Home to none

It was a cute little suburban home. The gables in the roof shone in the sun, the grass was green, the walkway was lined with cute little purple and white flowers. The windows sparkled, and the siding was clean and well kept. Two small children rode their bikes in the sidewalk that snaked through their yard. A couple walking their little yappy dog, waved at the children. A jogger smiled and waved hello to the couple. Another couple stopped to pet the dog and exchange small talk with the neighbors.

Everything was perfect in suburbia.

And then came the storm clouds. It grew dark and ominous. Thunder was in the air. The children rushed inside to their mother. The mother gathered them in her arms and soothed their fears. She took them into the warm kitchen filled with the smell of baking bread and gave them their dinner. She then capped it with a cup of hot cocoa and shooed them up to their rooms to complete their home work before going to bed. Once the kids were safely tucked into bed, she finished chilling the wine, as she waited for her husband to come home from a long day's work. They would relax, unwind together and enjoy the quiet evening. Tomorrow is yet another day.

Six months later: same neighborhood, same house. The grass is dry and wretched. The flowers are dead. There is no one strolling on the sidewalk that winds through the yard of the house. People hurry past with eyes averted. The windows are shuttered and there is no sound of happy laughter emanating from within.

Inside the house, a couple is walking through with a black suited realtor, who is trying to convince them that this house is a steal. The house smells musty from being shut up for the past six months. There are some cobwebs around and the dust has settled thickly on the kitchen counters. The kitchen tap is leaking with a drip, drip, drip leaving a dull, rusty mark in the stainless steel sink. The hardwood floor has numerous footprints of the multitude who have come to see the house in the past months.

The realtor doesn't stop talking. She is expounding the value of the "steal". She says that the house is much cheaper than other comparable houses, because the bank only wants its investment in the house. The family who lived there have had to forgo their equity and leave because they missed a few mortgage payments due to a job loss. So the house is on the market, for a much lower price.

But the couple walking through sense the damp, the dust, the dreariness and the lost soul of the house. They are looking for a home to live in, not a dead shell. They move on to the next home on their list.

FORECLOSURE - HOME TO NONE.