Elizabeth Lim Quotes

Seize the wind," I whispered. "Don't become the kite that never flies.

Pain doesn’t get easier. You just have to get stronger.

Find the light that makes your lantern shine,” she used to say. “Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame.

Fear is just a game, Shiori, I reminded myself. You win by playing.

I would tell you stories from dawn to dusk if it meant filling your eyes with happiness.

If fate is a bunch of strings, then I'll carry scissors. My choices are my own. I'll make them as I please.

Food feeds the belly, thoughts feed the mind, but love is what feeds the heart.

I will stay by your side until the fire in the sun grows cold and the light of the moon is no more. Until time blots out the stars.

I would not have you be alone, Lina, not in your joys or your sorrows. I would wish your strand knotted to mine, always.

You are my oath now, Maia Tamarin. And you'll never be free of me.

I'd battled ghosts and touched the stars. I'd climbed a mountain to the moon and conquered the fury of the sun.

All legends have a spark of truth. Sometimes more than a spark.

Above, the stars faded behind the misty sky, and the sun fanned its light upon us. We melted into each other until the dawn slid into dusk, and the sun paled into the moon, and the stars, once lost, became found again.

You are my daughter, not of my blood, but of my heart.

I knew then that we were like two pieces of cloth, sewn together for life. Our stitches couldn't be undone. I wouldn't let them.

Your heart is your home. Until you understand that, you belong nowhere.

I know that for every dawn, dusk must unravel its darkness.

Learn from my mistakes, [...] and learn from my joys. Surround yourself with those who'll love you always, through your mistakes and your faults. Make a family that will find you more beautiful every day, even when your hair is white with age. Be the light that makes someone's lantern shine.

It was a tale of a boy, too. A boy who could fly but not swim. A boy with the powers of the gods but the shackles of a slave. A boy who loved me. It was a tale still being written.

To this day, cranes carry the strands of our fate. They say that each time two people’s paths cross, so do their strands. When they become important to one another or make a promise to one another, a knot is tied, connecting them.

A reputation is all it takes to spread fear. And fear is a mighty weapon.

Sometimes finding the way is tricky, but you always do. As long as you don't give up.

Be the light that makes someone's lantern shine.

We are bound, remember? If you have no heart, I will give you half of mine. If you have no spirit, I will bind yours to mine.

Find the light that makes your lantern shine," she used to say. "Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame

But a promise is a promise, not a kiss in the wind, to be thrown about without care. It is a piece of yourself that is given away and will not return until your pledge is fulfilled.

But I would give up the sun and moon and stars if it meant saving him.

We were like the sun and the moon, sharing the same stars and the same sky.

No matter where life takes you, you will be like those stars - connected by the light you shine together.

You're used to being underestimated, so you want to prove yourself. Don't let that be your crutch. Accept help when you need it.

But hope was a valuable weapon, and we were sharpening its every edge.

I’ve seen many men dress as girls to evade serving in the army, but never any women who dressed as boys so they could serve.

You will hold the seams of our family together, Maia. No other tailor in the world can do that.

I liked how he said my name. As if the syllables were the first notes to a song he loved to sing.

If dying is this beautiful, then I wish I was a tree too. I'd be happy to die and be reborn in the spring.

I want you to know that some journeys have ends, but not this one. This one will change you. Irrevocably." "Don't all journeys change you?" "It isn't the same." He leaned forward. "I, too, once journeyed beyond the stars." "What did you find?" His voice turned lethally soft. "That it's just the beginning.

What keeps you up at night?" I asked. "You're never in your tent." A cloud passed over his face. "Demons and ghosts." With a faint smile, he added, "And not having enough books to read.

I whirled around, but Edan was gone. I let out an exasperated sigh. Never had I met anyone so insufferably pleased with himself.

I was meant for magic, once,” Edan agreed, “but because of Maia, I am no longer the enchanter I was before. I am meant for her now. Her above all else.

Was it worse to be a kite with no anchor, wandering lost on the wind, or a kite that didn't dare seize the wind and never flew?

I am Fa Mulan, a girl who would sacrifice her life for her family and for China. I am a girl who journeyed into the Underworld to save her friend from dying. I am a girl who has fought battle after battle to finally recognize herself in the mirror. And now I do.

People will see what they want to see.

