fate; destiny; connection; tie; pretext; justification
essence; true nature; substance; reality
with a start; in surprise; suddenly (realize, remember, etc.); all of a sudden; puffing (air); with a puff
more; much more; step; rung; paragraph; passage
apiece; each; at a time; piecemeal
first floor; ground floor; one floor; one storey; one rank
to stand watch; to stand guard; to look out; to open (one's eyes) wide
to turn back; to go back; to come back; to return; to retrace one's steps
hesitation; bewilderment; illusion; delusion; inability to reach enlightenment
to smile cheerfully; to crack a smile
to switch (secretly); to substitute; to sidestep (an issue)
firm; determined; resolute; conclusive
nothing but; none other than
to hew; to chop up; to mangle; to mince
to do for (someone); to take in; to deceive; to hoodwink
laying the groundwork; behind-the-scenes maneuvering; consensus-building process; digging around the roots of a tree (before transplanting)
state of mind; mentality; psychology
selection; choice; option
order; system; structure; set-up; organization; organisation
to take advantage of; to impose on; to make an entry (in an account book)
time of death; one's final hour; one's end
more and more; all the more; at last; finally; (at the) last moment; worst possible time
to shoot a person to death
reluctant; unwilling; involuntary; unintentional; unintended; unlooked-for
to call (someone) back; to recall; to call home; to bring back (memories, etc.); to recall; to revive
to be at a loss for words
painful; difficult; distressing; (psychologically) difficult; straitened (circumstances); tight (financial situation)
excess; surplus; superabundance; overabundance
signalling with the eyes; exchanging looks; winking
attentive; cautious; careful; watchful
bargaining; haggling; tactics; strategy
(more than) enough; too much; bitterly; extremely; keenly
bitter smile; wry smile; forced smile; strained laugh
personal (employee); employed; retained
just like that; in the twinkling of an eye; in the blink of an eye; (lit.) in the time it takes to say "ah!"
whereabouts; place; location; place where one belongs; where one fits in; place where one can be oneself
missing (of a person); lost; unaccounted for; whereabouts unknown
simple; artless; naive; unsophisticated