--A Step from Heaven by An Na
“Her forehead bunches up like crinkled paper and her eyes squeeze shut in the corners. She does not understand the English that sounds perfect in my head and then comes out messy as the can of spaghetti Uhmma lets me eat on Saturdays if I help with the laundry.”
--A Step from Heaven by An Na
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“I do not understand why they are showing happy teeth. Do they not miss Halmoni? Are they not mad that they are not in the real heaven? Harabugi is waiting in the real heaven and Halmoni will go there without me. I do not care if we are a step from heaven. I tak a big swallow of the hurting drink. This is not heaven.”
--A Step from Heaven by An Na “Wait, he says. Mi Gook is almost as good as heaven. Let us say it is a step from heaven.
I do not like his words. A step from heaven? I crawl off his lap and stand up straight. I say loud in my best voice, If this is not heaven, I want to go home.” --A Step from Heaven by An Na “This is heaven, I say. Mi Gook is heaven Where is Harabugi?
....Young Ju, Sahmchun says. Mi Gook is not heaven. Harabugi is with God. We are not in the sky with God? He shakes his head. I ask, Then how do you have all the blankets on the floor and big wooden doors? Everyone in heaven is rich and happy. Sahmchun shakes his head again. He says, Mi Gook is very nice. But it is not heaven.” --A Step from Heaven by An Na “I am a mountain rabbit bouncing, running. Where am I going? I am going to see Harabugi. And when Halmoni comes, I will ask her if she liked the bus that is called an airplane. In Mi Gook, everyone will be happy and filled with love. I am a mountain rabbit bouncing, running, closing my eyes. Waiting for heaven.”
--A Step from Heaven by An Na “But then my eyes find the sky. Think about flying up, up, up. Now I know where we are going…God is in the sky. Mi Gook must be in heaven and I have always wanted to go to heaven.”
--A Step from Heaven by An Na “Mi Gook. This is a magic word. It can make Uhmma and Apa stop fighting like some important person is knocking on the door.”
--A Step from Heaven by An Na “They went into the kitchen. On a china plate on the kitchen table was a spool of black cotton, and a long silver needle, and, beside them, two large black buttons.”
--Coraline by Neil Gaiman “We…we could be friends, you know,” said Coraline. “We could be rare specimens of an exotic breed of African dancing elephants,” said the cat. “But we’re not. At least,” it added cattily, after darting a brief look at Coraline, “I’m not.”
--Coraline by Neil Gaiman “Then Coraline put her hand on the doorknob and turned it; and, finally, she opened the door. It opened on to a dark hallway. The bricks had gone as if they’d never been there. There was a cold, musty smell coming through the open doorway: it smelled like something very old and very slow.”
--Coraline by Neil Gaiman |