Something Found and Welcomed

With a deep breath, Luce stood outside the door, wondering if he should knock or take the long trek back home. There was nothing barring him from coming here, especially since Ravi gave him express permission to do so. It was more of what happened during his last visit here that was holding him back. His memories from that day were still hazy but he could remember feeling floaty and lightheaded as blood trailed down his arms to drip on to the floor below. That must not have been a good sight to see, he thought with a grimace.

This time was going to be different. He was sober---one month sober, to be exact---and he hadn't cut in a couple weeks. He was here to make good on Ravi's offer but it was to spend time with him more than anything else. There was also the matter of meeting the most important person in his life but that could be dealt with once they actually met face to face. Luce took another deep breath and, mustering up his courage, rapped on the door.

While waiting, he scanned his surroundings. It was somewhat startling how stark the contrast was between this apartment building and his own. It was quiet, didn't reek of smoke and mold, and there was no tension permeating the air. No wonder Ravi was so unnerved when he showed up on his doorstep a few weeks ago. This place was miles better than Luce's, despite his complaints about it. It was a better home than he gave it credit for, though that wasn't saying much.

He heard footsteps approaching the door. What followed next were two voices shouting, one high-pitched and clearly belonging to a child and the other too muffled from further inside. His guess as to who the first voice was was proven to be correct when the door swung open.

It revealed a little girl just older than eight. Ivory white hair fell in waves around her waist as the edges of a monochromatic ribbon peeked out from the back. Shy pinkish eyes looked at him suspiciously, regarding him as little more than a stranger who happened to be acquainted with her brother. She was tiny compared to other children he'd seen in his life before, though he was sure she'd have lots of growing to do in a few years' time. His heart dropped to his stomach; whether she was aware of it or not, she held all the power in her hands. His relationship with Ravi hung in the balance and she would determine its fate.

Fighting to keep his nerves from showing, he raised a hand up in greeting and said to her, "Hey there, you're Amelia, right? Your brother's told me a lot about you."

"...Ravi said you could come in because you're his friend." She stepped aside to let him pass. "Welcome to our home."

He walked inside as she closed the door behind him. He entered the living room, which had three beige walls and a wall seeming to comprise several windows offering a view of the building across the way with a fire escape outside. There was a small leather couch sitting a little ways away with a nondescript coffee table in front and two dark green chairs adjacent to it. Below the windows was an old television set atop a low TV stand, currently switched to off. The floor was completely tiled, save for a few rugs thrown about the place. It wasn't much but it felt far more like a home than his apartment did.

To his right was both the small dining room and kitchen. In-between the two rooms at the back was a hallway leading further in, presumably where the siblings' slept and their one bathroom. The dining room only had a square table with three chairs seated around it, bowls and silverware set on a green tablecloth. The kitchen had a couple counters, a small refrigerator, an old oven stove top, and a little breakfast nook sitting just at the edges. Also in the kitchen was Ravi, stirring something inside a pot while smoke rose up from it. Whatever he was making for dinner smelled good, his mouth watering in anticipation.

Upon seeing him, Ravi shouted to him, "Hey, Luce! Sorry I can't talk right now, in the middle of doing this, but you can sit anywhere, I guess! Dinner will be ready in a few!"