means of making contact; intermediary; go-between; connections; influence; pull
intelligence gathering; information gathering
recent state; present state; present condition; current status; current circumstances
cabin attendant; flight attendant; Certification Authority; CA; carbohydrate antigen; chronological age
hidden village (esp. hidden retreat for nobles or refuge for soldiers of a defeated army); isolated village; legendary land (deep in mountains or underground); Shangri-La
meddling; interfering; choosing to keep the drawn tile and discarding a different one
to call each other; to call out to one another
nonexistent; unreal; imaginary; spurious
to search for; to seek for; to look for
backward glance; sidelong glance; faceless ghost with an eye in its rump
how many years; how long; what year
pinky swear; pinky promise; hooking each other's little fingers to confirm a promise
little finger; pinky; little toe
ceremony; rite; ritual; service
a (short) time; a while; one time (in the past); a period; (arch.) two-hour period
to crush to death; to stifle to death; to squeeze to death; to stifle (a laugh, etc.); to muffle (one's breathing); to subdue (one's voice)
to withdraw from (a deal); to wash one's hands of; to lead by the hand
to hit (e.g. to have a car hit someone); to run into; to reject; to deny; to eliminate; to exclude; to flip
to shine; to be visible; to be tinged with; to rise (of water levels); to flow in; to be felt (i.e. as an emotion); to come over one
fantastic; magical; wondrous; whimsical; fairytale-like; romantic
excessively spacious; unduly wide; sprawling
artificial; man-made; human work; human skill; artificiality
moving about; stirring about
slow; sluggish; dull; lax; sloppy; lenient
flapping; rattling (sound); noisily; commotion; kerfuffle
centre; center; middle; capital; seat of government
to put back up; to stand back up; to restore (to former strength); to revive (e.g. the economy); to make again (a plan, policy, etc.); to reformulate
gurgling down; being sucked into; caving in suddenly
underwater; behind closed doors; behind the scenes; below the surface
standoffishly; primly; pungently (of a smell); acridly; long and pointed (e.g. of a nose); popping (of ears)
to run past from behind; to run through (e.g. gate, one's mind)
to struggle in the water; to sink below the surface and become unable to breathe; to (nearly) drown; to indulge in; to lose one's head over something; to be addicted
to struggle; to writhe; to wriggle; to act frantically; to make desperate efforts
softness; gentleness; weakness
to be caught; to be arrested; to hold on to; to grasp; to find (e.g. proof); to get (e.g. a taxi)
greeting; a fine thing to say