How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
He wrapped my hair about his fingers. "I don't know, Swallow, which will prove more everlasting—the monument we create, or the child who might bless us. Our stone, of course, will endure for centuries. But a child…a child shall let us live forever." (11.83)
Is this why people have kids? We thought it was so they could have an excuse to watch Pixar movies on repeat, but we guess that's just us.
Quote #8
Our child,
As I sit and stare at the Yamuna, you grow slowly in your mother's womb. As barges and clouds drift before me, I ponder you. I want to share this moment with you, want you to hear the words that I now think.
I wish I could handle words as I do stones, for then I could truly speak to you as I desire. I could aptly explain how I long to meet you more with each finished day. I could express my love for you, which, like you, is already alive.
Though I do not yet know you, my understanding of your mother flows strong, and I am certain you will be quite extraordinary, as, indeed, is she. Of the dimensions of your disposition, I can only wonder. Shall you wield her benevolence? Her loyalty? Shall you share her impatient spirit? Perhaps you will possess my eye for precious sights, as well as my oftentimes misplaced optimism.
Assuredly you will inherit some of our traits, just as we inherited those of our parents. Yet you shall also create your own qualities, and these characteristics we will find most endearing.
I eagerly await your discoveries, your pleasure in their revelation. What mysteries will you unfold each day? What will you see that I do not? I will learn from watching you, learn what I have forgotten, or what I never had a chance to know. I hope to teach you as much, for earning an elephant's trust, painting what is not present, and listening to strangers are more complex undertakings than some would have you think.
Know, our daughter, our son, that you are already beloved. You have blessed us, and I thank you for bringing such joy into our lives. I thank you for being who you are, and who you shall be.—Your father (11.143)
This letter was so sweet. Isa just wanted to let his future child know that kid was loved, and that Isa himself was so excited to be a dad, even though he could never do it openly.
Quote #9
"A miracle," he said in a voice so quiet I might have imagined it. "I see us in her. Not you or me, but us."
My delight increased when he kissed her cheek. How lucky she is to have him as a father, I said to myself. Perhaps not so in name, but certainly in blood and spirit. (11.169)
It's amazing that Isa can recognize himself in Arjumand—most newborns look like angry wrinkled potatoes. #fact