In the pouring rain eight-year-old Aksel comes home, wet and exhausted. But nobody will let him in, so he has to find a way in himself. He finds his little sister in his room, which is off limits to her, and a power struggle is played out on the stereo set. His sister thinks there’s something wrong with the stereo and leaves the room and her astonished brother. On the sofa in the living room Aksel finds his mother, red-eyed with weeping. He tries in vain to get her attention, and later, when his father arrives with a large party and they don’t notice Aksel either, he turns to his reflection in the mirror and lets out a heart-rending scream.