The Cat's Tail

"Do you remember when I said all Adela needs is time and she will surely accept you?"

Callisto did not forget what her father said.

"Well, I may be the one who ran out of time, and... I got us kicked out of the house."

"Huh?"

Callisto stared blankly at Raymond, completely lost for words. But what exactly happened? What did Raymond do?

Apparently, just a couple days after the tests on his daughter were conducted, Raymond went and visited Adela on her office at the White Lotus Trading Co. in an attempt to convince Adela that the person she called a monster was, in fact, her daughter.

*

*

*

"Please, Raymond, I have no time for nonsense," said Adela with her hands busy doing paperwork.

Just from the tone in her voice, Adela clearly had no intention of listening to whatever her husband was trying to burn into her mind. But Raymond had other plans.

"The Mutated DNA Fusion doesn't work the way you think it is. It simply transforms Callisto's faulty genome into a harmless one by introducing another mutated DNA into her own DNA. It changed her physically, but it's still her. Why can't you see that?"

Eventually, Adela ran out of patience with Raymond.

"That's it! From now on, you are not allowed to set foot in the house! That goes for her, too."

And that was how Raymond managed to get Callisto and himself banned from entering the Mandjet residence.

*

*

*

Raymond looked straight into Callisto's eyes and asked, "Will you forgive me for my impatience?"

That right there was when Callisto figured out what her father was trying to do when he came to talk with Adela about her.

It wasn't because he ran out of patience with Adela refusing to accept Callisto no matter what. After all, Raymond was the person who knew what his wife needed was the time to figure it out herself.

Even if Raymond hadn't done anything, Callisto knew that she or both of them would get kicked out of the house one way or the other. The young girl's father did what he did because he didn't want his daughter to feel at fault for getting kicked out of their home.

Callisto thought she could be wrong. But whatever the case, the young girl learned to appreciate her father even more.

"Of course," she answered Raymond. "You only did what you thought was best. But I guess Mama really is a tough nut to crack."

Raymond found himself agreeing to his daughter's statement.

"But don't worry, she will accept you. I promise you that."

Beaming a hopeful smile, Callisto responded, "Yes. I can't wait for that."

.

.

.

Not long after Callisto took the last bite out of her breakfast, Raymond continued to speak, revealing another reason why he came to his daughter's room.

"Do you know what day it is today?"

"Uh... friday?"

Right after she answered, Callisto wiped the small blob of mayonnaise stuck to the side of her lips and licked it off her thumb cat style.

"Today's the day you're getting discharged."

That's right. Since Callisto is awake and is in good health, there is no reason for her to stay in the hospital any longer.

The young girl find the news worth celebrating. However, there was one problem preventing her from doing so.

"Mama just kicked us out of the house, so... where are we staying?"

"I'm glad you asked."

Raymond pulled out a 10 inch tablet in front of Callisto, showing her a long list of places where she and her father could stay for the time being.

"I don't really mind if you want to stay here in your room for the time being, but it'd be a good change of pace to be in a more comfortable place, don't you think?"

Raymond handed his tablet over to Callisto who then proceeded to browse through the list.

"I know some luxurious hotels around here where we can stay for a while. But if you want something close to our house, you can also check them out in that list. Choose whatever you like."

"I understand."

The young girl took her time to scroll down the list. What she was looking for wasn't just the one that was close to their house, but also one she would find rather interesting.

Eventually, the young girl would find the one that would put her searching finger to a stop.

"Hm?"

Unlike most luxury hotels and apartments that filled the list, the one apartment that really took Callisto's interest was rather ordinary. And the reason behind it came from the day she moved to a private room with a television.

*

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*

That day when she moved to another private room in the Mandjet Medical Center, Callisto did not hesitate to do what compelled her to request to her father to move.

And that was to watch the TV.

"It's been a while since the last time I watched shows on the TV. I wonder what's new these days?"

With a remote control in hand, Callisto checked out every single channel in the TV that she could go to. However, out of all the shows she watched and piqued her interest, only one really got stuck in her mind. And that was an anime.

"Amazing. She's living alone in an apartment far away from her parents and works part-time to support herself while also going to school."

The anime was supposed to be about romance. A reverse harem, even. But the main theme of the story wasn't the one that really interested Callisto. It was the fact that the main character was living a life completely different from hers.

Callisto found this part of the story astonishing.

"I... want to be like her."

*

*

*

"Papa, I've made my choice," said Callisto, showing the full picture of the apartment she chose by giving the tablet back to her father. "Uh... Can I try and live by myself?"

For a solid five seconds, the father looked at his daughter, seemingly in shock.

"I beg your pardon?"

Callisto awkwardly looked away. "W-Well, you see..."

The young girl sheepishly explained herself to her father. Before long, Raymond's expression darkened.

"I see... anime, huh."

Noticing the concerned tone in Raymond's voice, Callisto worriedly asked, "I-Is it bad?"

The doctor recomposed himself before speaking.

"Well, I don't really mind the idea, but... you're no longer the same as you used to before."

Raymond expressed his concern about other people reacting negatively once they find out Callisto was no ordinary human, possibly putting the girl in danger.

"I-I guess you're right."

Callisto looked down on the bed as she pictured Adela calling her a monster and other people were joining her. She certainly wouldn't want that horrible imagination become reality.

The father could see it. As much as Callisto understood the concerns of her father, she could not hide her longing to realize her desire to be like the main character in the anime she watched.

Though she seemed to be in conflict, after a while, Callisto managed to sort herself.

"I'm gonna keep looking for a place for us two, then."

Just as she was about to browse through the list once again, Raymond stopped her hand from reaching the screen.

"I did say that it could be dangerous, but I'm not trying to stop you, am I?"

"Huh?"

Callisto looked at her father, befuddled.

Raymond took the tablet from his daughter and gave the exact same apartment another good look.

"Listen to me, Calli. There are a lot of things in this world where they only show what's on the surface and hide what's underneath. Sometimes it's beautiful, but it can also be ugly."

Setting the tablet aside, Raymond held both Callisto's hands firmly as he gave her a piece of his mind.

"If you want to live alone, that is fine. But you gotta let me support you when you can. I want you to rely on me. Do you understand?"

The young girl grabbed on to her father's hands.

"I understand."

Nodding in response to her answer, the father and daughter let go of each other's hands as Raymond stood up.

He took back the tablet he put down on the bed and said, "This apartment in our hometown is where you want to stay, right?"

"Yes. It's my final choice."

With a confident and assuring smile, Raymond replied, "Then leave the rest to me."