cardigan, marlene ‎mckinnon.

𝒊. the house hunt

ALEXIS CARTER NEVER liked house hunting. it reminded her of the times when her father would get transferred and she had to leave her memories behind. her mother would console her, while her father would curse her for being sensitive - - thus, causing another fight between them.

so that is why alexis had dragged mary along, for house hunting. the area was in the outposts of london, a small town that had love blooming in the small lanes. letting a tiny sigh escape her chapped lips, she let her eyes wander over the town. small neon colored houses stood up brightly, a bright contrast to the enormous red apartments standing proudly in the middle.

mary had her phone out and was posing against one of the households, meanwhile alice was studying the porch of one of the houses up for sale. muggles looked almost bored as they moved along, too occupied by their daily tasks to notice alexis' wand peeking carelessly from her skirt's pocket.

"this one is the most spacious, with five bedrooms and a backyard - - .." the friendly landlord rambled, pointing to a house on alexis' left as she spoke. it was a honeysuckle version of cottages - ‐ the cracked white walls, paired with the lightest pink bricks as the roof made alexis' interest peak.

alexis hesitated as she examined the cottage, her anxiety made itself visible in the worst situations - ‐ much like the one on her hand. cyan paint messily adorned the frame of the door and the windows. a pot with lilacs and memoirs of love hung from the cyan door, cracked in a few places but broken things could be fixed.

no matter how big the crack is, nothing was permanent. a path - - one that was made of cobblestone, alexis assumed - - broke out through the small garden that sat perched in front of the cottage, spruce wood fences placed along the path that did nothing but add an overgrown tint to the cottage.

she looked back at the landlord, feeling kindness bloom in her chest at the mourning look she was giving the house. it held a melancholy kind of longing, a look alexis knew all too well.

clearing her throat apologetically, alexis passed the landlord-what was her damn name, amira? no alecia?-a tiny smile, a clear act of sympathy. "hey alecia, you didn't mention this one?"

and it was true, the landlord had given her a whole tour but had never once mentioned the pink and cyan house. it was a sensitive subject, alexis thought as the landlord's eyes widened almost comically.

the cool autumn air suddenly had tension blooming as the landlord stayed silent for a little too long, alice having caught on to it too because the next moment, she was questioning alexis about the sudden silence in hushed whispers.

the landlord teared her gaze away from the cottage, her wrinkles showing as she stepped closer towards the fence. "it is astra and i must have forgot to do so," astra whispered, as if she was scared someone would snoop on their conversation. "it's up for sale, this is the most suitable house for you. a couple build this here, lovely they were but out of the blue, they decided to give up this home. "

"no, silly, we were asking about the features, not the emotional story behin - - .. ow!" mary covered her head, sticking her tongue out at alice who had playfully hit her in the head.

astra smiled at them sincerely, her eyes had a twinge of sadness and alexis couldn't help but let her mind wander to find the answers behind her sadness. she moved closer to the house, letting her hand ghost over the white wood of the fence.

she looked back at alice, asking questions that nobody knew the answer to but alice already knew. oh, she was one of the rare people who knew and so, she nodded subtly. alexis gave her a nod in return before turning to the landlord, her voice dripping in kindness and childlike curiosity, ".. c - - can we take a look inside, if that's okay?"