Quotes from Only Human

“Nathaniel first stared at the vampiric Moses and then at the bizarre door. Numerous symbols had been carved deep in the surface and instead of square edges, they were rounded. Daniel then drew a dagger from his coat and proceeded to stand directly in front of the door. As he neared it, one could swear that the surface rippled like oil in a vat while he grazed it with the dagger. Quite suddenly, he jammed the blade in the very center of the door up to the very hilt. A high-pitched grunt followed and then a series of mechanical noises and clangs chimed and clicked until the door skid back two inches and descended into the ground.”
― J.D. Estrada, quote from Only Human

“Good,” she replied. “That’s why you show promise. Not only are you able to recognize your shortcomings, you have an undeniable hunger to change for the better and evolve. What’s truly amazing is what you’ve become in so short a time. Most humans would have imploded after a fraction of what you’ve lived through.” “Guess it comes from being stuck in a moment for so long, treading water and losing ground no matter how hard I swam. It’s almost as if the current has shifted and now I’m swimming at blazing speeds like some human version of the Nautilus that has slipped into the Gulf Stream.”
― J.D. Estrada, quote from Only Human

“Fire and ice dueled in his throat until his belly heaved and a loud thump rumbled forth from his chest. He felt every nerve in his body twitch, every pore gasp and every follicle surge with electricity. There was no pain but he felt his entire body expand and contract as crackles and slithers wisped in and out of his hearing. Rustles of leaves slowly morphed into distrusting whispers at first and then audible speech. His eyes flashed a calliope of colors and what had been outlines and curves with no tangible meaning, started to curl and curve, until he could see eyes among the foliage, lips on the bark of the trees and much more than just simple greenery. It was a full council discussing his case. “…”
― J.D. Estrada, quote from Only Human

“A massive bookshelf stood behind a deep burgundy desk that was better fit for a Fortune 500 company CEO than a twelve year old. There was a beautiful globe next to it, with Old English writing on it. It looked at least two and a half centuries old. The windows were frosted, the desk lamp was green and the leaning pile of papers on the desk looked like the recycling pastime of an obsessive compulsive stenographer. To the left was a beautiful oil canvas in which a small figure had been drawn on top of a mountain as he clamored towards the heavens while a lemon yellow sun hung on top of it. The arms were like a V reaching for the sky and in the foreground were no less than thirty bodies strewn across the basin in a sea of maroon below. “That was a gift from Edward Louis,” said the voice of the boy from behind Nathaniel. The young man hadn’t been frightened; he was more impressed that the child vampire had slipped in without allowing any noise from the hall to enter with him. “There was a time when he called me King Jeremy the Wicked. Mostly it was an endless jab since I wasn’t much for battles or slaughter. I might add that like many of you humans, I’d rather not know where my food comes from.”
― J.D. Estrada, quote from Only Human

“Nathaniel did his best to keep quiet and think of something else, but he couldn’t help but wonder just exactly what a vampire could have had for lunch. “Tuna salad, mate,” Liam answered. “But I’m due some human any day now, so please, do your best to not look appetizing.”
― J.D. Estrada, quote from Only Human

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“—Y hay más. Tan pronto no van a cortar tu planta de naranja-lima. Cuando la corten estarás lejos y no sentirás nada.
Sollozando me abracé a sus rodillas.
—Ya no me interesa, papá. No me interesa…
Y mirando su rostro, que también se encontraba lleno de lágrimas, murmuré como un muerto:
—Ya la cortaron, papá, hace más de una semana que cortaron mi planta de naranja-lima.

Los años pasaron, mi querido Manuel Valadares. Hoy tengo cuarenta y ocho años y, a veces, en mi nostalgia, siento la impresión de que continúo siendo una criatura. Que en cualquier momento vas a aparecer trayéndome fotos de artistas de cine o más bolitas. Tú fuiste quien me enseñó la ternura de la vida, mi Portuga querido. Hoy soy yo el que tiene que distribuir las bolitas y las figuritas, porque la vida sin ternura no vale gran cosa. A veces soy feliz en mi ternura, a veces me engaño, lo que es más común.
En aquel tiempo… En el tiempo de nuestro tiempo no sabía que muchos años antes un Príncipe Idiota, arrodillado frente a un altar, preguntaba a los iconos, con los ojos llenos de lágrimas:

“¿POR QUÉ LES CUENTAN LAS COSAS A LAS CRIATURITAS?”

Y la verdad es, mi querido Portuga, que a mí me contaron las cosas demasiado pronto.
¡Adiós!”
― José Mauro de Vasconcelos, quote from My Sweet Orange Tree

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“Bessie: 'Why don't you get married?'
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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

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