Fire and ice licked at his soul–whispered his name–drawing him deeper into the enveloping pain and blackness as he’d dreamed earlier. He suddenly wished to return to the rippling stream. The water would wash away the blistering pain…the fire…the burn. He’d wade deeper…submit to the current… He’d let go… R. W. Patterson
About This Quote

This passage from the novel Dark Rivers of the Heart by David Vann is about a man who falls in love with a girl named Vicki. They are both in love with each other but Vicki has kept her past hidden from him. This passage describes the man falling in love with her and how they cannot be together because of her painful past. The way the water and fire and ice interact is very beautiful and symbolic of how he is in love with her and that she is in pain.

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