She’d been double-boiling soup on a charcoal stove, hunched over on a low stool as she fanned the flames. Jason grumbled that they had a perfectly good gas cooker, and didn’t she know that heat was heat, the soup wouldn’t be any less nutritious if she made it on a modern appliance? Anyway no need to exhaust herself like that, they could just open a can of Campbell’s cream of mushroom.

Jason didn’t understand. That was fine, he would complain about the bitterness of the brew, but he’d drink it to please her. She’d asked the herbalist for something to help with stress. Jason kept getting these headaches, it couldn’t be good.

Mollie had come by to play with the twins. “Might as well help while I can, before this one comes out,” she said cheerfully, rubbing her gigantic belly. “Then you’ll have to return the favour.” She was always popping round, probably lonely with Barnaby at work. Jason encouraged this, he liked her singing nursery rhymes to the kids in English, otherwise they might pick up Siew Li’s broken accent and that would never do.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Siew Li looked around her spick and span kitchen, its tiles so easy to wipe clean, the tidy canisters for tea and sugar on the counter. Everything in its place. After the soup was done, she’d make porridge for the children’s lunch, then start chopping the vegetables for dinner. Jason liked to have it waiting on the table when he got home.

When the voice called her name, she didn’t immediately register it. Again, “Siew Li!” They usually left the door open for the breeze, just the metal gate shut, and on the other side of the bars was Lina. Checking the fire, she scurried over to let her friend in. “Sorry, daydreaming. What are you doing here?”

“Come to the kopitiam with me, we need to talk.”

“So serious!” she laughed, but Lina wasn’t smiling. She strode through the flat, not even taking off her shoes. “We’ll go out by the back door.”

Siew Li glanced at Mollie, who nodded to say go, we’ll be fine. Grabbing her purse, Siew Li slipped on her own shoes and hurried to catch up. Lina was already clopping giddily down the narrow spiral staircase. Siew Li ducked under a bamboo pole of wet laundry, and went after her.

“I thought we were going to the kopitiam?” she said nervously, just to fill the silence. It was obvious now that something was wrong, it was written in every taut line of Lina’s body. She was trying to walk as fast as possible whilst not drawing attention to herself.

“They’re coming for you, Siew Li. Me too, probably. We have to go.”