 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.