Find the light that makes your lantern shine. Hold on to it, even when the dark surrounds you. Not even the strongest wind will blow out the flame.

Surround yourself with those who’ll love you always, through your mistakes and your faults. Make a family that will find you more beautiful every day, even when your hair is white with age. Be the light that makes someone’s lantern shine.

Now I saw in his eyes the richness of summer soil. His nose looked endearingly ruddy from being in the cold, and his voice was like a favorite song I never tired of hearing. Funny how he’d stolen his way into my heart when I’d been the thief the day we met.

Whatever history remembered of us, whether it likened us to the sun and the moon - only permitted to meet once a year - or simply to a boy and a girl touched by the stars, fate had danced to bring us together.

You'll learn that certain things aren't worth the trouble.

Find the light that makes your lantern shine, " Mama would say. Now, more than ever, Kiki was that light.

Women are always waiting on men- let it be the other way around for a change.

Only rocks considered sitting still a virtue. Demons take me before I called it one of mine.

If I just have one dance... even if it's by myself, I'll be happy. I just want to remember what it's like to be free, to spin round and round under the moonlight.

Now that I've found you again, Maia, I will never leave you. I will stay by your side until the fire in the sun grows cold and the light in the moon is no more. Until time blots out the stars.

A sketchbook for a cloak? Hardly seems like a fair trade." "It's a magic sketchbook," Edan said, reaching for it. I rolled my eyes. "Really." "See, when you turn it upside down, sand falls out." Edan smiled widely as he caught the desert's golden grains in his palm. "Sand, sand, and more sand." "Oh, you!

The sun was a brutal god. Brutal and merciless, he blinded those foolish enough to look at him.

The more you worry about it, the less you'll be able to concentrate.

You're interesting, for a human. When you look into the sea, think of me sometimes. "I will.

Butterflies celebrate all love, Channi, because every love is precious. And mine for you, above all. That love is forever.

She didn’t love me until the end. She loved you from the beginning.

Even chaos has its place.

She gave off a little neigh when I reached to touch her cheek. I fell in love with her immediately. "You like her more than me," Edan pouted. "That's not hard to do." I petted her mane again; then offered Edan a small smile. "But thank you.

It was the tale of a boy, too. A boy who could fly but not swim. A boy with the powers of the gods but the shackles of a slave. A boy who loved me.

But I did worry about him. Now I understood the fatigue written on his brow, the hiding and evasive answers.

I dread reaching the end of my story, for it is full of knots that I haven't had the courage to cut free.

I could of done a hundred things different, but it was too late now.

And this too, I will overcome

Never will I apologize for being the monster they made me.

All the riches and power in the world cannot buy someone who loves you truly. That’s the greatest treasure.

I must be drunk on moonlight to tell you this…but after I left you at Sparrow Inn, I…I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I didn’t know anything about you, and yet I had never met anyone so determined—or brazen. Not even Megari.” He laughed, then his expression turned serious once more. “Somehow, I knew I would see you again. It was as if I could feel our strands crossing. Yet when you came to Iro, you seemed different. Sadder, more withdrawn. I’d look for you in the kitchen as Pao and I walked around the castle. I wanted to make you smile.

War comes at a great cost, and from that sacrifice comes peace. Sometimes we must let go of what we value for the future of our country.

They say the belly had a better memory than the heart, and I must agree. Let us eat." his cane thumped the ground. "One cannot unravel a demon's curse on an empty stomach.

Anybody can become anything, so long as they put their minds to it.

The violins seemed to swoon with her every step, or maybe she was simply happy.

For what was chaos but a knife slashing across the fabric of destiny?

« I am sorry we never made it home »

Don't teach a dragon history, Princess, especially not magic history.

That’s what sisters are for. My joys are your joys and your miseries are my miseries.

It’s not wandering if I know how to get home.

She could see the light in others, whereas they saw only the darkness in her. That was her greatest pain.

What is magic if not a little miracle? Those come in all shapes and sizes every day, with or without my help. In the form of love and joy, most often, but in other forms, too. Magic only makes the miracles come faster.

I took in the smudges of ink and charcoal on his rolled sleeves, the windswept hair neatly gathered at his nape, his dark eyes, somehow brighter every time I saw them. Kiki was right, he wasn’t so much the barbarian I’d pictured.

We don't think of being bound to the oath as a sacrifice, but as an honor. It is an honor to use our powers to better this world.

