Benjamin Alire Sáenz

“Life was like that- there would always be something scratching at the door. And whatever was scratching would just scratch and scratch until you opened the door.”

“Everyone was always becoming someone else.Sometimes, when you were older, you became someone younger. And me, I felt old. How can aguy who’s about to turn seventeen feel old?”

“One summer night I fell asleep hoping the world would be different when I woke. In the morning, when I opened my eyes, the world was the same.”

“It started to rain and we just sat. Sat and watched the rain in silence.”

“Healthy people have healthy boundaries. Unhealthy people, well, let’s not get into that. It’s like this: some people have walls which means they let no one in. This equals unhealthy. Some people let everyone in and let themselves be stepped all over. This equals unhealthy.”

“In the distance, I can see a storm coming in, the dark clouds and the lightning on the horizon moving towards me. I wait and I wait and I wait for the storm. And then it comes, and the rains wash away the nightmares and the memories. And I'm not afraid.”

“I don't know what the exact shape of my life will take--and what the days to come will bring--except i know that i am happy and my heart is still. I know that I have fallen in love with the word surrender and know that I can no longer live in disappointment”