By now it was dark outside, and Mariam was hungry. When she went downstairs to fetch vegetables from the shop, she almost tripped on the girl, who was sleeping sitting up. Mariam walked straight past without any comment. But when she came back carrying a plastic bag of onions and potatoes and ladies’ fingers, the girl opened her eyes. Tell me where he is, she said. There was a small overnight bag on the ground at her feet. I’ve come from Bradford, she went on, her eyes following the direction of Mariam’s. The girl was shivering. Please, when is he coming back? Mariam didn’t answer. But she considered the fact that this girl had nowhere to sleep, that it would soon be night, and that her clothes were very flimsy. Her hair was terrible: thin, a nothing colour. Like a badly cooked chapati.

TRANSLATOR: She is kind to a British girl for no reason.

SOLICITOR: Paragraph 9.

Upstairs in the flat, the girl sat in the kitchen doing nothing to help as Mariam prepared the evening meal. You don’t speak English? Even a little? she said. Mariam did, of course, a little. But she looked back at the girl blankly. The girl was so white, it was almost like she didn’t exist. Oh that’s bad, the girl said. She ate in silence, without complimenting Mariam’s cooking, and refused a second helping. While Mariam was washing the plates, the girl went out onto the walkway to smoke. Afterwards, since it was late, and the bed was big, Mariam showed her the bedroom, expecting her to be grateful. Instead, the girl said, What, the two of us together? and made ickysicky noises like a child. Feeling sick herself, Mariam gave the girl a blanket and a pillow and gestured to the front room, where she was welcome to make a bed for herself on the floor if she wanted, if she wasn’t too scared, in amongst the boxes. Mariam and her lentil, exhausted by their searches, slept immediately.

In the middle of the night, the bedroom door opened. The girl had got cold lying by herself. Shivering, she got into bed. Mariam wrinkled her nose at the unladylike smell of cigarettes. Turning over, she went back to sleep, pleased despite everything by the warmth the girl gave out.