Beauty

She sometimes thought herself pretty, but as she began to make a proper investigation, she found it was a changeable thing, beauty. No sooner did she locate it then it slipped from her grasp; instead of disciplining it, she was unable to refrain from exploiting its flexibility. She stuck her tongue out at herself and rolled her eyes, then smiled beguilingly. She transformed her expression from demon to queen.

This beauty, so brief she could barely hold it steady, would fade and expire, unsung, unrescued, and unrescuable.

~Sai, The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai