Book: Faun's Labyrinth

This often happens - it is not easy to find something, but it is even more difficult not to be afraid of what is found.

The girl is too innocent for these places, and her mother is weak, she will not be able to protect her daughter. She is the kind of woman who looks for strength in men, and not in her own soul.

Such cruelty... She's seen too much cruelty here. Sometimes it seemed to her that all this stuck to her heart like mold.

Man is mortal until he has a son.

- Do you feel fear? - asked the father. - Never forget about him. You should feel this fear in a moment of weakness - when you want to forget who you are and that you serve the fatherland. When you have a choice - life or honor. If you betray your country, your name, your heritage, it's like taking a step into the abyss. The abyss is not visible, but it is real. Never forget about it, my son ...

- Tomorrow! I'll give you something tomorrow. It's going to be a surprise.
- Surprise? Ophelia peered at her mother's pale face.
- Yes.
- Is it a book? Ophelia asked.
- Book? Mom laughed softly. - Not a book, no. Much better!
Ophelia did not remind her that for her nothing could be better than a book. Mom won't understand. She does not seek refuge in books, is not transferred to another, magical world. She sees only this world, and even then not always, Ophelia thought. Mom is tightly attached to the ground, which is what she's so sad about. Books could tell her a lot about the world, about distant countries, about animals and plants, about the stars! Book pages can become open windows and doors, on paper wings you can fly away. Maybe my mother just forgot how to fly. Or maybe she never did.