Nancy was last to exit the car, who was gawking at the edifice with the bowl of vomit in her hands. The weather was muggy and icy that it could even extinguish the most scorched flame ever. Nancy paid no attention that she was not wearing proper attire for the weather as she looked at the condo as if it was a stupendous architect (she was wearing a gypsian shirt that showed her shoulders and long pants). The condominium looked avant-garde compared to the rest of the modern buildings. It was relatively smaller and shorter than most condominiums, however it still managed to obstruct the vitriolic sun. Not only that, but there was a clear juxtaposition between the neater and contemporary exterior of the humble houses that surrounded the old condo like a colony of ants inspecting a dead roach.

This did not slip unnoticed to Natalia who nudged Nanc and sized her up with a concerned scowl, "You look like you're at your wit's end. You scared or..?" 

Nancy sniffled and said evasively, "It's nothing." 

Natalia pursed her lips and made her way to the wreath-adorned gate. Nancy was met with the redolent smell of vomit and looked down at the bowl in her hand. While pinching her nose with one frail hand, she tipped the bowl over and let the vomit cascade into the sewers that were rotten to the rump. Suddenly, a surgical scalpel knife appeared through the holes of the sewers. Despite throwing the puke, no trace of vomit was on the blade. Instead, it was silver like typical metal that has been freshly forged. The sight was a bitter pill to swallow. Nancy perturbedly stepped back while staring at the knife in horror. She felt her stomach churn and every vein and artery in her body shrivel up.

This time, Natalia approached Nancy with her scowl deepening. She followed her big sister's antsy gaze and looked at the sewers more calmly. She looked back at Nancy, her concerned look never leaving her face as her brows creased. "Is the vomit bothering you?"

Nancy shook her head and blinked all the agony away as she looked back at her younger sister. "I was just thinking...who will scour the pet bowl? I don't want Redrum's taste buds and petite stomach to, you know, get warped."

Natalia's concerned face slowly slipped away and she patted Nancy's back, although that shred of worry was not away. She said, her voice still retaining her usual solicitous edge towards her mentally unstable sister, "For the time being, it is best that I do it. You just focus on looking after yourself, 'kay?"

"Kay." Nancy smiled gratefully. Natalia certainly had the gift of gab and a natural gift in appeasing troubled people. Being well versed in the departure of journalism and social studies, Nancy has always confided in Natalia's competence in dealing with others and looked up to her problem solving skills.

After giving her one last pat on the back, Natalia strolled up to the door. She beckoned for Nancy to enter as she made a ladylike flourish with her hand, "After you." Nancy was ill at ease as she bent over to take a closer look at the sewers. To her surprise, the surgical scalpel knife disappeared. 

With a huff, Nancy went up the stairs to the gate, less begrudgingly this time. Her luggage wheeled behind her unsteadily, matching Nancy's lethargic footsteps. Clearing the stairs was tough. She gasped for air while kneeling on the ground and unzipping the bag. Nathan was quick to react as he flippantly said while folding his arms behind his back and sitting on the railing of the staircase, "Why're you hyperventilating like a prey hiding from a predator or something?"

Nancy, still hunched over, sent daggers at the impish boy. She did not dare to utter a word in comeback; it would be a waste to argue with someone like Nathan. She took out a red paper boat hat and a pen and started writing on it as soon as she unfurled it and spread the paper out. Nathan's mischievous face contorted into shock and he turned to Natalia, who was less shocked than him as she watched the girl scribble, furtively looking at the piece of paper in particular. 

For the first time, the curly haired mother, who is a woman of few words, adjusted her glasses and said, "Come on in, you two. Let Nancy be." She was an observant mother- especially when it came to her kids- but tended to keep things to herself. She believed in Abraham Lincoln's quote, "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt." In other words, she believed that the most silent people are the ones who have it all, while the loquacious ones like Nathan are the losers.

The two obeyed and slowly entered the condo, leaving Nancy behind. As soon as she finished writing what she had to write down on the paper, she looked around while tucking it back into her wheelie bag. The clouds hid the vitriolic sun and everything seemed more clear. She spotted a large curved tree that looked perfect for a treehouse or hanging a hammock from its broad arms. Nancy smiled to herself. "This will be perfect for a nice meet-up reunion type of thing with Harlem."

Nancy was engaged with Harlem for circa seven months. She sometimes had problems recognizing people's faces, but Harlem was always in the clear of being one of those blurry images. His handsome and clever face that was etched in her mind was as clear as day. His long blonde hair was special. His devout and light-hearted personality was something she could never forget. She had difficulty recalling how they met, but what mattered to her is that they did.

♮♮♮♮♮♮♮♮♮▬ι═ﺤ ♮♮♮♮♮♮♮♮♮

The family members squeezed in the cramped elevator, Nancy being the most squeezed as each of the other four surrounding her was at arm's length. The motors of the elevator whirred. The smell of the stale air and the sensation of the tight space pressing in on Nancy brought a lump to her throat. She tried to swallow it, but to no avail. Natalia noticed how Nancy was sweating bullets and reassured her half-heartedly, "Nancy, it's a given that the elevator can only accommodate up to five people."

Nancy scoffed and her doe eyes met the siren ones, "And? That does not change the fact that it is so small. Plus, it is communal. Imagine if there were more people! Just thinking about it makes me claustrophobic." 

Nancy started fidgeting with her fingers. "What's with the tight space? The condo is massive while the elevator is so small. How old is this condo even?"

Natalia clicked her tongue, "Then forget about it and don't dampen our mood! Can't we all be excited about this?" 

The silence stretched inside the limited space available. Nancy broke it by asking, "Is this a rhetorical question?" 

Natalia said heartily, "Why, of course it is. I'm just implying that you should turn that frown upside down. Clear?" 

Nancy nodded in concord with Natalia, cracking a smile. Just a nanosecond later, the elevator door yawned and the Culzu family members poured out rapidly. All of them except for Nancy who was trailing behind very slowly anyone would mistake her for a turtle. Nathan internally quipped, "What a slowpoke... Of all things, she can't forget how to walk faster. She just can't!"

Nancy's eyes did not miss a detail. She saw the taxidermy models that looked like they were eyeing her judgmentally and gulped. The way these fake tawdry animals looked like standing there vexed her. She picked up her pace until she reached the bolted door of their new condo room. The wing certainly did not leave a good impression on her whatsoever, but she still had her hopes high for the room.

For the second time, the curly haired demure mother spoke as she rummaged through her purse for the keys, "Nancy and Natalia, you two will share the room that is upstairs. As for you big boy, you will have the room next to the bathroom to yourself." 

Nathan folded his arms and said petulantly, "I don't wanna hear dad suffocate in the bathroom every morning now..." 

The dad hoarsely laughed, "Now now, Nathan, don't get too whiny like your sister here." Nancy only casted him a side eye but kept quiet while adjusting her paper boat hat that was on her head. For some reason, she could feel Natalia bore holes on it. On the paper boat hat. What's in such an insignificant and childish headwear that is drawing her to it?

"In we go!" The mother exclaimed cheerily as he found the keys and unlocked the door with a bit of difficulty (considering that the door was very old and had not been oiled in a long time) before letting the door creak ajar. Unlike leaving the car or the elevator last, Nancy made herself the first one to step foot into the room with a less apathetic demeanor, and a more curious one implanted in her.