Truly Madly Guilty

How little pressure it takes to find out what someone really is.

Some people, given just the right amount of pressure, taken out of their usual, comfortable environments, don’t need much encouragement at all to become monsters. And sometimes you just get a strong sense about people, and you can’t explain it; you simply know it, in some deeper part of yourself.

The Hunting Party · Lucy Foley

The confession a parent makes only inside his own head.

You are not meant to have favorites, but my youngest is that. If only by a hair, and with a gun to my head. If I really, really had to answer. And not because we are most alike: that is my oldest and me. Not because we are least alike: that is my daughter and me. Maybe it is because he is curious and kind and so smart it can make your eyes water. Maybe it’s because he whispers to the wind and hears its voice in return. Most likely I don’t know why. But it may also be because, for one brief moment long ago, I wished him dead.

Wild Dark Shore · Charlotte McConaghy

Η κυρία Σίγκσμπι αναστενάζει πριν ακούσει τα νέα

There was a perfunctory knock at the door, and then Rosalind stuck her head in, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry to disturb you, ma’am, but it’s Fred Clark, asking to see you. He seems-” “Refresh me. Who is Fred Clark?” Mrs. Sigsby took off her reading glasses and rubbed the sides of her nose. “One of the janitors.” “Find out what he wants and tell me later. If we’ve got mice chewing the wiring again, it can wait. I’m busy.” “He says it’s important, and he seems extremely upset.” Mrs. Sigsby sighed, closed the folder, and put it in a drawer. “All right, send him in. But this had better be good.” It wasn’t. It was bad. Very.

The Institute · Stephen King