The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2) QUOTES

1 " And just like that, her mind drifts off, yet again, right in front of Meera, forgetting it’s rude to drift off during a conversation. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

2 " If his first impression weren’t ninety percent pre-constructed by the entrance, he would think that it was a nice, comfortable place to live in. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

3 " ... a text appears in old-style, green fonts:

YOU’RE ‘STILL’ WELCOME!

The Monk takes the key and inserts it into the lock carefully, hoping neither the key nor the lock will break. Of course, he does the methodical twists and turns with mechanical precision, winning through the rust until he opens the almost broken door like the gentle monk he is. The door shrieks. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

4 " One room in the two-story building glows, violin music emanating from it. Maroc is playing for his master: The Roar of Death Sonata, 1st Movement, one of the legendary Eleven Pieces composed after the Apocalypse. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

5 " He tried to make me work. With him,” he says truthfully, just as a war hero, the owner of a strong voice, should.

“You are wrong, Yuan,” Mee-Hae says, half-worried and half-angry, her voice suddenly quivering. “He wanted to make you work. With or without him.”

“I have to stop him,” the Monk says.

“Am I the bait? "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

6 " It's a laughable lock—one that you would use only to guard a graveyard. Not that anyone would trouble themselves invading a timber hut in a mangrove forest farther away from the Bay of Bengal. Still, how can someone live with a lock like that? Made of ancient iron, reeking of rust. It would need a primordial key to be twisted and turned, going through several moments of mechanical trouble until the old lock opens. Good luck if you can do that without breaking the key.

Oh! The key … Well, the owner of the hut has left the key right beside the lock, including instructions. The Monk, Yuan Yagmur—revealing his muscled arms from under his wide, dark shawl—takes the note (the one with instructions):

Please, scan your CRAB first before touching the key. For your own safety.
From what, you ask? It’s a surprise.
Enter without scanning if you want to find out.
—Mee-Hae Ra

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

7 " She looks at her palm. It feels warmer. It feels as if it has touched something evil. And now the evil is calling. Now, evil feels attractive. Slowly, and ever so slowly, she brings her palm closer to her nose and takes a long, deep breath. Purpose … Remember your purpose—the whisper bells like the songs Meera sings every morning. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

8 " The Monk watches her womb bleeding internally because of her creative mind that is so strong that it turns her imagination into reality. Even though her strong prana heals it at the same rate, constant damage and regeneration is happening inside her. And much of her energy gets drained in cell-building, in self-healing. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

9 " What do you believe, Ra? I’ll believe whatever you say.” The Monk turns at her, his complete attention now at her eyes.

Mee-Hae doesn’t reply for a long time. A High Grade’s words have weight; she must now think through what leaves her lips. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

10 " A High Grade’s words have weight; she must now think through what leaves her lips. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

11 " But who knows? For a woman, who once was a yearning of the Mesmerizer, anything is possible. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

12 " Missing this year’s Career Exam will be humiliating. Usually, a company sponsors suitable candidates regarding the exam fee. But landing on such sponsorship without a valid portfolio is impossible. And there are more. The valid portfolio has to be acknowledged by the ones whom you will reach through another valid chain of recommendations. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

13 " That Monk mocks. Challenges.
It’s the same old issue with the idealists. They judge the devil, and people call them the humans of light. However, the Mesmerizer agrees little with the Monk. The Mesmerizer will prove that even a monk may fall prey to the devil. He knows that man will try to avoid the dark path. He knows that man will try to stay a purist. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

14 " He finishes the tea with a single swallow. Breathing deeper, he senses the energy beneath his skin. He focuses on the minute smells in the air, catching the scent of a recently varnished piano—it’s not here, not in the lounge, but the Mesmerizer can smell it along with its premium packaging—vinyl blanket and wooden box. He smirks.
That Monk mocks. Challenges. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

15 " Does she really have no other identities except untouchable? A liar? It’s not as if she lies all the time. She only isn’t hundred percent truthful as a strong High Grade is. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

16 " When a prayer doesn’t work, you rephrase it. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

17 " KNEES FOLDED, SPREAD FAR APART from each other, parallel to the floor—like those of a monk sitting in a lotus pose and peacefully meditating. Except, she’s not meditating; she’s dancing, and she’s not at peace. Sweat forming, flowing down her neck and cleavage, dampening her vest. Her fingers gripping her waist. Only her toes touch the ground to kick off and defeat gravity for one moment, until she drops back to the floor on just her toes, making it a flawless leaping-footwork of Bharatanatyam—a traditional dance.

Well, nearly flawless.

Soon, her one hand releases her waist in the middle of the dance, breaking the perfection of the footwork. She brushes nothing in particular from her face as if she’s pushing away her blue strands of hair, but she is not. Her hair is tied into a ponytail reaching her waist. No loose strands of hair are annoying her that she’d need to touch her face. At least, not during a dance. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

18 " And this subconscious gesture of hers makes Meera Gaumont squint.

“Sweetie, you are doing it again,” Meera says. “Is there anything on your face? "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

19 " Sometimes, she feels each of her cells bursting whenever she hears questions. Just any questions from anyone. If someone knows you are trying to avoid something, why would they ask again? Why would they press? Isn’t that rude? It is rude, according to Learn Basic Manners. It’s a basic manner.
Every unevolved Low Grade would avoid talking about how it was like partying among the High Grades, won’t they? Won’t they try to hide that they had to hear about the healing powers of a High Grade’s semen? "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)

20 " Kusha felt a tinge of pride, exponentially multiplied by her Low-Grade inferiority complex, reading this footnote. It worsened when ads started coming up on her HOME page after reading it. The ads had horrible titles:

Dream Youth For The Low Grades.
Alternate Longevity.
A Secret Pleasurable Way To Youth.
Get Your Dream Citizenship With Pleasing Pleasure Contract.

The last one is for non-citizens, of course. At least, she’s a citizen. But when Kusha discovered how many unevolved men and women enter such contracts just for citizenship, it made her face crease. As if she’d caught a nasty smell. For a moment, she even thought, she hated every High Grade in the world, including everyone in her adoptive family. Right now, standing in front of Meera, the hatred swells. "

― Misba , The Oldest Dance (Wisdom Revolution, #2)