“Our eyes met across a crowded room.” So goes the old line from many films and countless cheap novels. In my case, it wasn’t true. The ‘crowded room’ part was correct, but I only saw the back of her head. A cascade of hair draped past her waist, and black. So black it seemed to absorb the light. I was hypnotised by it, my gaze fixed upon it. It drew me forward, a silent bidding. I eased myself away from the group I was wi...