It is wishful thinking to hope the gods might listen to you.

I want you to know that some journeys have ends, but not this one, This one will change you.

Until time blots out the stars.

Love has a way of addling our wits.

But remember, happiness isn’t just a smile. You can’t force it to come true.

No matter where life takes you,” he would say, “you will be like those stars—connected by the light you shine together.

I've missed the sound of you.

You’d do well to remember this: your heart is your home. Until you understand that, you belong nowhere.

Even in times of despair, she finds something to laugh about. This is her strength.

Is Maia your birth name?" "It is." "I'm not sure it suits you." I twisted my lips slightly. "It means obedient." He set down the cup. "Which is why I said I'm not sure it suits you," he said.

Your fate is bound to mine now,” I whispered, my lips against his. “Your heart is my own, and where you are is my home. Whatever we face, we face it together.” “Together,” he echoed firmly. “Always.

I wish that one day someone will love me. Someone will look me in the eyes without fear or pity. Someone will take away the loneliness etched in my heart so that I will know what it’s like to be loved. So I can laugh without tasting the bitterness on my tongue once the sound fades.

I want you to know that some journeys have ends, but not this one. This one will change you. Irrevocably." "Don't all journeys change you?" "It isn't the same." He leaned forward. "I, too, once journeyd beyond the stars." "What did you find?" His voice turned lethally soft. "That it's just the beginning.

Even the small joys are worth cherishing, and they will lead you to greater ones." "I want to help you," said Cinderella. "I want magic to return to Aurelais." Lenore shook her head sadly. "That would take a miracle." "You once told me miracles take a little time.

He gestured at her mask. "A swan. It suits you." "I didn't have many choices. It was either a swan or a peacock." The prince leaned closer, speaking softly. "Swans were my mother's favorite birds. She used to tell me that once they fall in love, they stay in love forever.

Her reflection's hair was short, but she wore a simple violet robe tied at the waist with a blue sash. At her hip was her father's sword, and tucked in her hair- a blossom from their family's cherry tree. Mulan knelt and lowered her fingers to the glass. It rippled at her touch. "This one. This is me." A beat. Are you sure? asked the girl in the mirror. "Yes," said Mulan firmly. "It doesn't matter whether I'm a girl dressed like a bride, or a girl dressed like a soldier. I know my heart." Mulan flattened her hand against the glass, facing her reflection. Together, they said, "I am Fa Mulan, a girl who would sacrifice her life for her family and for China. I am a girl who journeyed into the Underworld to save her friend from dying. I am a girl who has fought battle after battle to finally recognize herself in the mirror. And now I do.

There was something about her... the blueness of her eyes had arrested him in his place. A hint of sadness had touched them when he'd spoken, and he wondered why. Part of him wished he could go back to her and make her smile. A mad possibility entered his mind. It made no sense at all, yet he couldn't get it out of his head. She'd looked so familiar... No, it couldn't be her.

He'd seen how uncomfortable she'd looked being the center of attention. His aunt had told him how, when she'd asked Cinderella what she wished to wear for the ball, she'd replied, "Something blue. It was my mother's favorite color, and I wish with all my heart she could have met Charles and seen us together." Other young women in the kingdom would have asked for a gown fit for a princess, for satin gloves rimmed with crystals, a tiara studded with rubies. Cinderella had asked for none of these things. That was why he loved her. For the earnest way she thought of her words before she spoke, or how her eyebrows danced when she smiled, or how her voice became singsong when she teased him. That was why he missed her.

Across the lilies was a pond, its waters a vibrant green from reflecting the trees around it. In the center of the pond swam two elegant white birds, their long necks curved toward one another. "Swans!" Cinderella breathed. She leaned against the bridge's rail and gazed at the pair of swans gliding across the pond. At her side, Charles rested his elbows on the bridge. "They're here every evening before sundown. Sometimes, during sunset, you can see the light dapple their feathers. Look." Rays of golden light stroked the swans' wings, which shimmered against the still waters. "I used to come here whenever I could to watch them," said Prince Charles. "I'm certain it's been the very same pair of swans for years. When I saw them, I'd feel a little less lonely." "How happy they look," mused Cinderella, watching as the swans took flight, their feet skidding across the pond before they soared into the sky. "Free to come and go as they please.