1
The knowledge that he had left me with no intent ever to return had come over me in tiny droplets of realization spread over the years. And each droplet of comprehension brought its own small measure of hurt.. He had wished me well in finding my own fate to follow, and I never doubted his sincerity. But it had taken me years to accept that his absence in my life was a deliberate finality, an act he had chosen, a thing completed even as some part of my soul still dangled, waiting for his return. .Robin Hobb
2
The knowledge that he had left me with no intent ever to return had come over me in tiny droplets of realization spread over the years. And each droplet of comprehension brought its own small measure of hurt.Robin Hobb
3
I once knew of a minstrel who bragged of having had a thousand women, one time each. He would never know what I knew, that to have one woman a thousand times, and each time find in her a different delight, is far better. I knew now what gleamed in the eyes of old couples when they stared at each other across a room.. My familiarity with her was a more potent love elixir than any potion sold by a hedge-witch in the market. .Robin Hobb
4
He had wished me well in finding my own fate to follow, and I never doubted his sincerity. But it had taken me years to accept that his absence in my life was a deliberate finality, an act he had chosen, a thing completed even as some part of my soul still dangled, waiting for his return. That, I think, is the shock of any relationship ending. It is realizing that what is still an ongoing relationship to someone is, for the other person, something finished and done with. .Robin Hobb
5
She had come to letters late in her life, and though she had mastered them, they had never become her good friends.Robin Hobb
6
When has been disappointed for so long, hope becomes the enemy. One cannot be dashed to the earth unless one is lifted first, and I learned to avoid hope.Robin Hobb
7
It was as if I had been following a narrow trail, and had suddenly realized that at any time I could leave it and strike out cross-country.Robin Hobb
8
There was a danger in asking too much of a child, but the danger of asking too little was almost equal.Robin Hobb
9
I will always take your part, Bee. Right or wrong. That is why you must always take care to be right, lest you make your father a fool.Robin Hobb
10
If one bad thing befell me, I immediately linked it to every bad thing that had happened in the last week or might happen in the coming week. And when I became sad, I was prone to wallow in grief, piling up my woes and sprawling on them like a dragon on a hoard.Robin Hobb
11
There are endings. There are beginnings. Sometimes they coincide, with the ending of one thing marking the beginning of another. But sometimes there is simply a long space after an ending, a time when it seems everything else has ended and nothing else can ever begin.Robin Hobb
12
As dye soaks fibres, drawn into them to change their colour forever, so does a memory, stinging or sweet, change the fibre of a man’s character.Robin Hobb
13
I was lonely, and a lonely heart has hungers that can overpower both common sense and dignity.Robin Hobb
14
...there was no point in sighing after what I could not have. It only distracted me from what I did have.Robin Hobb
15
...once students have been taught that learning is tedious, difficult, and useless, they will never learn another lesson.Robin Hobb
16
How often does a man know, without question, that he has done well? I do not think it happens often in anyone's life, and it becomes even rarer once one has a child.Robin Hobb
17
Stop your whining. If you are frightened, be silent. Whining is for prey. It attracts predators. And you are not prey.Robin Hobb
18
It was better to leave the space empty of words than to choose the wrong ones.Robin Hobb
19
And like a child, I'd be testing the people who loved me, pulling away from them almost for the sole reason of seeing if anyone would come after me.Robin Hobb
20
When you want a thing so badly for so long, and then it comes time to face that you cannot have it, sometimes–’‘ Sometimes you can’t believe it when it comes to you. Sometimes you’re afraid to believe it. I understand your hesitation.Robin Hobb
21
But if she is alone now, it is because she chose to be alone, not someone decree if for her. Her life is hers to live, not yours to repair.Robin Hobb