Chapter 1

Every morning, at 8:30, little Amelie would step into the hallway and run down the stairs. You could hear the keychains attached to her backpack jingling around as she ran. She always had a yellow rain jacket on, no matter the weather. Her hair was black and messy, but the way it fluttered in the wind made it look beautiful. Every morning, at 8:30, I would stand in the kitchen, look out of the window and watch when Little Amelie went to school. It was a part of my routine. I would get up, make some coffee, grab a cigarette and stare out of the window. It wasn't my intention to watch Little Amelie, but she just happened to always be there. But something was different today, she didn't run, she walked. Slowly. Like really really slow. Almost as if she had hurt her leg or something. I wanted to go and help her, but I had never even talked to her. I only knew her name from her big brother Aaron. The walls in our building were so thin you could hear almost every sound coming from the apartment next to you. The first day when i moved to this apartment, I heard Aaron calling Amelie in the hallway. He yelled "Amelie! Where's my little Amelie?". That's how i learned her name. I dont know why they called her "Little" Amelie. Maybe because she was shorter and smaller than other kids her age. I must sound like a creep talking so much about about an 11 year old girl, but that was not the case. Something was just so interesting about that family. One day I bumped into Aaron when i was taking out the trash. He introduced himself and said that he lives in the apartment next to mine with his little sister and mother. I had never seen their mother, or even heard her voice through the walls. Maybe she was a quiet one, who knows. Why do i even care so much about them? I dont even know anything about them. Im so weird.