The young girl wove her way through the surging crowd. ‘Sumimasen,’ she muttered over and over, apologising to each person she bumped into. She scanned the street, checking to see if she was still being followed, and pulled her baseball cap lower. She wondered if the city was always like this, with so many people in a hurry to be somewhere else.

Up ahead she spied a small group of students in black and white uniforms, long socks and gym shoes. They were talking excitedly and above the din she heard one of them say ‘subway’. Her heart beat faster as she scurried to keep up, hoping they would lead her there.

The students walked several blocks then rushed downstairs into a labyrinth of tunnels, where they disappeared into a tangled mass of people.

The girl wanted to stop; to look at the address and find a map, but she was dragged along in the current of commuters and soon became pinned against a barrier. A strange smell filled the air. Sharp and tangy, it was like nothing she’d experienced before. Her stomach clenched and she wondered if it was the unpleasant odour or hunger pangs or maybe just fear.

She looked left and right, unsure of how to make the gate open. Tickets snapped in and out beside her. She was trapped.

An angry voice shouted, telling her to hurry up. A man prodded her in the back. Her mind raced. She saw her opportunity, dropped to her knees and crawled under the turnstile. Then she ran for it, pushing through the mob and forcing her way onto the waiting train. The doors slid shut and the train surged forward. She willed herself to be invisible, slipping into the corner of the carriage where, finally, she breathed.