Now comfortably settled in the Picardie apartments further southwest in Frenchtown, the chaos of the last month seems like a dream. The move itself was the worst: five coolie carts going backwards and forwards between the two flats, Amah and the boys at the old place, me at the new, Chokugetsu-ken on the road, all eagle-eyed to make sure the belongings were intact. Then adjusting to a much smaller space, finding amusement for the boys, getting to know the local shops – the chores were endless.

But how lucky we were to come upon this flat on the corner of Route Winling and Avenue Petain not so far from the Grosvenor House, all thanks to Keiko Shinoda. Four days before we faced eviction, she rang to say there was an available flat and she happened to have the keys. The flat had just become vacant – the widow of a Bank employee, who had been earlier conscripted, making a hasty departure back to Japan upon the death of her husband in a field hospital. Keiko looked pale and worn, having been looking after the widow, and I felt all the more grateful that she remembered our needs while dealing with the tragedy.

Surprisingly, she seemed equally grateful. ‘Being able to pass the flat on to you has been a huge relief,’ she had sweetly said. ‘So many Japanese are superstitious and shun places associated with death.’ I couldn't believe people still thought that way in a war situation.

The boys have settled easily. Culty's Milk, a nearby dairy farm, has now become the boys’ entertainment, not as convenient as the old courtyard, but Amah faithfully takes them to see the cows almost every day. Kazu still remembers the old place. He surprised me by saying, ‘Mama, no building!’ as he looked out from our new kitchen. Children remember the oddest things. Whereas we used to look out onto the Cathay Mansions, now we see only the treetops of the park across the street.

The move has been a welcome distraction from the continuous gloomy war situation. During the time I was preoccupied with unpacking, air raids intensified over industrial areas and electricity was cut by fifty per cent.