“I was hoping it would be bigger on the inside,” Amy says, still gripping Rory’s hand painfully tight and staring inside the blue box that is just a box with barely enough room for one person inside, standing in a corner off the stage.

“It’s just a prop; but in England I have a wardrobe that was once bigger on the inside,” Susan replies, on her way to her dressing room, but it seems the older couple are not really listening.

Rory moves to put his arm around Amy’s shoulders and both of them stand, lost in memories; Susan looks at them and wonders whether her own eyes ever hold that extraordinary combination of joy and regret.

(Ruan Chun Xian)