"You're almost there," Normand waited for the little girl as she slowly caught up to him up the dreadful stairs.
She stood before the door, hesitant to step forward.
He opened the door and welcomed her to his house. With the sound of the door creaking open, followed many footsteps rushing over toward the front door.
"Papa!" a little girl leaped into Normand's arms.
He held her up by her arms, "Anna!" He playfully lifted her, packing the little girl with joy.
All her anxiety and worries faded away as the warmth radiated off of the sight.
Normand carried the little one into the house and let her down. "Come on in!" he gestured.
Ellie timidly walked inside, closing the door behind.
She looked at the fully furnished apartment. Ellie felt love and care coming off every piece of furniture and decoration. Something she had forgotten about for years.
Ellie mimicked Normand's manners, putting the shoes aside. She gave the coat back to Normand. "Thanks," he said and hung the coat on the side.
"Lukas! Emma!" he called out as he walked over to the living room, "come over here!" He sat the little girl on the couch beside the electric heater. Ellie sat down across from Normand.
The children soon gathered in the living room. A boy in his early teenage years and a girl just shy of his age walked into the room.
"We have a guest today!" he got their attention. He pointed at a boy that was fidgeting around, "he's Lukas." Then he pointed at the girl, "she's Emma." Normand then lifted the little girl on the couch, "and this one's Anna." He looked back at the bedroom, "and Walter seems like he's sleeping in the bedroom right now. He's eight months old, baby boy."
He then introduced Ellie. "Her name is Ellie. Get along with her while I prepare for food!" he said as he made his way to the bedroom. "Ellie, please make yourself at home. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, okay?" he said as he left.
"Would you like any drinks?" the eldest daughter approached her.
"Oh, no thanks," Ellie shook her hand.
"Well, I have some hot chocolate milk ready. Are you sure?" Emma tilted her head.
On second thought, a cup of hot beverage sounded perfect. "Then I'll have some... thank you," Ellie smiled.
Emma left the room to grab some drinks for everyone.
On top of the mature aura that came from her looks, the level of hospitality coming out of her set a boundary between her and her siblings.
The boy walked over to a tray of strange little boxes unknown to Ellie and presented them. "Would you like to watch something in particular?" he asked.
Ellie frowned as she glimpsed over the labels written on the side of each box, "what are these?"
"You haven't heard of VHS tapes before?" he tilted his head.
She shook her head and brushed her hand across the box, "I think I've seen something like this..." Ellie took a tape from the tray, "how do you watch them?"
"Here, let's pick one out, so this one...," he went from left to right, naming them and explaining them one by one.
Ellie zoned out in the middle of his explanation. "I'll... leave it to you," she said.
"Okay," he said as he grabbed a tape out of the box and inserted it into a VHS player. The television flickered in a bright shade of colors as the tv turned on.
