And you can't love, not fully, unless you are loved in return.

I’m Hana,” Hana says. “And this is Lena.” She jabs me with an elbow. I know I must look like a fish, standing there with my mouth gaping open, but I’m too outraged to speak. He’s lying. I know he’s the one I saw yesterday, would bet my life on it. “Alex. Nice to meet you.” Alex keeps his eyes on me as he and Hana shake hands. Then he extends a hand to me. “Lena,” he says thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard that name before.

We should be protected from the people who will leave us in the end, from all the people who will disappear or forget us.

Hope keeps you alive.

i feel like a curtain has dropped away and i'm seeing people for who they really are, different, and sharp, and unknowable.

My heart is fluid and soaring. There's no longer any space between heartbeats.

But it's not about knowing. It is simply about going forward.