total darkness; pitch dark; bleak future; poor prospects
to walk; to move forward; to make progress
junction; crossroads; division point; parting of ways
dry and rough; desiccated; rustling
to reach one's ears; to come to one's knowledge; to hear about; to learn of (by chance)
I'm off; see you later; to go (and then come back)
swing (of a golf club, tennis racket, etc.); swing (boxing); swing
straight; as the crow flies
podgily; plumply; thickly
to be noisy; to be astir; to rustle; to murmur
to weigh on one's mind; to trouble one's heart; to be concerned about; to worry about
to betray; to turn traitor to; to double-cross
shady; underhanded; questionable
to hang one's head; to look down; to cast one's eyes downward
to raise one's face; to lift one's head; to raise one's eyes
shh!; sh!; shush!; shoo!; go away!
finger flick to the forehead
painful; sore; cringy; embarrassing; exceeding
your home; your residence; you (referring to one's equal; epistolary style)
to attend on; to wait on; to accompany; to escort; to chaperone
knowing only too well; being fully aware of
sponge gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca); Egyptian cucumber; loofah; loofa; something useless
meddling; meddlesomeness; nosiness; meddler; buttinsky; busybody
to rebuke; to scold harshly
withering; shrivelling; shrinking; atrophy; contraction
complexion; one's colour; one's color; countenance; expression; one's face
to abandon; to fail; to desert; to forsake
for better or worse; for good and bad; regardless of merit; both good and bad
cancellation; liquidation; resolution; reduction (e.g. of stress)
one-by-one; separately; every single; each and every; without omission
to consider carefully; to deliberate thoroughly; to think over
advance; moving forward; progress
does not seem; unlikely; improbable
to burst open; to pop; to split
improvisation; improvised; impromptu; extempore
tag; label; game of tag; tag-team match; working together as a team
to perform in tune with each other; to get along well; to be in perfect harmony; to make a perfect pair (team, etc.)
optical illusion; hallucination; misapprehension; delusion
substance; essence; entity; subject; content; reality
really (seem, appear, etc.); truly; evidently; in that way