just-a-casual-reader

[just-a-casual-reader]

It feels weird for me to have known her so well, and for so long, and then suddenly feel like I don’t know her at all. She has a new life. She has a new group. She has a new home. And so do I…

[just-a-casual-reader]

“June is a nice girl, and just because she is choosing a different life path from you does not give you the right to belittle her. She’s not doing anything wrong. She’s not hurting anyone. She simply wants a little red lipstick and a nice boy to notice her.”

“But should t she want more for her life than that?”

“What any woman wants for herself is not for you to decide. You would do well to remember that.”

[just-a-casual-reader]

“I trust Ivor, both with your secret and my herd.”

“Are you certain?” Radane asked. “The more people who know, the more risk there is.”

She wasn’t certain that was true. “The more friends I have, the safer I am. The same is true for you.” Isolating herself wasn’t the answer, not for her, not for Caz, and not for Radane. If they were going to be safe here, they needed the whole community around them.

[just-a-casual-reader]

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[just-a-casual-reader]

It wasn’t that she didn’t like people. It was only that she liked books more. They didn’t fuss or judge or mock or reject. They invited you in, fluffed up the pillows on the couch, offered you tea and toast, and shared their hearts with no expectation that you’d do anything more than absorb what they had to give.

[just-a-casual-reader]

Love is violence, my darling; it is a thunderstorm that tears apart your word. More often than not, love ends in tragedy, but we go on loving in the hope that this time, it will be different.

[just-a-casual-reader]

You kept her close at hand always, insisting it was because you loved her, because you wanted to protect her and couldn’t stand to be without her.

As someone who had been loved in this way for centuries, I also knew it was much easier to keep an eye on someone who was close at hand, to guide their mind and direct their steps.

You made it into an art form, this quiet sort of violence. You were so far into our heads your gentle suggestions so often felt like our own thoughts.

[just-a-casual-reader]

“You must never overthink any good and pleasurable thing.”

[just-a-casual-reader]

A new life: so came this first night in the chrysalis of the empty house. Each room contained the ghosts of future memories.

[just-a-casual-reader]

He was always bored now. Boredom was everywhere, like a color.

[just-a-casual-reader]

Persephone blinked, absorbing Hecate’s words.

Create the life you want.

Up until this point, she thought she knew what kind of life she wanted, but what she was realizing now was that things had changed since meeting Hades. Despite the struggle to accept herself and understand her power, he had shifted something inside her. With him came new desires, new hopes, new dreams, and there was no way to attain those without letting go of old ones.

[just-a-casual-reader]

Readers make their own personal connections to words, irrespective of the writer’s intentions, and each reader gains something unique.

[just-a-casual-reader]

“Do you remember doing the crab race together when I was in elementary school?”

“The crab race?” I ask.

She laughs. “You don’t remember? At sports day when I was in grade three. It was a race for parents and children, walking back to back in a crab walk. We came in last.”

“That’s right, we did, didn’t we.”

“You told me how unique it was to walk like a crab because the scenery goes by sideways and the world looks bigger than normal. Walking sideways gives you a wider view.”

I do vaguely remember saying something like that. If that’s how Chie remembers it, I have no doubt she’s correct.

She looks down shyly. “You told me that if you only ever look in front, your view will be quite narrow. So whenever I feel stuck or don’t know what to do, I try to broaden my view. Relax my shoulders and walk sideways like a crab.”

[just-a-casual-reader]

I’m not useless. Perhaps my problem all along was not being in the right environment. One where I could make the most of myself.

[just-a-casual-reader]

We all travel the circle through the season of our lives, and we all pass in each other’s footsteps at some point in the circle. We must remember that we do not travel the circle alone. We are all connected, all related. Women need to reach out to each other, knowing that they all share the energy of their heart connections. When they have times of doubt or despair, they can call in the energy of the worldwide circle of women that will uplift their spirits and give them hope. When they have moments of joy and bliss, they should send it out to others.

[just-a-casual-reader]

Women’s nature is to give and they tend to give a lot; therefore, it is imperative that women also learn how to receive. The more a woman gives, the more it is necessary to receive also, for then she can be replenished to give again.

[just-a-casual-reader]

By reflecting in the quiet and stillness, a woman will know what she needs for her own personal wholeness and healing.