Elena’s friendship with Lila begins when Lila does dangerous things, such as sticking a rusted safety pin into her skin, and Elena copies her. At the age of eight, the two climb the dark stairs that lead to alleged ogre Don Achille’s apartment. Though Elena feels “frozen with fear” because of the rumors surrounding Don Achille, she feels obligated to follow Lila (26). When they reach the fourth flight of stairs, Lila offers Elena her hand, a “gesture” that cements their friendship and changes everything between them forever (29). 

As girls, Elena and Lila play in the courtyard with their dolls, in response to one another but not together. Elena’s doll, Tina, is attractive, whereas Lila’s doll, Nu, is homely. The girls feel scared and ignorant, almost believing that their dolls know more than they do. “It seemed to us that we were always going toward something terrible that had existed before us yet had always been waiting for us, just for us” (29). One day, when the girls exchange their dolls, Lila pushes Tina through the cellar grate, letting her “fall into the darkness” (31).