Sacha didn't see Hannah until late on New Year's Day. By the time she arrived back at the house on New Year's Eve Hannah had already gone out - left the place in a bit of a mess, Sacha noted with a little irritation; after all, it wasn't like Hanna hadn't known she was coming home! Sacha thought she heard Hannah come in some time in the wee small hours, but at that stage she was half asleep anyway (having fallen short of staying up for midnight) and couldn't be sure of anything much. So it wasn't until some time approaching dark on the first of January that she saw Hannah for the first time in a couple of weeks.

"Oh, you are home" she remarked, though she'd known it to be the case: Hannah's door had been shut.

Hannah came to where Sacha was, in the kitchen, and leaned in the doorway. "Mmm" she said, "that smells good."

Sacha glanced over at her: Hannah's hair was a bird's nest, and she was in her pyjamas. "Don't know how it'd go as breakfast" she said.

Hannah stepped forwards and uncertainly, tiredly, a little formally as if it was expected of her, she gave Sacha a hug - but released her before it got awkward.

"Have a good Christmas?" Sacha asked. She shut her eyes. "Sorry, stupid question."

"How was yours?"

"Good. Good to be back in Canberra. Weird fucking weather."

"Back home, eh? Changed much?"

"Well -" Sacha stopped stirring the pot she was cooking in, and turned slightly towards Hannah. "They've got rid of the cube!"

"The cube?"

"In Civic. In the middle of Canberra. There was this big cube by the road. It went different colours with different sounds."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Kids used to go and shout at it. To see the colours."

"Sounds . . ." Hannah tailed off, and then yawned. "So they got rid of it, huh?"

"Yeah. Replaced it with some sculpture." Sacha went back to cooking her dinner. "Don't know if that does anything. Didn't get off the bus to find out. No-one was shouting at it, though."