7
" She needs to wake up," said Boots. "Hazard is crying. When does she wake up?" Gregor could not find it within him to give his standard reply. To pretend that in a short time Thalia would be back with them, laughing and happy. And somehow it seemed wrong to try. Boots was getting older. Very soon, she would begin to realize the truth on her own, anyway. "She's not going wake up," he told her. "She's dead."
"She doesn't wake up?" said Boots.
"No, not this time," said Gregor. "This time, she had to go away."
Boots looked around at all their faces, at Hazard crying. "Where did she go?" No one had an answer. "Where is Thalia when she doesn't wake up?"
The question hung in the air for an eternity. Finally, it was Howard who spoke up. "Why, she's in your heart, Boots."
"My heart?" said Boots, putting both hands on her chest.
"Yes. That's where she lives now," said Howard.
"She can fly away?" asked Boots, pressing her palms tightly against her heart as if to keep Thalia from escaping.
"Oh, no, she will stay there forever," said Howard. "
― Suzanne Collins , Gregor and the Marks of Secret (Underland Chronicles, #4)
