Alexandra lay wrapped in a sheet on a bed that overlooked the courtyard while Zhang dozed beside her. The main bedroom had floor-to-ceiling glass and she felt like she was floating just above the soft bed of moss, with the red leaves of a maple tree shimmering in the summer light. The ceramic roof tiles swept like a charcoal wave across the maze of old Suzhou.

She watched the steady rise and fall of Zhang’s chest and thought about pulling back the sheet to rest her head on his skin. But she didn’t want to wake him; he looked so peaceful. He approached life as if it were one of the gardens they had seen yesterday, she thought. Happy to follow the meandering paths wherever they took him, enjoying the beauty to be found in each new vista, no matter how humble or simple.

Reaching up to trace the lily on her pendant she recalled him saying: You know, the thing about riddles is that the answer is often the most simple, obvious solution…It’s not a riddle at all.

That was what she should focus on in the search for her mother’s origins, she decided. Assemble all the facts, then look for the simple, obvious solution.

If only it were that easy…