sparse; thin; scattered; straggling; sporadic
as a child; when one was a child
how many times; how many degrees (temperature, angle, etc.)
state; condition; situation; appearance; circumstances
to be born; to come into the world
it does not mean that ...; I don't mean that ...; it is not the case that...
natural; reasonable; obvious; usual; common; ordinary
sometimes; at intervals; occasionally; on occasion; from time to time
to lose sight of; to miss
fleeting; transient; short-lived; empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)
careful; cautious; prudent; discreet; deliberate
to spill over and fall; to scatter (petals, leaves, etc.)
to disappear (of people or animals); to go (away); to leave; to no longer exist
silence; stillness; quietness
detective; investigator; sleuth; detective work; secret investigation
to desire; to wish for; to expect; to see; to command (a view of)
duty; obligation; responsibility
one by one; one each; one at a time
to connect; to tie; to fasten; to transfer (phone call)
otherwise; if not; or else
to subsist; to keep on living
there's no (other) way; cannot be helped; unavoidable; it's no use (doing); pointless; hopeless (person)
to continue; to keep up; to keep on
painful; difficult; distressing; (psychologically) difficult; straitened (circumstances); tight (financial situation)
imbalance; disproportion; disparity; mismatch; asymmetry
many; much; plenty; hardly
other side; opposite side; other party
riddle; puzzle; enigma; enigmatic; mysterious
substance; essence; entity; subject; content; reality
to seize; to catch; to obtain; to acquire; to understand; to grasp
patching (clothing); darning; cobbling together (other people's writings, thoughts, etc.); gathering
originally; by nature; from the start
to go smoothly; to turn out well; to do the trick; to have peaceful relations
to pay attention to another's needs; to attend to; to fuss about; to take into consideration
vague; ambiguous; shady; disreputable; fuzzy
insincerity; dishonesty; untruthfulness; bad faith
to be tied together; to be connected to; to lead to; to be related to; to be related (by blood)
intention; wish; purpose; mind (to do)
compulsion; coercion; forcing (to do); enforcement
painful; being sorry; feeling sorry
and; thereupon; because of that