As usual, Janet was the first to wake up in that house down the narrow valley that takes shade from the foot of the hills behind. To be precise, Janet wakes up every day even before the roosters in the neighboring farm could crow the sunrise song and establish their territory.
Janet slowly rubbed her eyes and got up from the bed. She pulled the curtains in the room wide open. The early rays of the bright morning Sun began to trickle in. Janet greeted the chirping birds on the treetop with a pleasant smile. She gently hopped down the steps to the living room. It occurred to her that someone was already awaiting her down there.
The serene tabby cat , Machado as the name goes , presumably named so by Janet's mother , greeted Janet as well with a meow. But Janet well knew what he actually waited for. So without any further ado, she went in the kitchen and boiled some fresh milk in a sauce pan. Machado took his place on the carpet that was lying at the doorstep and swept the dust, if any, with its furry tail. Janet placed the bowl of hot milk before Machado and ,in less than a minute, it managed to gulp down the thing which was still too hot to drink.
Janet's expression changed out of the blue as she approached the dining room. It was as if a lightning struck her and got her taken aback. She became increasingly irritated as she went closer and closer. She could hear the quarreling noise coming from her stepmom's room, quite sure that her stepmom is having a conflict with her dad over the phone.
Janet's father has been abroad for work ever since Janet could remember. The last time she saw him come home was during her mother's funeral ceremony. The happenings that day still revolve in her tender mind. She could still remember how her dad went past her, turning a blind eye towards her the other day as he went to pay respect to her mom's expired soul. Janet was sitting beside their housemaid, Chubs as Janet would fondly call her , who was trying to put the little seven-year-old in peace. Janet was gasping for breathe that time , from trying to hold in her loud cries and compressing them to little sobs and faint weeps.
It was not just Janet but the entire crowd there was dumbfounded when Lucas ( Janet's dad ) left like that without giving any notice to the poor motherless one. Everyone looked pitifully at her. But Janet indeed, made herself sure that she doesn't want to take advantage of anyone's sympathy at all. She knew that her mother would never want her to do that. And so Janet believed that she should treasure those beautiful moments she had with her mom and cherish her life forward if her mom were to dwell in peace in heaven.
The next time when Janet finally got to see her dad , Susan ( Janet's stepmom ) came with him. Janet still remember that day. The little Janet ran over to the front yard when she heard the growling noise of the engine of her dad's car. Lucas stepped out of the car first. Janet wanted to run to him and give him a tight hug. She thought that her dad came for her since he felt sorry for leaving her in the care of chubs the other day. But Lucas put off her excitement very soon.
Susan stepped out of the car following Lucas and that refrained Janet from running to her own dad. Janet hid behind the door out of surprise from meeting a strange lady together with her dad and peeped at her Dad from a principled distance as Lucas was explaining stuff to the housemaid Chubs. Janet noticed that Chubs was giving her sad looks in between.
Janet had to go up to her room when she saw that the lady was about to come near. She sat there on the cozy bed , looking out through the half-opened window. After a while , she heard the noise of her dad's old engine growing fainter and fainter as her dad went back.
The only person who still cares for Janet is Chubs and that kept Janet from running away from that house. Also, Janet always wanted to cherish her house which her mother used to look after so much after Janet herself. Janet wished she was deaf just so that she wouldn't hear her stepmom and dad fighting over the phone, first thing in the morning. But she gets better when Chubs enter the dining room with a smile on her face, carrying Janet's favorite breakfast ready on the the plate.
Chubs, just as any other day, made her entry at the right time today as well. She helped to put Janet on the chair and then have her meal before she closed the door so that Janet wouldn't hear the noise anymore. Janet gave Chubs a bite of the French toast made for her just as she always do.
It was only then that Susan came in shouting, " Feed her more or else she won't have enough energy to cater to your needs around the clock, Janet! And you Chubs, you take it for granted , right? Eating from the master's plate? Funny how loyal Lucas thinks you are! "
Chubs face was let down as she went back to the kitchen. Janet felt sorry for dragging Chubs in to this trouble which she knew would certainly happen sometime near. She gently stood from her seat and grabbed her schoolbag before she immediately left for school.