But most critically, sweet, never try to change the narrative structure of someone else's story, though you will certainly be tempted to, as you watch those poor souls in school, in life, heading unwittingly down dangerous tangents, fatal digressions from which they will unlikely be able to emerge. Resist the temptation. Spend your energies on your story. Reworking it. Making it better.

Sovereign. Deadly. Perfect.

What, really, was the difference between something hounding you and something leading you somewhere?

Like that lightning that comes out of the blue when there's not even a storm going on, just a crazy crack in the sky. With something like that right in front of you, you can't help but feel there's new possibilities out there.

I was aware now, as ever, that between all people there were First Times You See Them and Last Times you See Them.

…how monstrous the people you loved could be.

For every man there exists bait he cannot resist swallowing.