I think she is saying this place is like any other place and this is true. There is no character to the landscape here.

‘We must mitch off out of here one day. I’ll show you the sights!’

Mitch. I must look blankly at her, because she explains, ‘We must go on a trip, into town one day, see the shops. I’m sure we can do a lot of damage with our considerable earnings.’

I think I understand something about shops, which doesn’t make sense as I’m sure we would not be allowed to leave, and also why would anyone want to go shopping with no money?

I ask, ‘Are we near to sea?’

‘I haven’t a clue, to be honest. But on this little island you’re never more than a couple of hours from the sea.’

She starts to skip around the room half-dressed. The air around her fizzes and although I don’t want to look, my eyes are drawn.

‘That’s a great idea,’ she says. ‘Let’s go on an outing to the seaside. I bet Ling would like it too. We’ll all go skinny-dipping in the rain. So exhilarating.’

I understand she means swimming in the rain. I shiver. Does she really believe it would be that easy to leave this place? I think of Irina’s soundless footfall, and know that although this house is warm and bright, it’s still a container of sorts, and I have no doubt that the lid is firmly closed. I can hear Magda’s voice: ‘You have a debt and it needs to be paid’. To whom do I owe the money now?

‘What’s the sea in your country like?’ she asks.

‘Is black.’

‘Coooelle. I’ve read about that: the Black Sea. Didn’t know it was really black though. How weird – like swimming in squid ink.’

I nod, possessed by Papa and his giant squirrels, his Sandman, his stinging flies and his inky Black Sea.

‘I wonder if they have a telly,’ she says. ‘TV.’

I wonder if they show cowboy and Indian films here.

‘I’m going to go explore,’ she says. She’s wearing loose trousers that look like sleeping clothes; they are so big she has to hold them up with one hand. ‘Catch you later, Miss Romania.’

She slams the door so loudly behind her that the ledge beneath me shakes and for a moment I have a feeling of movement again. A vehicle is spinning its wheels beneath me, driving me, away from home, propelling me onwards.