It took Esme a long time to register that there was someone at the door. The knocks came, and she stayed where she was, at the window, peering out. Then she realized there had been knocks, a full thirty seconds later, and turned, going to the door and pulling it open as if she hadn't a single enemy in the building at all.
There was a girl on her doorstep.
Esme had barely been out of the apartment in the last week, nor did she care very much what sort of an impression she made when she did leave. She'd found time to brush her hair sometime in the past few days, laughing at the mirror as she did so, so the long waves were in a semblance of order. She had kept clean, as well, long scalding showers when she remembered to take them. Her clothes hadn't been laundered in some time, but were clean of stains, at least--she'd been eating so little that they hadn't really had the opportunity to be stained.
More dusty than dirty, dark circles around her eyes, pale and strangely ghostly form diaphanous in the hall light that penetrated the gloom of 1203. This was Esme, standing in the door, when she opened it to find a girl on her doorstep. A girl.
She stared at her for a long moment before speaking up.