I have always had an interest in how cultural rituals play into something as unpredictable as romance.

I gave you the best of me, he'd told her once, and with every beat of her son's heart, she knew he'd done exactly that.

and there had been times when he wished he'd been born into a different family.

In the eulogy by the graveside, I told everyone how my sister and I used to sing to each other on our birthday. I told them that, when I thought of my sister, I could still hear her laughter, sense her optimism, and feel her faith. I told them that my sister was the kindest person I;ve ever known, and that the world was a sadder place without her in it. And finally, I told them to remember my sister with a smile, like I did, for even though she was being buried near my parents, the best parts of her would always stay alive, deep within our hearts.

in all the years we spend together, I never once regretted the fact that I had chosen her and that she had chosen me as well.

Just when you think it can't get any worse, it can. And just when you think it can't get any better, it can.

She was sleeping in a quiet bedroom beside her brother, separated only by glass and sand from the young man she loved, a young man who loved her back