"Huff... Huff... Huff," the thief panted.
The thief reached the other end of the second floor where another escalator was located and went down by pushing the people aside.
"Ow! What the?!"
"What's wrong with her?!"
"Hey, that's dangerous!"
The thief immediately set his sights on the exit, but there were police officers situated right over there. The commotion he caused at the escalator caught the attention of one of the nearby officers guarding the path out of the Riverbanks Center.
"Hey, you," the officer called, his tone less than polite thanks to the tension caused by the thief himself. "What are you doing, Ma'am? That was dangerous!"
Just then, a hurried voice sounded from behind the thief.
"Don't move," the commanding officer demanded as he tried to get through the people on the escalator. "Hey, that's not a woman! That's the thief! Don't let him get away!"
At the commanding officer's words, the one officer that noticed the commotion immediately alerted the others about the thief.
"Hey, I got eyes on the thief and chief over here!"
"Hey, Perez!"
"I know! I'm coming!"
Gritting his teeth in frustration, the thief was forced to turn away from the exit, running past the escalator before the commanding officer reached down the first floor.
His disguise becoming less useful as a means to conceal himself and blend in with the crowd and more of a hindrace, the thief finally ripped off his female attire and threw his wig and shades away.
What was left was his signature red shirt and everything else he was wearing during his attempt to rob someone.
The officers and the chief continued tailing him as he made his way toward the amphitheatre, hoping to make his escape through the park.
However, as the thief reached the outside and purposely colliding on people to somehow create some distance between himself and the police officers...
"Ah! That guy just pushed me!"
"Watch it, damn!"
"Stop running!"
The commanding officer uttered something that made the criminal realize he had no way of escape from the beginning.
"Every entrance and exit are guarded with police officers! There is no escape for you!"
"Stop right this instant, you criminal," another officer following behind the chief demanded the thief.
The thief found himself colliding with a couple, causing him to stumble on the ground.
There was a glint of desperation in his eyes now. Time seemed to slow down as the criminal tried his best to find a way to get out of his predicament.
But he couldn't think of anything. There was no way of getting out of his situation without doing something worse than what he already committed.
The thief looked forward and his eyes landed on a beautiful woman in a white business suit looking back at him with concern.
The thief came to the Riverbanks Center only intending to make money. He brought a knife with him without really thinking of using it. It was only to scare his victim should they resist.
But the situation had changed. The thief was glad he had his knife with him. There was a way for him to get out of his predicament, only one.
The thief pushes himself off the ground and charged at the woman in white business suit. He moved so fast and desperate that the woman could only close her eyes after watching him pull a knife out of his shoulder bag, thinking she was about to get stabbed right then and there.
"Ah!"
Stabbing the woman wasn't in the thief's mind at all. Though he was a criminal, he never once used his knife to actually hurt someone.
The thief only intended to get the woman as his hostage, to force the police to let him escape.
But that would never happen.
Before he could lay a finger on the woman in white suit, something big caught the corner of his eye.
His face turned toward the thing, but there was no time for him to even make out what was heading his way. It was moving rather fast.
Before he could react, the big thing struck the thief.
Bam!
The collision sent the thief and the thing a couple meters or so away from the woman who had raised her arms on defensively.
The thief groaned in pain. He looked at the thing that came hurling at him, which was a stuff toy, but his gaze did not last long at it.
The thief stumbled as he tried to get himself up.
"Stop right there!"
The police officers were approaching, but the woman in white remained where she stood.
There was still enough time. If he could just get to the woman, the thief could keep the police at bay.
One more time, the thief charged at the woman. The beautiful woman turned around just to see the criminal approach her.
And yet again, the woman seemed like she could not react in time as the thief drew closer.
The thief was about to wrap around the woman in white when out of nowhere...
"Daaah!"
A scream echoed. It wasn't from a woman before him. It came from behind the woman in white.
It happened so fast, the thief could not react in time as a girl in an oversized hoodie seemed like she was flying toward the criminal.
The girl with silver hair struck the thief using her whole body with incredible force, sending the man sliding across the ground several meters away from where the girl landed.
The thief was incapacitated. He felt as though he was hit by a motorcycle that was running at high speed.
"W-Who's that girl," asked the thief as he watched the girl get up as if nothing happened.
To the side, police officers were converging toward the criminal along with the chief. Try as he might, there was no way for the criminal to escape this time now that his back was glued on the ground, sharp stings of pain were erupting from his back and were spreading throughout his body.
Not only that, one of the thief's arms that he used to protect himself from the collision against the girl, which proved to be useless anyway, ended up getting dislocated.
Having realized the gravity of the situation, the thief allowed his body to rest on the ground and accepted his defeat.
Callisto, could feel the adrenaline coursing through her body subside. Her breathing becoming labored.
Her use of her golden eyes throughout the day might have played a part in it, but this last few moments really made Callisto utterly exhausted despite holding back her strength so that she could not cause the thief too much harm.
