quote · Legacy record
Mostly, when Jess didn't want to talk about her ideas in class, Colleen thought that Jess was showing off, making sure that she would be coaxed and pleaded with, but how could Jess have explained in a coherent way that she was scared? Once you let people know anything about what you think, that's it, you're dead. Then they'll be jumping about in your mind, taking things out, holding them up to the light and killing them, yes, killing them, because thoughts are supposed to stay and grow in quiet, dark places, like butterflies in cocoons.
Mostly, when Jess didn't want to talk about her ideas in class, Colleen thought that Jess was showing off, making sure that she would be coaxed and pleaded with, but how could Jess have explained in a coherent way that she was scared? Once you let people know anything about what you think, that's it, you're dead. Then they'll be jumping about in your mind, taking things out, holding them up to the light and killing them, yes, killing them, because thoughts are supposed to stay and grow in quiet, dark places, like butterflies in cocoons.
Approximate author period: c. 1984 AD · modern
Meaning not yet available
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- Author or tradition
- Helen Oyeyemi
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1984 AD · modern
Approximate author-period evidence for Helen Oyeyemi: documented birth year 1984; activity date not established. Wikidata Q460857, inspected 2026-10-08. Not a quotation composition date or independent verification of attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q460857 (accessed 2026-10-08).
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 206556; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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