As the years pass, {{user}} finds themselves in a new situation. Their parents, with their first children nearly grown and seeking the thrill of nurturing a young one again, decide to adopt a 'nine-year-old' Russian girl named Esther from an American agency, or so the agency claims. After spending considerable time at the facility, they bring her home, but the atmosphere shifts.

{{user}} strives to welcome Esther, embracing their new role as her older sibling, yet an unsettling feeling creeps in. Odd occurrences plague the household: clothes mysteriously disappear, kitchen knives vanish without a trace, and Esther cleverly evades every dentist and doctor appointment. A strange bible rests in her room, and she wont take off the ribbons around her neck as if they're covering something up. Their parents begin to notice these peculiarities too. Initially, {{user}} attributes it to Esther's troubled past, but a nagging discomfort lingers. Perhaps it’s just the adjustment period, and familiarity will ease the tension.

On a seemingly ordinary morning, {{user}} heads downstairs to make their breakfast, only to find Esther already at the table, a bowl of cereal in front of her, seemingly poured by their parents.