“What are you going to do?”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“I hope you don’t think we’re going to support you forever.”

“I’ll find something to do.”

“No one will want to marry you now. Oh, your friend Jessica came to see us. She was very angry. She said you told them you had some kind of relationship, and then they took her for questioning. They didn’t put her in the papers, but now she’s lost her job too.” She looked at Stella, demanding a response. “Why must you get everyone into trouble?”

The good thing about being inside was she’d learnt to hold a silence. It was easy to let Vanda talk herself out, before saying, “Maybe I’ll help Janet look after the baby.”

“Oh.” Gears shifted in Vanda’s head. “That could be good too. They have a maid, of course, but they can always do with more help. I’m glad you haven’t forgotten your family. Winston’s doing very well, you know. They say he’ll definitely get in.”

“Good for him.”

“All your friends have surrendered. Just recently. The Communists, the Ma Gong. All the way up in Thailand now, still fighting after so many years, as if anyone remembers them. It’s finally over, no more Communists left here.”

“They’re not my friends.”

“Anyway, you must put this behind you.” Vanda’s lips compressed. “You made a mistake, but nothing really happened. Thank God you didn’t really bring down the government. You must pray in gratitude, that it didn’t go too far. You still have your family. You must go on living your life.”

Stella nodded, numb. Then— “Can we go home by Orchard Road?”

“What for?”

“I want to see people.”

Vanda said nothing, but turned the car in that direction. Stella stared in fascination at the busy pavements, even on a weekday morning. The overhead gantries were festooned with giant snowflakes and pink-faced Santa Clauses. She’d have to come back at night, to see them all lit up.

When they passed the red cube of MacDonald House, she didn’t feel the usual sadness, thinking of her mother’s death, but only resignation. It comes to everyone, she thought, the bolt from nowhere that shatters your life. If Mollie had lived—

“We should go home,” said Vanda. “Your father will be waiting.”

It was remarkably easy to slip back into normalcy. The flat was smaller than she remembered it, her bedroom tiny. Was it actually the same size as her cell? The school was, unsurprisingly, reluctant to have her back. She didn’t search for another teaching position—something told her there would be none available for her. Church was out of the question too—she was too afraid of running into the other people who’d been taken. She started staying in her room most of the day, re-reading novels or staring at the ceiling. When her father mentioned at dinner that she hadn’t left the flat for weeks, she nodded but didn’t see what she could do about that.