A Graduation Gift

Cassandra and Maggie left the company and drove to the A City together.

While inside the car, Maggie kept on trying to call her uncle. In spite of several tries, she kept on getting the busy signal. This left her frustrated and irritated. Cassandra noticed the worry on Maggie's face.

"Don't look so troubled. The cell is not turned off at least, be glad. This could be due to the poor signal. It is normal since A city has been severely affected by the earthquake. They must still be working on restoring signals,"

Cassandra tried to soothe her.

"Thank you for coming with me, Manager Qin!"

Gratitude was evident in Maggie's eyes. She had no idea what would have happened if Cassandra hadn't been kind to her. This wonderful woman granted her the permission to leave work midway and then also drove her to the A City. It wasn't easy to find such a helpful and understanding boss hence Maggie was completely touched.

"If you really want to thank me then just take a good rest at the back. Then you will have enough energy to find your uncle when we get there, alright?"

Cassandra replied, smiling. She looked at Maggie's reflection in the rear-view mirror to check whether she was resting.

Listening to her words, Maggie finally leaned back in the seat. Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved her eyes from Maggie.

The closer they reached to the A City, the more congested it became.

Cassandra noticed that the road was cluttered with several vehicles moving here and there. Some were delivering relief goods; some were rescue teams of volunteers; and some were here also in search of people like Cassandra and Maggie.

It usually took a six-hour drive to reach A City but today it took longer because of the commotion.

It was already pitch dark when Cassandra finally stopped the car. She parked the car and observed the surroundings. She noticed that it was a small township, and there was no inn here. Due to this, they decided they had to spend the night inside the car. When silence was about to fall, Maggie began to speak.

"My uncle loves me as much as a birth father would love his child. He would make it a point to bring me everything that he gets for his kid, my cousin. In fact, he never ever made me feel left out."

Speaking of her uncle, Maggie had a lump in her throat.

"Hey Maggie, don't get sentimental. Your uncle is going to be alright!"

Cassandra comforted her. At this point, Vernon flashed through her mind. She thought about the treatment she received from him. In spite of being her birth father, Vernon couldn't even give her the love that Maggie's uncle showered her with. 'Or is it because there is something wrong with me?' Cassandra couldn't help thinking.

Her thoughts went back to the summer vacation when she was in the second year of junior school. She remembered the day so vividly like it was yesterday.

Cassandra was fully prepared for that day for it was Vernon's Birthday. Etched in her mind was an idea to make a birthday cake, thanks to her culinary class in school. She had bought all the ingredients in advance, hoping to surprise her father.

As all the family members were taking a nap at noon, she tiptoed into the kitchen and began to fly about in order to work on her surprise cake.

Cream, flour, milk... Cassandra followed the recipe in her memory and made a sponge cake batter successfully. She was about to open the oven to put it in when she heard a little voice.

turned around, Cassandra found Cloris, dishevelled and sleepy-eyed,

are you up to,

asked in her sweet voice. She was so

I am making a birthday cake for Dad. I wanna

finger against her lips, motioning for her sister not to talk

a moment or two, a

you are making a cake for dad, then what should I do?" she

stood by Cassandra. Eagerly

of excitement lit up Cassadra's eyes as an idea crossed

mother often cooks it for him. How about you fry an egg for

skills sprung into Cloris's mind. And she was

enthusiastically, "It is a great idea! Let's cook

and then she stretched on her toes to open the door of the refrigerator. In her tiny hands,

into the bowl. I will teach you

before she turned back to

The sponge cake mixture was in her arms. Just when she was about to open the oven, she

"Aaaah!! ... ..."

disturbed the whole house. Cassandra whipped around and the sight made her drop the cake pan. It fell on

how the pan on the gas stove managed to catch on fire. The kitchen was smoky from the whoosh of flame coming from the pan.

sudden. Vernon and Edith rushed inside

was a big distance between them and the kitchen. On the other hand, Edith put the lid on the pan in haste and

back to soothe her. All the while Cassandra was gazing agape at the mess on

was going

in a

shudder with fear. She dropped her eyes and bit her nails out of anxiety. Panic had overtaken her and she

Edith shook her head and let out a sigh. By now she had given up the hope to get an answer from Cassandra and went on to

did the

used a gentle voice.

Cassandra asked me to fry egg..."

all over Vernon's face as he saw Cloris's tears

can you let your sister touch the gas stove? I cannot believe you asked her to do such a dangerous thing! Do you consider her

how upset he

don't touch those stuff in the kitchen anymore, okay? Come on poppet, daddy will take you out and we will do something

out his hand and took Cloris's hand before leading her outside.

towards Cassandra and let

kitchen. She is still a little child. You have no idea how heartbroken we