City Of Shadows. M Lee J

life. She hoped it would happen to her one day, odnoliub, but she doubted it. For her to fall in love she would have to trust someone again.

      Her mother and father loved each other with an abandon that she found difficult to understand. It was like the two sides of a penny; each completely different, yet when each joined with the other they made one whole.

      And yet with her, he was indifferent, or even hateful. As if she reminded him of the wife he missed every day. Without her mother, he was a man lost in his own world, like an ancient church with the buttresses removed, ready to collapse at any moment.

      She glanced at the old clock on the wall. She would have to hurry, the film would start soon. In the papers, Street Angel was showing at the Grand Theatre. She wasn’t that keen on the movies, but it passed the time. She had so much time on her hands in Shanghai.

      She walked the streets. Or went to the movies. Or simply strolled around the shops looking at the merchandise from all over the world. She never bought anything, though. She didn’t know why. Her father gave her money. But after Harbin, all that stuff was so meaningless. She had enjoyed it all then, but now, there was just no point.

      She picked up her keys from the table at the door and put them in her pocket, taking one last look at the apartment. She should be back before him tonight. When he was working on a case, he sometimes didn’t return till well past midnight.