>>54400170>Signs directed you towards the backyard.>Zoroark led, eager to see the festivities.>Patriotic decorations, bleached from a summer of sunlight, dotted the way to the gathering.>A well-kept flower garden lined the side of the house.>The colors and scents attracted tiny combee, which Zoroark steered well clear of.>As guessed from the dozen parked cars up and down the street, plenty of others already made it.>A twinge of envy hit you, seeing the spacious yard behind the house.>Wide, lush, and led into a small forested area past the property line.>The children caught your attention before anything else.>Seeing them all in one space made you appreciate how many lived in the neighborhood.>One group set up a dodgeball game. Or maybe ball tag, it was hard to say.>A second gathered around a sprinkler, wearing swimsuits and jumping through streams of water. >The happiest looking ludicolo danced with them, moving along to the beat of the patio loudspeaker’s music.>One final group seemed to hole up inside, only dashing out for snacks.>A few quick hellos came your way, before the gremlins rushed back in.>Ten or eleven years old, you wagered.>Hard to tell, not being a kid anymore.>Zoroark paused to watch the little ones a moment, smiling and waving back.>You barely caught the glance she gave you, in the corner of her eye. “What?”
>The redhead only smiled.>A small, almost invisible smile.>”Didn’t say a thing.” Zoroark answered, as you moved into the throng of adults clustered near the house’s patio.>Placing the fruit platter next to the rest of the buffet’s offerings freed you up to thank your hosts for the invitation.>Adults all seemed to cluster here, at the patio.>…>And you had no idea who owned this house.“Uh…” You unthinkingly uttered.
>Whose house was this?