A boy appears, maybe a couple of years older than us, at the wall. He turns and holds out a hand for a girl in a blue dress, helping her up and over the rubble. He whispers something to her and the girl giggles. Then she glances up and sees us staring, and blushes. Just as well we don’t know each other; things like that can get back to the family and cause trouble. Not that I would tell. The older boy jerks his head in the direction of the cemetery: Get out. Age takes precedence in the ruins, and we grab the dog and hurry away.

5

Me and Marina arrive back at our building at the same time.

“Hello, little brother,” she says in a weary voice. Even her dark hair, tied up in a plait on top of her head, looks ragged.

I grunt in reply. I’d been thinking about fathers on my way back from the cemetery and am lost in a cloudy, dark mood. It’s all very well having an older brother to turn to, if need be, but I miss Papa. I remember his sunny smile, and the times I used to help him with projects – hammering up a shelf, or making a box for coal out of scrap bits of timber – even if it was just holding the nails for him.

“I’ve had an excellent day,” my sister says sarcastically, “thanks for asking.”

She lifts the manhole cover with ease and slips down the ladder. I follow more slowly, pausing to slide the cover over, letting her go ahead. But she’s waiting for me below.

“And what have you been doing today?” she asks.

I give a shrug. “This and that.”

“You’re lucky Nanna hasn’t got you a factory job yet,” she says. It’s an absentminded remark. Her mind is obviously elsewhere. “I wouldn’t mind a different job,” she adds darkly.

“What about the Haretts? I thought you liked it at their place.”

She snorts derisively. “Cleaning other people’s toilets and bath scum? Being told what to do by Travesters who barely lift a finger around the place?”

I haven’t heard Marina talk like this before, and I realise it’s been a little while since I’ve heard her laugh. Yet there’s no time to ponder it, as she bumps into our neighbour Therei who is on her way out. Marina immediately grabs her arm and they go into a huddle, my sister whispering urgently into her friend’s ear as if I’m not there. And what can be so important when it’s time to eat?

I clear my throat. “Are you coming?” I ask, sounding arrogant.