But what was there to say?

Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there was a snuffling in the hollows at the base of a lovely throat. Only that a hard honey-colored shoulder had a semicircle of teethmarks on it. Only that they held each other close, long after it was over. Only that what they shared that night was not happiness, but hideous grief.

Only that once again they broke the Love Laws. That lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much.

That it really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how.

And how much.

They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much. The laws that make grandmothers grandmothers, uncles uncles, mothers mothers, cousins cousins, jam jam, and jelly jelly.
It was a time when uncles became fathers, mothers lovers, and cousins died and had funerals.
It was a time when the unthinkable became thinkable and the impossible really happened.

How many laws could she break now that she was in a position to uphold them all?

Looking back now, to Rahel it seemed as though this difficulty that their family had with classification ran much deeper than the jam-jelly question. Perhaps, Ammu, Estha and she were the worst transgressors. But it wasn't just them. It was the others too. They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much. The laws that make grandmothers grandmothers, uncles uncles, mothers mothers, cousins cousins, jam jam, and jelly jelly. It was a time when uncles became fathers, mothers lovers, and cousins died and had funerals. It was a time when the unthinkable became thinkable and the impossible really happened.

love gave someone the power to break you.
I'd been broken beyond repair.

Rules are meant to be broken.

Even if they can find a lover they demand perfection, and the love is destroyed because of that demand.

love rules without rules

People…shouldn’t be allowed to have new children if they’d already given away all their love to their old ones. It wasn’t fair.

They who love in excess also hate in excess.

Nothing can be loved too much,
but all things can be loved
in the wrong way.

You are remembered for the rules you break.

You are remembered for the rules you break.