Flat 1305

Prologue

"Someday, I just wish I pack bags and be at a place that we own, Travis." Eden sighed and strapped seatbelts to the children in the backseat, "Is it too much to ask even now?"

It was a peaceful and quiet Saturday night and the 3rd trip for Sallows to look at the addresses circled in different inks on the newspaper page, featuring places for rent. It was almost always identical for Eden, a routine she was used to but unwillingly. Get up early on a Sunday, buy a newspaper, spend all morning reading through the advertisement section, thoroughly circle any house that struck as reasonable then make calls to arrange a meeting for those.

But you do what you need to do, always.

So once more with the newspaper and phone in hand, they were on the road to a new place that hopefully becomes home. Laura was glued to the views outside her window. The oldest of the three children and the least amount of work for either of the parents, she was anything but immature.

If anything, she had a knack for observing things. Her brown eyes pierced into details and the underlining in fascinating ways. Then she would store them in the darkness of her eyes forever, her liveliness hinting otherwise at times.

Then there was Bobby, the middle child. He was the quiet one in all of them, only speaking in familiar territory. You could confuse his silence with denseness but that image would wither away if you could only see the gears working in his head, appropriate to his age of course. Annalise, being only 5 years old, was the exact opposite of both her siblings.

The headlights shone against the road for minutes, passing shops and buildings and whatever else as Travis navigated his way through the metropolitan region. Bobby and Laura were blathering back and forth, trying to teach Anna the alphabet song but in the wrong order. Hearing that, a pair of chuckles escaped Travis's lips as he squeezed his fingers around Edens' as if to say, "it will get better."

And so they hoped.

A few moments passed by and the family found themselves parked in front of a tall abyss of a building, waiting for the estate agent to arrive with the keys. Till then, all eyes wandered across the skyscraper they were stood in front of. From all they could make in the lighting of the moment, they figured it required much finishing.

Rusted were the railings against each balcony, needing coats of paint just like some walls did. There seemed to be doorframes without doors and the same was the case with windows.

However, this speculation was just from the 2 floors they could see in the dark. There was no sign of life other than the dozing guard on the post outside the gate. Nighttime didn't seem to be doing it justice either.

Opinions started flooding inside the car, back and forth. The children were leaning against the small space between the front seats, bubbling with an energy unlike the place around them. Laura carefully watched her parent's words exchange against hers and was coming to a conclusion that they were not going to decide based on the first impression, unlike her.

The knock on the window brought an abrupt halt to the decision, especially startling the members of the backseat. But it was only the agent.

"Mr. Sallow, we spoke on the phone, yes?" He inquired briefly and when returned with affirmation, asked Travis to follow him inside.

The guard opened the gates to let them inside the complex of building, following the agent's motorbike. The buildings on the left side and were being absorbed by the Sallows as quickly as they could until the car ceased to a stop in the empty parking lot.

Soon they were in the elevator to the 13th floor, the silence being filled with information that the agent was spewing out about the property.

"You have such a beautiful family. The kids have so much space to run and play in, without being interrupted by anyone. It really will shape them nicely," He would say, "Plus in a few year's time, the market price for this same apartment will skyrocket ridiculously."