... For Home Is A Magnet That

Cassandra's Grandmother Smiled Then, Only It Wasn't A Happy Smile. Cassandra Thought She Knew How It Felt To Smile Like That. She Often Did So Herself When Her Mother Promised Her Something She Really Wanted But Knew Might Not Happen.

You'll Beat This. I Know It Doesn't Feel Like It, But You Will. You're A Survivor." "i Don't Want To Survive It." "i Know That, Too," Nell Had Said. "and It's Fair Enough. But Sometimes We Don't Have A Choice.

The Prospect Of An Early Death Sits Differently Upon Each Person. In Some It Gifts Maturity Far Outweighing Their Age And Experience: Calm Acceptance Blossoms Into A Beautiful Nature And Soft Countenance. In Others, However, It Leads To The Formation Of A Tiny Ice Flint In Their Heart. Ice That, Though At Times Concealed, Never Properly Melts. Rose, Though She Would Have Liked To Be One Of The Former, Knew Herself Deep Down To Be One Of The Latter.

You Must Learn To Know The Difference Between Tales And The Truth, My Liza, She Would Say. Fairy Tales Have A Habit Of Ending Too Soon. They Never Show What Happens Afterwards When The Prince And Princess Ride Off The Page.

I Probably Coughed Self-pityingly In Response, Little Aware That I Was About To Cross A Tremendous Threshold Beyond Which There Would Be No Return, That In My Hands I Held An Object Whose Simple Appearance Belied Its Profound Power. All True Readers Have A Book, A Moment, Like The One I Describe, And When Mum Offered Me That Much-read Library Copy Mine Was Upon Me.