Emily knelt down beside Niles and examined the new tag with curiosity. "'I put you where you were supposed to be. Love, Mother.' Huh. Whoever or whatever 'Mother' is, it seems she has a sense of humor."
She moved over to take a seat on the couch and began putting on her sneakers, which she had neglected to do until now. "I wish I could tell you what's going on, Megan, but the truth is, I don't know. All I can do is offer wild conjectures, all of which would probably sound crazy to you. Ever since New Year's Day, a lot of weird stuff has been happening on this ship. Really weird. Stuff that seems miraculous, even supernatural. You know about some of it at least: the healings, the disappearances. It seems to me this 'Mother' must be behind at least some of it. Maybe Mother is some kind of ghost, or angel, or demon, or alien. Or maybe it's the ship itself, and it's gained intelligence and magical abilities. I can't think of anything else that makes sense. Not that any of those explanations make any sense."