“How does Callie sound?”
An elegant elderly lady held a book, her demeanor devoid of any impatience, looking just like a lady from a distinguished family.
Pointing to a line, she adjusted her reading glasses and began slowly, “The embodiment of beauty, a vision fair and bright. How about Calista? Calista, Callie, rolls off the tongue.”
An elderly man practicing calligraphy at the side nodded. With a swift movement of his hand, he wrote the word “Calista” on the parchment paper. “Perfect! It's decided, then!”
He beckoned at the little girl at the side, who was only about one or two years old. “Come here, honey bun. From now on, this will be your name!”
The little girl was just as adorable as a honey bun, her cute, rounded face radiating pure innocence. She walked over clumsily.
Calista had an exceptional memory from a young age. She could vividly recall events from when she was only over a year old. She even remembered the color of the clothes her grandfather wore that day. She also remembered it was a beautiful and warm morning, with lovely sunlight filtering through the maple tree forest to stream into the house's courtyard.
Her grandmother covered her mouth as she chuckled. “I hope that young man from the Fairchild family will treat my honey bun with the same affection as her name suggests in the future, cherishing her as his brightest and most beloved possession.”
Perhaps that was also her greatest wish when she chose the name Calista.
The scenes kept shifting, transitioning from her tender childhood to adolescence and adulthood. However, the further it progressed, the more terrifying it became. When the two elderly people who cherished her dearly passed away, it was as if she was also forgotten, becoming someone superfluous.
The scenes grew increasingly terrifying until she began to feel terrified, cry, and run away.
This shouldn't be happening! I'm supposed to... supposed to be treated as the most precious and beautiful possession... This isn't my fate! Perhaps all I need to do is to endure this period, and it'll pass. That must be it...
But she soon realized that the more she persisted and refused to accept her fate, the crueler the world seemed to treat her.
Every time she found herself in a desperate situation, she dared not give up because she knew that the moment she allowed herself to succumb to despair, it would be the end of her for real.
But despite my refusal to give up, why do I still end up in a desperate situation? Why?
A tear slipped out from the corner of her eye, promptly silencing the crowd around Calista. Kallum's heart abruptly clenched. He reached out and carefully touched that single tear, yet felt as if it were molten lava. It didn't just scorch his hand but also burned a gaping hole in his heart.
“What's going on?”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Her Rebirth of Retribution