I promise to look after my sisters- I won't let anyone hurt them".
-- Cibi (Prologue)

Importance: In the Prologue, Cibi, Magda, and Livi make a promise, with their father, that the three sisters will always fight to stay together. This moment establishes the narrative stakes, as the three sisters face Nazi persecution throughout the rest of the novel, their promise to remain together gives them the strength, courage and hope to stay alive. When they want to resign to despair, the promise from the beginning of the novel supersedes their misery.

Don't look back, please, Livi. I beg you, don't look back".
-- Cibi (chapter 6)

Importance: When Cibi and Livi are being transported by German forces, the eldest sister begs Livi not to look back. This quotation exemplifies Cibi’s belief that if she allows herself to think about the past, her mother, and their life before Nazi occupation, she will not be able to carry on...