Red and gold, stucco and chandeliers, an old wooden gallery above. Ana tilts her head back to admire the painted ceiling. At the bar, she orders a spirit: a blend of herbal bitters and orange liqueur, a Berlin tradition since 1894. Bitter and sweet in one glass. That feels familiar.

Then Lilly Mortis opens her show with the words: “A new era of cabaret has begun. This is kabaret. This is Berlin. Join the klub.”

Ana listens, watches the performers move through the stage lights, takes in their magnificent costumes and their easy delight in their own bodies. Around her, people draw closer together. She feels her shoulders slowly relax. A warmth begins to spread through her.

Glancing to one side, she notices a young woman who is also wearing black shoes, paired with an exquisite lace dress. Her hair falls in soft waves. There is something about her that belongs to another era, but here it feels entirely at home. She has an open smile and that lovely ability to stand beside someone without asking them to explain why they are alone.

Between songs, they begin to talk. Ana says that Berlin has meant freedom to her. The other woman laughs. “For me, too.”

It was here that she first kissed a woman. Just over there, beneath the gallery. Even now, she looks towards the spot with a little smile.

“Berlin can hurt, of course, but you’re never alone in that. Isn’t there some comfort in knowing it? Here, we get to try our hand at being free, even when it's not easy”.

Then she rests her hand on Ana’s arm. Her fingers are cool, yet Ana feels a rush of warmth. Something about this evening makes it seem possible to step through time, as though the 1920s were closer than we sometimes imagine — and not only because the show keeps returning to them, in all their light and darkness.

The evening passes in a glittering haze. Ana drinks another “spirit” and looks into the old mirror. Is she seeing herself, or all those who stood here before her?

At the end of the night, the woman with the softly waved hair walks her to the door and brushes a kiss against her cheek. Once again, Ana feels that cool breath of air around her.

Later, in bed, Ana falls asleep almost at once. Her heart is light after the night; something has followed her home. As though, for all its harshness and autumn cold, the city also held hundreds of warm hearts from every age, keeping her company simply because she is in Berlin and has the courage to seek love freely.