Smoke & Mirrors • Zarry

29. Wild Lotus

It took Zayn several months to sort everything out for this move to Los Angeles. Zayn spent every moment of free time diving into the details of what this move entailed. He had to leave his job with Gianna's father, find a sub-letter for his flat, organize his money situation, find a place to live there, figure out a career situation, and it became an obsession for Zayn to literally rearrange his entire life to make this happen.

He spent the last month searching for places to live online, trying to find that one place that spoke to him, determined how he would be able to afford it all, but after all was said and done, he finally did it. His family wasn't supportive of this situation, naturally, but Zayn wasn't going to live his life to please them or anyone but himself. Nobody could talk Zayn out of this move and when he finally boarded that plane for his first ever flight, he knew that there was no looking back.

Zayn felt this immense sense of pride wash over him as he stepped off the plane at LAX in his black sweatpants and baggy salmon pink t-shirt, his hair even a bit longer than before and he did in fact dye the ends green because he fucking wanted to, and he took a deep breath of warm, fresh summer air.

Zayn looked around at the palm trees swaying gently in the wind, the way that the sun felt on his skin, and deep down inside he just knew that this was the right move. Zayn had told himself over and over again that if he was really going to start over, to reinvent himself and discover who he actually was and what he really wanted out of life, then he was going to give it one hundred percent.

So Zayn took every last little bit of money that he ever accumulated during his many years of dealing and illegal activities in London and he used it for something good, to secure himself a nice little place in the Beachwood Canyon section of Los Angeles, and he was on his way to starting up his own business; a legal one this time.

After searching for about a month Zayn had managed to stumble upon this century old cabin on the hillside of Los Angeles, up high enough to see the Hollywood sign, and it had the most incredible views of the canyons. Zayn had instantly fallen in love with the way it looked, the essence it had when he saw the photos months ago, and when Zayn's uber pulled up to the front driveway he had stars in his eyes just gazing upon it.

It was this quaint little cabin with a dainty front porch that wrapped around the side, and it had this old west aesthetic to it, quite unlike the factory feel of his old London flat and he decided he really liked the massive difference between them. This new place of his was much homier, more rustic, and he was surrounded by trees and gardens, with a fountain in the front and he was already envisioning planting flowers and vegetables as he walked up the cobblestone pathway to the green front door with his bags in tow.

Zayn slowly stepped inside his new house to see this open living space before his eyes, complete with these beautiful vaulted ceilings which were complemented by exposed wood beams and several clerestory windows. There were a pair of french doors that lead to a single bedroom in the back, which had an exit to an expansive back deck and these incredible, illuminated skylights above where his bed would be. Zayn then gazed over at the book shelves that were built into the walls of his bedroom and he envisioned himself filling them up with every book he had ever wanted to read, but never got around to actually doing, because he had formerly lost many of his old interests, that inspiration and zest for the little things along the way, and it dawned on him that he was evolving into this person that although he didn't quite recognize, it sort of felt like he did. And it made him smile to himself just realizing that this was all his.

Zayn took a step out through the back door and stood lazily against the railings of the cabin's back deck, just taking in the fresh air of the hillside and his brown eyes searched the views before him, just feeling of an overwhelming veil of comfort envelope his muscles, his bones, seeping right into his soul and he closed his eyes tight, just taking it all in.