Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Amina Gautier

Quote by Amina Gautier

“They were both from the real world, their own distinct ones, but I was somewhere in limbo. Set apart, I didn't know how to let either of them in.”

Quote by Amina Gautier

Book:At-Risk

Work

At-Risk

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Amina Gautier

Browse famous quotes and profile details for Amina Gautier. more

You May Also Like

“She has always said that talking makes everyone feel better. He says talking is the equivalent of grooming. The tongue and fingers are governed by the same parts of the brain. He marvels at how close they can be some nights on the phone and how words really are the equal of touch. Bakelite pressed hard against his ear. She says it's not just the freedom from him and from their daughter. I feel some sort of opening. I saw things so clearly today. He thinks about the solitary figure in every religion, the monks, saints and shamans in every tradition who walk out into wilderness on their own and find revelation. It's what solitude does to a social animal he says. People talk of recognizing something greater than themselves when they're alone because we finally have to realize how helpless we are as individuals. There's a freedom, a sense of wonder in feeling for a moment that we don't have to please anyone or adjust to the needs of others. And there's a fear in realizing how small we are, how much those distant others normally insulate us from seeing the limits of our mostly incompetent bodies. When we're on our own we seek solutions and speculate and fictionalize because that's what we do when we're confronted with survival. That's revelation. Maybe she says, I'm just saying I'd like to eat less meat. We could have fish.”

“All these years, her sole objective had been to keep still and hope no one would ever know. She had been a mistress of stillness. She had mastered the simulation of peace without a wisp of real peace, like a nun from a silent order who was screaming inside her head, or a yogi racked with pain. How she had managed to fool anyone, let alone everyone, mystified her (how obtuse people were!) and, oddly, made her extraordinarily bitter. Because the price of her gift for evasion was to have no one, not one person, who understood how horrible she felt. All the time. Absolutely all the time.”

“Saya kesepian, Tuhan. Tidakkah Engkau kasihan pada saya? Saya hanya ingin mempunyai teman. Cukup satu saja. Yang bisa saya ajak bicara, bercanda, dan bercengkrama. Yang selalu ada di kala sedih dan bahagia. Sekali lagi, kabulkan doa saya, Tuhan. Saya rela menjadi idiot asalkan Engkau selamatkan saya dari kesepian panjang ini.”