What are we after all our dreams, after all our memories?

and in that instant, nothing else mattered. Not the song, not the place, not the other couples around him. Only this, only her.

That she had somehow taken the initiative to learn my name should have struck me then, but it did not. Instead, as she stood on the street with the rain coming down and mascara running onto her cheeks, all I could think was that I'd never seen anyone more beautiful.

I know the Lord has a plan for us all, but sometimes, I just don't understand what the message can be.

The emotions attached to them were like sand castles in the tide, slowly washing out to sea.

I consider myself foremost a novelist with the intent of crafting stories that people will remember.

Beauty might prevail in the very short term, but in the medium and longer terms, cultural norms - primarily those values and norms influenced by family - were more important.