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I Had Grown Up. I Had Learned That Being A Woman Was Knowing When To Stand Firm And When To Compromise. I Had Learned To Laugh And Weep; I Had Learned That I Was Weak As Well As Strong. I Had Learned To Love. I Was No Longer A Rigid, Upright Tree That Would Not Flex And Bow, Even Though The Gale Threatened To Snap It In Two; I Was The Willow That Bends And Shivers And Sways, And Yet Remains Strong.

-Juliet Marillier

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I Had Grown Up.

Juliet Marillier

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I Had Grown Up. I Had Learned That Being A Woman Was Knowing When To Stand Firm And When To Compromise. I Had Learned To Laugh And Weep; I Had Learned That I Was Weak As Well As Strong. I Had Learned To Love. I Was No Longer A Rigid, Upright Tree That Would Not Flex And Bow, Even Though The Gale Threatened To Snap It In Two; I Was The Willow That Bends And Shivers And Sways, And Yet Remains Strong.

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Third Person Allows A Deeper Exploration Of The Relationships Between Characters. We Can See Their Misunderstandings And Hear What They Think About Each Other. We Can Create A More Complex Structure With Various Story Threads Running Parallel.

How Can He Do This? If You Were Mine, I Would Fight To Keep You. I Would Die, Before I Let You Go.

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A Wonder Tale Can Be Truer Than True," I Said. I Had Learned (...) That The Deepest Kind Of Truth Can Be Found In The Strangest And Wildest Of Stories. One May Not Meet A Fire-breathing Dragon On The Way To The Well. One May Not Encounter An Army Of Toothed Snakes In The Woodshed. That Does Not Make The Wisdom In Those Tales Any Less Real.

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The Most Powerful Weapon Is Hope.

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Every Man Or Woman Who Makes A Stand Helps Keep The Flame Of Freedom Burning.

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Nothing Comes Without A Price.

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Even In That Time Of Utter Darkness, Somewhere Deep Inside Me The Memory Of Love And Goodness Had Stayed Alive.

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Water And Stone Flesh And Bone Night And Morn Rose And Thorn Tree And Wind Heart And Mind

A Tree Is Never Just A Tree, It Is Bigger And Deeper And Wiser Than A Girl Like You Will Ever Be.

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Nobody Expects You To Exhibit Godlike Strength, Excepting Maybe Yourself.

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