As the hour hand pointed at 7:00 in the morning, Callisto woke up with a soft groan, feeling starved.
"... Food," said Callisto to herself as she scratched the skin underneath her plain white shirt, her eyes half-lidded.
Following a soft yawn, the silver-haired girl got out of the bed and went to the bathroom. There, she washed her face while still looking a bit in a daze, brushed her teeth, and carefully comb her long hair.
"That should be enough."
Once satisfied with how her silky hair falls down her shoulders, Callisto headed to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, eyes scanning for sustenance.
"Let's see..."
She grabbed the carton container of milk and a couple of eggs from the tray and closed the fridge shut with her leg.
"This should be enough."
While humming to herself, she put two slices of wheat bread into the toaster.
"Hmm, mmm, hmm~"
And while waiting for it to finish its thing, Callisto added a fair amount of salt onto the egg yolks she poured on the glass bowl and began mixing it with a whisk.
"Hmm, mmmm, hmmm~"
Tiktiktiktik!
"All right! I did it just like how Mama and Papa showed me back then."
Callisto poured the battered eggs onto the already hot frying pan with oil.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Just as the scrambled eggs finished cooking,
Ding!
The toasted bread finally popped out of the toaster.
Then, she carefully took the eggs with a flat ladle out of the pan into a plate.
"Oh, don't forget to turn off the stove after use."
Click!
Callisto brought the plate to the table and added everything else she prepared beside the eggs.
"Toasted bread and... ah, the ketchup!"
Callisto did the plating exactly like how it was served to her by her parents when she was little, with greens, ketchup and everything else. Finishing the preparation with filling a glass with the milk from the container, Callisto finally sat down on her chair.
She grabbed the remote control that she placed on the table beforehand and turned on the TV.
"Breaking news," said the man on the television screen.
"Breaking news," Callisto asked just as she sat on her chair.
The news anchor continued.
"After a long decade of search operations, one of the most wanted serial killers in Cebu city has finally been apprehended by the authorities!"
"Oh, nice job to the authorities," said the girl as she turned her attentioned onto the table. "And nice job to me too!"
A proud smile etched on Callisto's young and beautiful face as she admired the breakfast she prepared for herself.
This was the first time Callisto made her own breakfast and she did it by following the memories of when she was a kid.
"It looks exactly as how I remember Mama and Papa make it, but what about the taste? Only one way to find out."
She took a spoonful of scrambled eggs and put it in her mouth. Right then, the silver-haired girl's eyes glittered with delight.
"So good!"
From then on, she chowed down on her breakfast. But halfway through it, tears would flow out of the corners of her sky-blue marbles.
She asked herself;
"Why did I make this? It's just making me miss Mama."
A bitter smile etched on her tear-soaked face. Even so, she continued eating her breakfast. After all, wasting food was no good. That was what her parents taught her.
"We've got another breaking news just coming in," the news anchor reported. "A CCTV in Tanay captured a horrific scene of a band of masked kidnappers pull a young man right out of his residence. The young man struggled and called for help, but unfortunately, there was no one else at home when this horrific scene took place and he was taken via a black van. What's even worse is that the authorities believed that these kidnappers are connected to many unresolved cases of kidnapping all across the country that started sprouting about five years ago. Hmm? What? Another kidnapping? Just now?"
Turning her attention toward the television right after calming down, Callisto thought to herself;
"I hope she accepts me soon."
.
.
.
Callisto finished her breakfast and went straight to washing everything she used. After doing so, the girl took a quick shower, dressed herself with shorts and a thin shirt and found herself contemplating before the hoodie her father gave her that was hanged in the closet.
"It's nice that simply wearing it helps keep attention away from my cat ears, but it's not like I can rely on it everytime, especially once I started working. But I've also kinda taken a liking to it and it feels comfortable even if I'm under the sun. Hmm..."
She pondered some more until a light bulb had been switched on inside her head.
She took a hoodie and wore it, but kept the hood down rather than it covering her head.
"I guess I can wear it like this," Callisto said as she laughed awkwardly to herself. "I'm so stupid..."
Afterwards, she took the brand new smartphone and a bit of the allowance Raymond gave her and put them inside her hoodie's pockets.
"Now then..."
Callisto, brimming with bright energy, walked out of her apartment room. Right then...
"Hmm? Going out for a walk?"
Oner, who was sweeping outside the building stopped the girl in her tracks.
"Oh, Uncle Oner, good morning. I'm going out to explore and look for a part-time job."
Callisto's words befuddled Oner. But before he could spit a word out of his mouth, the girl added;
"Papa gave me permission in case you're wondering."
"Oh. Then I guess it's all right. Did you bring your phone?"
"Yes."
Callisto showed Oner her smartphone.
"Good. Just reach out if something happens, okay?"
"I understand. I'm heading out now."
"Yeah. Be careful."
"I will!"
Oner's gaze lingered on the silver-haired girl's shrinking frame as she walked further and further away. That was when he noticed the guy in a black suit at the corner of the street following the girl not too far behind. It reminded him of what Raymond told him beforehand.
"Oh right, Raymond said he hired someone to look after Callisto. So that's...?"
Panning his vision on the other corner of the street, Oner found a woman with a purple hair and a suit similar to the guy he saw tailing Callisto following shortly behind the two.
"Huh?"
Oner's gaze lingered on the purple-haired lady, scratching his head in wonder.
"How weird. I was sure Oner hired only one guy. Or did I not hear what he said clearly?"
Since they both wear similar attires, the apartment building owner guessed that he indeed misheard Raymond and hired two people to keep an eye on Calli instead of only one.
But more than that, Oner felt something familiar from the woman for some reason. Unfortunately, he could not bother to go after her.
"They have a job to do. I can't bother her."
Oner resumed sweeping outside the building.
Exactly at that moment, the woman tailing Callisto stopped in her tracks as she looked behind her. Her unreadable gaze locked onto the man diligently sweeping outside the building.
Before long, the woman resumed on tailing Callisto.