To the right of the entranceway, there's a narrow, twisting staircase that leads to the upper floors of the house. The lights are out and the windows boarded over with layers of wood and cardboard, all reinforced thin strips of burnished aluminum cut from cans. It's a curious luxury in a metal-starved city.

On the walls, someone has painted elongated figures in dark shades of brown and black with wide, white concentric circle eyes.