A short while had passed since Arnan left Raymond's office. Callisto's father was back to dealing with his paperwork after contacting a physician to arrange an at-home check-up for Arnan's mother.
Raymond had a lot of visitors today. From employees and Phillip sending in more paperwork for him, to Callisto and Arnan. Today was a rather productive day, but he wouldn't complain about it.
If anything, he was glad to have done a lot today.
Raymond proceeded to put a stamp on the paper he was holding. "Guess I'll work on some of them in my hotel and do the rest tomorrow."
The father stretched his arms up languidly, already gearing up on making his exit from his office for today.
That was when...
Knock, knock, knock!
"Hm?" Raymond straightened his posture as he faced the door where the knocking sound came from.
Before he could ask who or what purpose whoever was knocking on the door had, the knob was twisted open from the outside and in came Adela.
Raymond's expression twisted in shock before schooling it back to normal.
"What brings you here, Adela," asked Raymond, gazing at her observantly. "Did you rush here or something? Why are you so out of breath?"
No words came out of Adela's mouth. Only her labored breathing. Her eyes checked every corner of Raymond's office, clearly searching for something.
Or rather, someone.
"Callisto," Adela finally spoke, her breathing slowly calming down despite the audible urgency in her voice. "Where's Callisto."
Raymond was too taken aback from hearing his wife call their daughter by her own name that he couldn't respond to her right away.
"W-Wait," he stuttered. "Why are you looking for her?"
"Because I want to see her," Adela replied without hesitation, a glint of determination and longing in her eyes. "I want to talk to her. I want to apologize to her. I want to embrace her."
Once again, Raymond was taken aback by his wife's words. Only this time, his face brightened with elation.
"Please," Adela looked into her husband's eyes in earnest. "I want to see Callisto."
"Of course," Raymond looked back at his wife with a soft expression on his face. "She just left not too long ago."
"To where?"
"To the Riverbanks in Marikina. She said she wanted to visit the park, so I gave her the go."
Adela's gaze lit up with gratitude at the information, "I see. Thank you."
Raymond then used the opportunity to approach his wife and wrap his arms around her in a warm embrace. "No, thank you. I'm so glad to hear you say our daughter's name once again."
Adela reciprocated her husband's affectionate gesture by putting her arms around him as well. Then, after a moment, they let go of each other.
"I'm going," Adela announced, fixing the rumpled part of her clothes. "But we're not done talking yet."
A knowing smirk played on Raymond's lips. "I know. I'll be waiting."
Raymond watched as Adela made her exit, closing the door to her husband's office behind her.
A soft smile tugged at Raymond's lips before stretching his arms upward. "And I was just starting to miss her and our bed, too."
With a seemingly newfound enthusiasm, Raymond began cleaning his desk as he prepares to return home.
***
Not a lot of time had passed since Callisto arrived in the Riverbanks.
At the park, Callisto was leisurely taking a stroll, admiring the beauty of nature. The sound of children playing, laughing together and the animals going through their day create a symphony that drew a smile on Callisto's face.
But taking a stroll around the park wasn't the only thing in her mind.
"This place looks isolated enough."
Callisto's stroll led her to a part of the Riverbanks park that had barely anyone present.
Just to make sure, the silver-haired girl looked around her vicinity. When she was certain that no one was around or were looking at her direction, from inside one of her hoodie's pockets, she took out a rock, big enough to fit her left hand.
"Let's go back to square one," Callisto's expression hardened, her eyes turned golden, just as her hold on the rock also tightened.
And then, she faced the base of a hill not far from her.
She raised her arm she was using to hold the rock, and then...
"Haa!"
She launched the rock with a strength that was unusual of a girl like her at the base of the hill.
Bang!
The sound of the rock hitting the hill resonated around the park, calling the attention of the nearest tourists.
"What was that," asked a male tourist as he turned to the direction of the sound, Callisto's tiny silhouette could be seen in the distance.
"Was that a gun shot," asked another male tourist.
"That was loud."
Callisto stood still like a rock, not only due to shock caused by the rock hitting the hill like a gunshot, but also due to the attention it drew toward her direction.
She took a breath to compose herself before stepping forward in the most casual way she could do toward the base of the hill.
Stopping right at the spot where the rock struck, Callisto's sky-blue eyes found a hole before her.
It was deep. And it was definitely made by the rock she shot at it.
Callisto peered at it, but she couldn't even see the rock inside. That was how she knew it was indeed a deep hole.
"Y-Yeah..." She said slowly under her breath, a cold sweat ran down her cheek. "I'm gonna need to be mindful of using my strength from now on."
Right at this moment, somewhere deep in Callisto's heart, she wished for a day where she would use her power to another person to never come.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Riverbanks plaza, a man in a red shirt with a shoulder bag, seemingly in his mid 20s, approached a food stall.
"Fishball, please."
"10 pesos, or 20 pesos?"
"Just 10 pesos."
While the vendor was busy getting the fishballs the man ordered in a plastic cup, the man in the red shirt looked around his vicinity until his gaze locked on a family walking by.
"Ma, Pa, can we go to the carnival now?"
"Just wait, okay? We will go there, I promise."
"Listen to your mother. Just be patient, okay?"
The vendor finished filling the plastic cup with fishballs, pour the cup with sauce, and turned to the man in the red shirt.
"Here's your fishballs... Your fishballs...?"
The man in the red shirt could not seem to hear the vendor as his gaze zeroed in on the mother's sling bag.
It was open. And what seemed like a wallet was sticking out of it.
"Hey," the vendor raised his voice. "Your fishballs."
The man in the red shirt paid for the fishballs and left with his food in hand, stalking the family with a malicious intent.