented strife. This is why scouts, he said wryly, were the first to be sent into danger, It was half hoped they would be killed. 'I fear you are destined to trouble us as a scout, little sister' he said

The deepest wounds aren't the ones we get from other people hurting us. They are the wounds we give ourselves when we hurt other people.

Short stories do not say this happened and this happened and this happened. They are a microcosm and a magnification rather than a linear progression.

‎It is better to pursue a hopeless hope than to give in to black despair.

Laughter is a powerful weapon for it carries the light. To laugh is to defy the darkness.

That was what happened to laughter when you caged it. It became unbearably sad. It was worse than crying.