“Tamani was suddenly struck by just how young David looked. He forgot, sometimes, that David, Laurel, and their friends were younger, in some ways much younger, than Tamani. He was posing as a schoo...”

“Are you looking for something real in this world of illusions? Call me. Casual Flings need not apply. I am looking for Love.”

“Guess Ive been reading too much fantasy.”

“But sadness was familiar; sadness was manageable. It didn't transform her, the way the raging anger did. She could remain herself and still feel this aching grief.”

“I just don't want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing.”

“Laurel, David? Would you like to share the joke with the rest of the class?" he asked, one hand on his skinny hip.”

“Praying in a Temple is like Lighting a Candle. One kills the ignorance and the other kills the darkness .”

“Always surround yourself with friends that have plenty of light in them. That way, you will always have candles around you when days are dark.”

“What would be the significance of the candlelight, if there were no darkness? What would be the power of the stars over our minds, if there were no night?”

“The idea that I could work wonders as the Lord flutters through my mind like a glamorous butterfly. I hasten to catch it, but it escapes into the depths of my mind.”

“It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us...on the inside, looking out.”

“Occasionally, in the stillness of a taxi or an airplane, she would catalog the pleasures she had lost. Cigarettes. Chewing gum. Strong mint toothpaste. Any food with hard edges or sharp corners tha...”