He stared at her, dumbfounded. ‘What are you doing here? Didn’t you disappear after the fire? I was looking for you, but I couldn’t find you. Where did you go?’

She lay down next to him, not saying a word. The sound of water stopped and Liyun’s hums returned. Yoko kept quiet as she stared at the window. He couldn’t tell what was on her mind. The door opened and Liyun came out, wearing a white bath towel.

‘Shoji, were you talking to someone?’ she asked.

‘Yes, I was talking to …’ His words trailed off. Yoko wasn’t there. Where had she gone? He quickly got down from the bed. Putting on a shirt, he ran out to chase after Yoko, but the living room was empty.

‘Where are you going?’ Liyun shouted, but Shoji didn’t answer.

He grabbed the door handle and opened it. To his surprise, he was back in his living room. That old sofa with a cigarette burn, that low table with chipped edges — it was definitely his apartment in Tokyo.

Undeterred, Shoji opened the door again and tried to get out. But the same thing happened. He was back where he’d started.

‘Liyun, something weird is going on,’ he said, returning to the bedroom.

But she, too, was no longer there.

He looked into the bathroom. The shower was empty. The glass panels still had water droplets on them. He could feel the hot steam. The heat was choking him. He couldn’t breathe. Feeling dizzy, he fell on to the hard tiles.

Strange. He didn’t feel any pain. His mind hazy, he smelled a familiar floral fragrance. A hint of citrus. Where was the scent coming from? A woman, that much he knew.

•

Shoji woke up from his dream, gasping. He was drenched in sweat, despite the blasting air-conditioning unit. It took him a while to calm down. That was the first time he’d ever dreamed of Liyun. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. It must be because he was in Singapore.

He glanced at the clock. Six in the morning. The pool should be open, and there wouldn’t be that many people there yet. Shoji grabbed his swimming trunks and a pair of goggles before making his way down.

The wooden platform was illuminated by warm lighting. The chilly morning wind brushed his bare skin. Only a couple of hotel guests were there. Shoji walked to the end of the platform before settling in a corner. Slowly, he lowered his legs into the water. He shivered. It was icy. Bracing himself for the cold, he put on his goggles and leaped into the pool.