Callisto watched in relief as the cops wasted no time in detaining the thief. Something about knowing that she helped apprehend the criminal after turning her back from the officers chasing the thief not too long ago made it feel right for Callisto.
As if this was meant to happen from the beginning.
The commanding officer made sure that his officers secured the criminal before turning to Callisto. His expression a mix of concern and gratitude.
"You, how are you," he approached the young lady with a question. "I saw you hit him on the way. Are you hurt anywhere?"
Callisto shook her head in response. "I'm all right. Thanks."
The commanding officer smiled. "You're also the one who helped us find the thief in the women's restroom, right? Thank you, Kid."
An officer checking the shoulder announced that he found the wallet they were looking for.
They shifted their gaze toward the officer before turning back at each other.
"I'm glad I could help," Callisto responded with a proud grin.
After that, the commanding officer looked past the young lady and asked; "How about you, Miss? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm all right, thanks."
Callisto's breath was caught in her throat as she remembered why she did such actions.
To protect her mother.
"Callisto."
Callisto's body and cat ears twitched at the mention of her name.
This was the second time she heard Adela utter her name. Not only that, she could hear it up close this time.
Even so, Callisto still could not muster the courage to turn around and face her mother despite the lack of hostility in her voice.
"Calli..."
Adela was well aware why Callisto wouldn't face her. And honestly, she couldn't possibly blame her for it.
But if she were to not make a move now, to make use of this opportunity, would the distance Adela herself created between her and Callisto ever be broken?
Adela was well aware of the answer. And so, the mother stepped forward with determination.
"Back when we first met after your operation, when I saw you so full of life and looked so different from the way you used to, it reminded me of your sister. I was immediately overcome with fear."
Adela's voice was low and calm, a complete contrast to how she sounded back when they first met after the operation. Each word carry a significant weight with them, a mixture of pain, regret, and sadness, creating a lump in her heart that was almost too much to bear.
"Leona also looked so different after her operation with the MDF," Adela held firmly onto her white lotus necklace like a lifeline as she continued to speak. "The thought of not having to get to see Leona's familiar face until her final moments made me sick to my stomach. I feared that accepting reality would make me forget Leona and the memories we made together. So I decided to blind myself with a false hope. I told myself that Leona was still alive out there somewhere and that I will get to see her again someday."
Callisto started tearing up from listening to her mother's speech, reminding her of that one moment when she stumbled upon Adela and Raymond's room years ago. She saw Adela alone in the dark room that evening, crying and occasionally muttering Leona's name.
Callisto realized it was her mother trying to not forget about her late sister, and it made her stomach churn in sadness.
Callisto could only wish she was able to understand back then. If so, she would have rushed into the room and help comfort her mother. Instead, she chose to give her space, believing that it was what Adela needed at the time. But that doesn't matter anymore.
"I was a fool," Adela chuckled at her own self-deprecating words, breathing shakily as she tried her hardest to keep herself from breaking down right there. "Because of my own fear, I ended up hurting Leona for making her wait so long for me to realize the obvious. There is no way I would forget about Leona, ever. She's my daughter, after all. Because of my fear, I also ended up hurting you. I ended up calling you something I truly regret right now."
Slowly, Callisto finally turned to Adela with her tear-streaked face. The sight made Adela unable to hold back her own tears.
"It's okay if you don't want to forgive me right now," Adela continued with a low voice, the sound full of nothing but remorse and pain. "It's also okay if you don't want to forgive me at all. I just want you to know how sorry I am for everything."
"Mama..."
A small, apologetic smile sprung up Adela's face in the midst of her tears that were starting to overflow. "I'm sorry for doubting who you are, for hurting you. I'm sorry for calling you a monster, Callisto."
Finally giving up the reigns of her emotions, Adela allowed herself to cry.
The people around them in the amphitheatre looked at Adela with wonder. Why did this woman started crying out of nowhere? Was it because of the thief?
It didn't matter. For Adela, the people around her and Callisto did not matter at all. All that mattered was the fact that she was able to say her apology to Callisto even though she probably wouldn't accept it. And that was why she was crying.
Callisto clenched her fists at the sight of Adela's cry, her lips trembling with overwhelming emotion right now.
Callisto was afraid of confronting Adela again after what happened in the hospital back then. She didn't want to see her mother look at her again with such a sharp, cold gaze. She didn't want to be called a monster by her own mother one more time.
But after listening to Adela expressing her regrets and offering her apology, the fear that felt like chains refraining her from throwing herself to her mother finally disappeared.
Without wasting a moment, like a little girl reuniting with her parents after getting lost, Callisto ran and threw herself at Adela.
Adela was quick to catch her daughter.
"I understand," Callisto said in a muffled voice as she buried her face on to Adela's chest. "I forgive you, Mama. So please, don't cry anymore."
A soft smile played on Adela's lips as she nuzzled onto Callisto's silver hair, committing her familiar scent and warmth to memory.
Caressing Callisto's back gently to sooth her muffled cries against her chest, Adela reassured her daughter; "I won't cry anymore. Thank you, Calli. I love you."
"I love you, too, Mama."