Rania Algafari never asked to be different, and when she escaped the war in Syria and moved to the UK, her only goal was to live her life in peace. Get up, go to work, avoid talking to the dead - that sort of thing.
But not everyone dies quietly, an...
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I had a hundred tries at writing another message to Will on Sunday, and my finger hovered over the call icon more times than I could count, but in the end, I decided I'd be better off speaking to him face-to-face. I wasn't great at deep and meaningful conversations at the best of times, and I needed to see his expression to work out what he wasn't saying as well as listening to what he was.
There was no sign of Will's BMW in the car park as Geri, the yoga teacher, held the door of Daylesford Hall open for me. While I felt like death, she looked perky in hot-pink leggings and one of those artfully draped tops that showed more than they hid. She'd even tied tinsel around her ponytail.
"You look tense," she said. "You need to relax more."
"I'm finding that difficult at the moment."
"I've got a class starting at five thirty. Why don't you join us? We're working on breathing and flow this week."
I slipped past her, grateful to be inside out of the cold.
"Tempting, but I start work as everyone else finishes."
"Maybe another week?"
"Maybe."
Er, how about never. How did she stay so perky? Thankfully, Derek wandered past and saved me from further conversation as Geri scooted over to him, eyes bright.
"Derek! Have you got a moment to discuss my idea for a new class? Lots of people'll be making New Year's resolutions, so I thought we could do something on a 'new year, new you' theme."
"Excellent, excellent..."
They disappeared around the corner, and I veered in the opposite direction, even though it meant walking past Arthur, who looked as if he wanted to talk but understood I couldn't because two visitors were sitting on the sofa next to him, engrossed in a sales brochure.
That meant I got a free pass all the way to the cleaning cupboard on the second floor.
And nearly had a heart attack when I yanked the door open.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
Will looked a little rough around the edges, far from his usual smooth self as he sat on an upturned bucket.
"Waiting for you."
"But how...? Your car isn't outside."
"Another warning light came on, so I had to take it to the garage. I borrowed RJ's."
"Oh."
"Oh? That's all you've got to say? I gave you time to cool off after Friday, but you can't keep avoiding me."
"I'm sorry." I bit my lip, stuck for what to say next. "Did you come this whole way just to say that?"
He sighed, long and drawn out. "No, I had a meeting with Lloyd Weston."
