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Chapter 7: Weaving Magic

Weaving Magic

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Weekends symbolised leisure, tranquillity, a well-deserved holiday, and most important of all: sleep. But Zen found herself trudging beneath the scorching sun against her own will with no way of retaliation - a duty of allegation to herself so as to lift her poverty-stricken ass from the streets and hopefully transplant it into a humble home befitting a student like her without inviting any more chaos in her life. But lately, it seemed as if chaos had been chasing her, hijacking whichever train she boarded for her trips. And she sure as hell didn't hope Madilyn and Nadia walking in front of her weren't two of the biggest chaos in disguise she had voluntarily brought along with her.

"Remember, from now on, we're only looking for white-coated buildings. Zen needs to find a home before sunset," Nadia said, wiping the sweat off her brow. Zen couldn't count the number of times she'd done that. She was getting sorry now, looking at her two very reliable, kind-hearted and certainly not mentally disoriented teammates.

Their faces had been so vibrant when they started out in the morning but after half a day passed with no luck at finding a decent apartment or a room for rent in their budget, they were starting to look more like dying rats fished out of the sewer than an advanced species of mutated apes in colourful clothing, with sunburn being the last thing on their minds.

Zen regretted telling her friends she was going to look for a place to stay that day. The two had shown up early in the morning—with the sole purpose to drag her out of bed all because she refused to wake up even after three missed calls and five ignored others—really took her by surprise when she saw them dressed like reporters about to sweep the neighbourhood clean, appearing as though they'd be interviewing every local of the place to validate the livability conditions and nature of the area for her sake. They'd been far too enthusiastic. In fact, there was never a time they were not when it came to her.

Her cousin, on the other hand, wasn't pleased with her decision to move out. Kate's place had been a second home, a refuge where she felt understood and never alone, but privacy was the key to Kate's door which she borrowed. It was only natural to return it to its rightful owner.

"Let's wrap it up for now, guys. It's noon, and we haven't even had lunch," Zen called out, quickening her pace to catch up with her friends.

"No way," Madilyn retorted, her voice a bit strained. She gestured forward, signalling they should continue.

"Come on, Zen," Nadia chimed in, pulling Zen along as they resumed their walk.

Zen sighed. East, west, north, south, she felt like there wasn't a single house they left unexplored in that colony. Was there any more to check out? The reflected heat from the asphalt coating the roads sank deep into her soles, the burn intensifying with every step she took. Her friends seemed to be enduring it all too, and she couldn't be any more devastated than she was now.

"That white building looks promising. It seems they might have some rooms for rent," Nadia pointed to a house a few blocks ahead.

"It looks expensive." Zen swallowed hard, resisting the urge to pull off her black shirt to wipe all the sweat from underneath. The heat stroke intensified to such an extent that it was finally getting to their brains, and so was their obsession with white-coated buildings. The houses they visited that weren't painted white were affordable, but they weren't in livable conditions, most were unsanitary, while some appeared to be plagued with pests. Every other white house with rooms on rent that they looked into exceeded their expectations, but they were just too pricey. So their only issue now was not having enough green papers in hand.