hollyslowly | how to write the great american novel, abridged.

In the interests of uncluttering my desktop, a collection of quotes that I have saved in a thousand various .rtf files.

From:

formanymiles.livejournal.com

A short silence. Prior said, 'I wish I could go out. No, it's all right, I'm not asking. I'm just saying I wish I could. The nightmares get worse when I'm stuck indoors.' He waited. 'This is where you ask about the nightmares and I say I don't remember.'
'I know.'
Prior smiled. 'You never believed me, did you?'
'Should I have done?'
'No.'
'Do you want to talk about them just now?'
'I can't. Look, they're just. . . ' He laughed. '"Standard issue battle nightmares. Potty officers for the use of." Nothing you won't have heard a hundred times before.'
'Except?'
'Except nothing.'
A long silence.
'Except that sometimes they get muddled up with sex. So I wake up, and. . .' He risked a glance at Rivers. When he spoke again, his voice was casual. 'It makes it really quite impossible to like oneself. I've actually woken up once or twice and wondered whether there was any point going on.'

Regeneration, Pat Barker.