Mara had lived in the city for three years and no one knew her real name.

That was the point.

She worked as a translator for the police. She listened to recordings, wrote reports, and stayed invisible. It was safe work.

Until the morning when a man sat opposite her on the metro and said, “You have to leave now.”

Mara did not know him. He was about forty, with a scar on his left hand.

“What?” she said.

He pushed a small grey envelope across the table between them. “They have found you. They sent me. You have four hours.”

Inside the envelope there were two things: a photograph of Mara from six years earlier, with different hair, and a card with an address.

“Who are they?” Mara asked, but the man was already standing.

“Do not go to work. Do not call anyone. Go to that address.”

Mara got off at the next stop. Her heart was beating fast. Six years earlier she had given evidence in a trial. A dangerous group had threatened her. The police had given her a different identity.

She thought she was safe.

She walked to the address on the card. It was a tall building with no name, near the river. On the fifth floor, a woman was waiting. The woman looked exactly like Mara.

“Hello,” the woman said. “My name is also Mara.”

“What is happening?” Mara asked.

“We have to change places,” the other woman said. “That is how we protect you. You will take my identity now. I will take yours. They are looking for you, but they will find me instead, and I will disappear.”

“No,” Mara said. “I will not let you do that.”

“You do not have a choice,” the woman said. “I have done this before. It is my job.”

At that moment, there was a loud sound from downstairs. Someone had opened the main door of the building.

The other woman pushed Mara into a small room. “Stay here. Do not make a sound.”

Mara waited in the dark. She heard voices, then footsteps, then silence. After ten minutes, the woman came back. She was alone.

“They are gone,” she said. “They took my photograph and they think I am you. You are safe now.”

Mara understood. The other woman had saved her life by becoming her.

The next day, Mara started a different life with a different name, in a different part of the city. She never saw the other Mara again, but she never forgot her.

---

If you learned a new word today, please make sure to subscribe, so you can practice again next time.

---

Vocabulary Notes

Invisible – adjective
Meaning: impossible to see, or not noticed by other people.
Example: “She listened to recordings, wrote reports, and stayed invisible.”
Other example: “The small plane was almost invisible in the night sky.”
Similar words: unseen, hidden, unnoticed

Evidence – noun
Meaning: facts or information that show that something is true.
Example: “Six years earlier she had given evidence in a trial.”
Other example: “The police found no evidence that a crime had happened.”
Similar words: proof, information, facts[uncountable]

Identity – noun
Meaning: who a person is, including their name, character, and personal history.
Example: “The police had given her a different identity.”
Other example: “He tried to hide his true identity from the group.”
Similar words: name, self, personality[countable]

Threaten – verb
Meaning: to say that you will harm someone if they do not do what you want.
Example: “A dangerous group had threatened her.”
Other example: “The man threatened to call the police if we did not leave.”
Similar words: warn, intimidate, frighten

Opposite – preposition / adjective
Meaning: on the other side of something, facing it.
Example: “A man sat opposite her on the metro.”
Other example: “The two sisters sat opposite each other at the table.”
Similar words: facing, across from

Story and image generated by Meta.

Video generated by MoneyPrinterTurbo AI.

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads.

#short stories #English short stories #short bedtime stories read aloud #English short story #short bedtime stories for toddlers #British English story #short story #short English story #English story British accent #English stories #English stories for kids #British #British studying #stories #British lifestyle #moral stories #moral stories in English #British English #British phrases #stories for teenagers #British English lesson #British English at home