Miaka Quotes

“They got under each of my shoulders and pulled me up, Padma walking in front of me and holding her arms out for good measure. I walked on my own, but I knew that if they hadn’t been there, I might have fallen more than once. Side by side, we marched into the Ocean, all of us crying for help.
What? I felt the swirling waves of Her worry as we floated just beneath the surface.
Something’s wrong with Kahlen, Miaka said.
In the water, they could let me go, and I floated there, the Ocean holding me like a child.
I’m so tired.
Look at her skin, Elizabeth said. She’s so pale. And she keeps sleeping. Like she needs it.
She has a fever, too, Miaka added. I was acutely aware that my temperature was off; I could feel the water around me warming from my touch....She fretted. This has never happened before. I don’t know what to do.
Maybe if she stays in You for a while, it would help, Elizabeth suggested.
What, Miaka? the Ocean asked suddenly.
Nothing. But she did look like she was hiding something.
What were you thinking?
Nothing, Miaka insisted. Flipping through ideas, it’s all nothing. I think Elizabeth is onto something. She swam up to me. We’ll come and check on you every hour until you feel like coming back to bed.
I didn’t want to say how much it bothered me that she said “back to bed” instead of “back to the house.” It was like she knew I wasn’t going to be standing again.
Okay.
They fled, off to make arrangements for their broken sister.
I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happening.
How long have you been feeling like this? She sounded uneasy, as if She suspected something She didn’t want to say.
I squinted, trying to remember. It’s been coming on so slowly, it’s hard to say.
She snuggled me into Herself. Just rest. I’m here.
And I was so tired, I did exactly that. It was so unreal, how loved I felt. Right there, balanced with Her rigidity, Her absolute need to maintain order, I heard Her thinking of what She might sacrifice so long as She could keep me. It was such an encompassing feeling, and that alone was enough to make me sleep.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“I promised you that your voice would never be his undoing, that his death would never come at My hand. This wasn’t how I thought it would unfold, but the only way to show you how much I love you would be to keep this promise. It’s all I have left.
Her thoughts swirled, aligning into action.
You all will have to do the planning. I assume we’ll need to do the change near Maine. I will bring you there when you’re ready.
“I’ll take care of everything,” Miaka vowed. “I’ll leave as little to chance as possible.”
Go now. I need to prepare.
“Will You be all right?” I asked.
I must be. Go, dear girl. This is all I can give you. Now you can finally know how I love you. ”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“When we were in New York, you cried for two days and passed out. You said a word in your sleep, over and over. Akinli.” Elizabeth stared down at the drawing.
“At first I thought it was gibberish. And then I thought it was the name of a town or a building. . . . I didn’t figure out it belonged to a person until you made that.” Elizabeth pointed down to the paper, worn from being folded and unfolded who knew how many times.
“When Elizabeth came to me, I had to tell her the truth, and we decided to find him. You gave us the name of the town. We went there looking for someone answering to that name, fitting this image.” Miaka smiled ruefully. “Very small town. It wasn’t hard.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. “You’ve really seen him?”
They both nodded. I thought about all those trips they had taken, making up ridiculous stories so they could get to him without me knowing.
“How is he?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity. “Is he okay? Has he gone back to school? Is he still with Ben and Julie? Is he happy? Could you tell? Is he happy?”
The questions tumbled out without me being able to hold them in. I was desperate to know. I felt a single word would put my soul at ease.
Elizabeth swallowed hard. “That’s the thing, Kahlen. We’re afraid he’s dying.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren

“With the little energy I had, I tried to swim to the surface. But without words, the Ocean was aware of my struggle and pushed me to air.
Miaka! Elizabeth! Padma!
I lay on top of the water, throwing up water and the small bits of food they’d been trying to get me to eat. No more of that.
I was close enough to the house that I could see them running. When they hit the Ocean, She solidified for them so they could run across Her back to me.
“Kahlen?” Padma cried.
“She’s breathing!” Elizabeth’s words were echoing in my ears.
Carry her back. She cannot go in My waters. She can’t breathe.
Padma sucked in a breath. “Oh, no.”
“It’s worse than I thought,” Miaka whispered.
I’d have told her I could still hear her, but it took too much work to speak.
They lifted me effortlessly, carrying me across the edge of the Pacific, taking me into the house. I recognized the heat of the shower, the comfort of clean clothes, and the tender way Padma tucked me in, but I was so exhausted, so frightened, I couldn’t even say thank-you.”
― Kiera Cass, The Siren