‘They did see me. But they would not gain anything now from hearing my voice. Not yet.’

‘I didn’t tell them about you. They will tell me I am dreaming. Besides, I want to have a secret all to myself. Something that I don’t share or explain. Tell me a story.’

‘Once upon a time in the snowy part of the earth there was a beautiful girl called Iman. She had blue eyes and blonde hair . . .’

‘No, she didn’t.’

‘Yes, she did. This is not a story about you. It is about another girl, who just happens to share your name. Iman had a jewel, which she had inherited from her mother. The jewel was in a box and Iman kept that box under her bed.’

‘I know what will happen next. Someone will steal the jewel. I just know it . . .’

‘Iman was a light sleeper and she was confident that if anyone tried to steal the jewel from under her bed, she would wake up immediately. One day, Iman received a letter. The letter was full of medical advice. It said that recent scientific research has proved that prolonged proximity to jewellery could lead to a serious, debilitating disease. Women were warned to take off their rings and necklaces before they went to bed. And even then, they should store them away in a separate room. On the following day there was a news item about how the shop attendants in the top three jewellery shops in the city had all fallen ill. As a result, the shops were forced to close. Iman became alarmed. She was attached to her mother’s jewel. It was a shimmering green diamond as large as an ostrich egg. It had belonged to her mother’s family for generations. The lights flickered and danced on the diamond in such a way that one could sit and watch them for hours without getting bored.’

‘I would get bored.’

‘No, you would not. You think you would. But you too would be transfixed. You too wouldn’t be bored. The following day, there were more reports of illnesses from people who owned jewels. Three of the shop attendants died. The authorities decided to call in all the jewels in the city. People were asked to deliver their jewels to the nearest police station and they were paid compensation for that. Iman didn’t take her green diamond to the police. She kept quiet. She was not the only one. There were others too who were suspicious of the reports. Or they were not confident that they would be compensated fairly. One of them was a childminder who sentimentally held on to her engagement ring. When the youngest child she was minding fell ill and died, there was widespread alarm. Everyone was convinced that the new law must be more vigilantly enforced. That was when the police raids started. Police bursting into people’s homes and taking their hidden jewellery.’

‘Did they raid Iman’s house?’