Veronica Roth

A son says to his Mother: "Mother, today I fought with my friend."His Mother says: "Why did you fight with your friend?""Because he demanded something of me, and I would not give it to him.""Why did you not give it to him?""Because it was mine.""My son, you now have possessions, but you do not have your friend. Which would you rather have?""My friend.""Then give freely, trusting that you will also be given what you need.

In that moment I__ able to accept the inevitability of how I feel, though not with joy. I need to talk to someone. I need to trust someone. And for whatever reason, I know, I know it__ her.

I hear something in her words that's right, but it's hard to believe her right now.

I laugh, and it's laughter, not light, that casts out the darkness building within me, that reminds me I am still alive, even in this strange place where everything I've ever known is coming apart.

I laugh, and it__ laughter, not light, that casts out the darkness building within me, that reminds me I am still alive, even in this strange place whereeverything I__e ever known is coming apart. I know some things__ know that I__ not alone, that I have friends, that I__ in love. I know where I came from. I know that I don__ want to die, and for me, that__ something__ore than I could have said a few weeks ago.

It would be nice if life worked this way, stripping the dirt from our lives and sending us back out into the world clean. But some dirt is destined to lingered.

Maybe time would not feel as heavy if I didn't have this guilt - the guilt of knowing the truth and stuffing it down where no one can see it.

Then I realize what it is. It's him. Something about him makes me feel like I am about to fall. Or turn to liquid. Or burst into flames.

It's strange how a word, a phrase, a sentence, can feel like a blow to the head.

I regret..." Tobias tilts his head, and sighs. "I regret my choice.""What Choice?", and... I felt like maybe I could make something more of my decision."

I just wanted to thank you' he says, his voice low.'A group of scientists told you that my genes were damaged, that there was something wrong with me - they showed you the test results that proved it. And even I started to believe it.' He touches my face, his thumb skimming my cheekbone, and his eyes are on mine, intense and insistent.'You never believed it,' he says 'Not for a second. You always insisted I was... I don't know, whole.

We believe in bravery. We believe in taking action. We believe in freedom from fear and in acquiring the skills to force the bad out of our world so that the good can prosper and thrive. If you also believe in those things, we welcome you.

Ingenuity requires creativity.

You__e the one who has to live whit your choice" she says."Everyone else will get over it, move on, no matter what you decide. But you never will.

Caleb told me that our mother said there was evil in everyone, and the first step to loving someone else is to recognize that evil in ourselves, so we can forgive them.

My mother wasn't a fool," I say. "She just understood something you didn't. That it's not sacrifice if it's someone else's life you're giving away, it's just evil."I back up another step and say, "She taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love, not misplaced disgust for another person's genetics. That it should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don't have enough of their own. ...

Some days are harder than others, but I am ready to live each one of them. I can't sacrifice myself, this time.

There was only one option left, and it was letting go.