The Cat's Tail Chapter 9: Hometown

Afternoon ca. A few hours had passed since Raymond inford his daughter that she were to be discharged from the hospital today.

"We're almost there, Calli."

"Yeah. I'm getting kind of excited."

After a long commute from Manila using Raymond's own car, the father and daughter finally reached their hotown, Barangay Silangan, one of the fifteen districts that make up the municipality of San Mateo.

"Woah..."

Seeing Callisto's look of admiration and joy as they drove through the road in the middle of a mountainous landscape with lush greenery, Raymond could not help but also feel a sense of contentnt.

"The scenery is as beautiful as the last ti I saw it," the girl remarked.

"Yeah," Raymond replied whilst steering the wheel. "That's the reason why tourists from around the globe visit San Mateo, especially if they are looking for a perfect place to do mountain biking."

Mountain biking beca a trend in San Mateo and that trend only grew ever since. Eventually, San Mateo earned the nickna "The mountain biking capital of the Philippines."

A few minutes of driving later, Raymond and Callisto reached the heart of Barangay Silangan.

"This is..."

The young girl's eyes sparkled with excitent. Pressing her face against the car window, Callisto bead a wide smile under her blue and white hoodie.

"... the public market!"

Located at Langka Street, the public market looked just as Callisto rembered. A place filled with a very large crowd.

"Man, there's people everywhere," she exclaid. "We can barely get through the road."

"That's why we gotta get through them carefully. We wouldn't want to cause an accident now, would we?"

Callisto nodded in agreent with her father.

Her eyes continue to wander around the street and pretty much everything she locked her gaze on evoked a mory of the past.

"Papa, look! I want to buy ice scream!"

"All right. But promise that nothing spills out of the cone, okay?"

"Yes!"

The past when everything still seed normal.

"Hey, Big-Sis, I can't pick which toy I want to buy."

"It's okay, take your ti. By the way, I already picked mine."

"That's the big calculator the lady uses when we pay for our purchases, right? And that doll looks like Mama when she goes for work. Where'd you get them? I want them, too!"

"I'll let you borrow them later, so you have to find the one that you really want yourself."

"I see. Then... I want this one!"

"Ah, so you want to be a doctor."

"Yeah. I want to be like Papa. I'll let you borrow it, too."

"Thank you, Calli."

"Hehe~."

Back when they were still free from their worries and were living their lives as one happy family.

"I want to eat chicken today!"

"Huh? But we just had it last night, though."

"That's yesterday already, Big-Sis."

"Leo is right, Calli. We should eat sothing different for today. How about tilapia, Raymond?"

"That sounds good to ."

"Mama? Papa?"

It was like watching a movie marathon in the front row seat. Those mories are what made Callisto fond of the public market.

No words could describe how grateful Callisto was for being alive and being able to reminisce at this very mont. Being able to do so gave her a newfound desire.

"I want to make more mories and reminisce about them when I get older," the young lady told herself in thought.

As Callisto and Raymond continued making their way through the public market, the young girl took notice of things that weren't there the last ti she visited the market.

For starters, there were more clothing stores compared to when it was just a couple of them back then.

"I guess I'll check them out later," Callisto thought.

A big internet cafe spawned out of nowhere, towering over those small shops surrounding it.

"It looks so out of place."

A grocey store is competing with smaller variety stores that were present in the market.

"Mama was right. As long as there are people buying, a store will never close down."

There was even a pet store facing the pet food shop right across the road. Callisto noticed one of the puppies was barking at the approaching lady carrying a tray of dog food so she opened the car window to her side to hear what was going on.

Bark! Bark! Bark!

"Here's your favorite. Please stop barking already," said the lady in the pet shop.

"Why is she giving the puppy food? Can't she hear him screaming that his stomach hurts," the young lady thought to herself.

Callisto found all the new things in the public market rather interesting, even thinking about checking them out later. But there was only one store that really captured the young girl's interest.

Reading the na of the book store, the young girl spoke under her breath, "gaverse..."

"Hm?" Having heard what his daughter said, Raymond faced the sa direction Callisto was fixated at and stopped the car. "Oh, the gaverse."

Callisto had been fond of reading books, especially fantasy novels, ever since she was very young. She used to buy them with her mother or her father back then until she could no longer walk without crutches because of her weakening body.

After losing the ability to walk with her own legs, Raymond was the one buying the books she found online or the ones she was already familar with for her.

The last book Raymond bought for Callisto was from the very store they were facing, which was built more than a few years ago. That was why Callisto was unfamiliar with it while her father wasn't.

Having seen Callisto's gaze seemingly glued towards the store, Raymond asked, "Wanna take a peek? See what might get your interest?"

A stunned expression drew on her face. "Are you sure?!"

Unsurprisingly, Callisto wanted to go. It had been a while since the last ti she visited a book store, after all. And what's more, there was now one literally close to ho.

However, Callisto was also aware of the risk, hence she was feeling rather reluctant.

"You're bound to go outside once you start living alone, so why not," Raymond told his daughter. "Besides, it's also a great opportunity to see how useful are the ans we ca up with to keep you out of danger."

Clenching her blue and white hoodie, Callisto found herself agreeing with her father. "I guess you're right, if it doesn't work, then we'll have to find another way."

Having made their decision, Raymond stopped the car in a small parking lot next to the book store.

Exiting the driver's seat, Raymond went to open the door on his daughter's side.

"Here, take my hand."

The father extended a helping hand to Callisto, which she accepted and got out of the car.

"Thanks, Papa."

Averting her attention from her father, the yound lady feast upon the view she hadn't seen for a long ti.

"My first ti being outside after a few years..."

Callisto could feel the fresh air touch her face, her hands, and the skin between her shorts and her rubber shoes. It was nothing like when the nurses would open the window to let so air outside enter her private room.

Being connected directly with the outside felt rather liberating for Callisto. This was one of the greatest feeling she had ever felt.

"Are you ready, Calli," Raymond asked his daughter.

With an already satisfied look on her face, Callisto answered, "Yes!"