An early morning in the small town of Graytown, the street lights have just been turned off to make room for the dawn sun and a new day begins. Summer is coming to an end and autumn is making itself clear. It is the beginning of September and the summer holidays ended a few weeks ago.

A fifteen-year-old girl named Penny Englund sleeps in one of the many yellow houses in the suburb of Graytown. She does not know that the day ahead of her will be one she will never forget. An old-fashioned alarm clock is ticking on the bedside table next to the bed. The clock is a few seconds from half past seven and the silence is broken abruptly when the clock starts ringing. Penny moves her hand to the clock to turn it off. One more day, then it's finally the weekend. Just one more day, then I can turn you off, you little monster, she thinks as she sits up in bed and puts her feet on the heart-shaped carpet. Her gaze is fixed on it for a moment and her attention disappears. The carpet is light pink. Would that shade look nice as a nail polish? She wiggles her toes and hugs the fringed carpet with them a couple of times. She then shakes her head as if to regain focus.

She walks to her closet and looks at herself in the mirror. Her long unbrushed hair shows clear signs that it is time to mess with the hairbrush again if it is not to end with a lot of difficult tangles. She picks up her favorite necklace, pulls it over her head and fingers instinctively and unconsciously with the pendant, an orange stone the size of a walnut. She opens the closet, constantly fingering the stone. It has meant a lot to her ever since her mother had told Penny that she was adopted when she was a baby.

It had not been a sad conversation, although her mother had been afraid that Penny would be sad. Penny had found the necklace in one of her mother's drawers and mother had told her that Penny had been wearing it when she was found as a baby. If she wanted to, she could have it now that she knew everything.

Penny picks up a pair of white pants and puts them on. Mother had been trembling for a long time that day, she said. Would Penny feel that she was not loved now? Or would Penny not love her mother anymore? Would Penny feel jealous that Lisa was not adopted but that Penny was? Mom is still mom, no matter how hard she may be, no matter how fussy and dizzy she may seem sometimes, she is still Penny's mom who she loves very much. It was not like with their father who left them before Lisa was born, Penny knows nothing about him at all, she was only two years old when he disappeared from their lives. It's always been just Penny, Mom and Lisa.

She puts on a pink tank top and then brushes out her brown hair. She had been more than a little worried when she informed her mother that she was going to cut a sidecut. Mom hadn't made a fuss about it, but on the contrary helped Penny shave off half her hair. It was much cooler during the summer.

She sighs and goes out to the bathroom. She never gets the short side in order. She soaks the short side hair and tries to get it in place. Then she takes a bottle of hairspray and sprays her hair with it. Okay, it looks decent now. Maybe she should shave her hair again? It's been a while since last time.

She leaves the bathroom and goes to the kitchen where her sister, about two years younger, Lisa is having breakfast. Lisa's long reddish-brown hair is in two braids and she has her nose in her mobile and a half eaten ham sandwich in her hand. Loud music comes from Lisa's phone. Penny tries to ignore it and opens the fridge. She's been standing there for a while. She usually eats cornflakes in the morning, but she doesn't feel like it at the moment. Maybe she should make a sandwich instead?

"Good morning," says Lisa. Penny gets more and more annoyed. Lisa knows that Penny doesn't like too many impressions. Both hearing, sight and touch are hard for Penny to cope with, yet Lisa always listens to her music without headphones.

"Good morning", Penny answers shortly and the music continues to play. "Can't you use your headphones?"

Lisa looks up and smiles teasingly. Lisa usually seems older than twelve, almost thirteen, but sometimes Lisa's age shines through.

"Why? Does it bother you?" she asks, raising the music further.

"Please stop! Why are you doing this?"

Lisa lowers the volume on her mobile again, but to as high as before she raised it.

"Try to be nice instead and you will live happier."

And what is that supposed to mean? Penny thinks annoyed.

Then she sees the empty bread bag that is crumpled next to the butter package. Penny stops and stares at Lisa, who takes a few sips from her juice glass and doesn't seem to notice anything.

"Did you eat all the bread?"

Lisa glances at the bread bag and shrugs.

"It seems so."

"Okay, today I actually wanted a sandwich too," Penny says in her calmest voice.

"There are cornflakes," Lisa states, pointing to the pantry.

"I know, but maybe I was not hungry for it today?"

"You always eat cereal otherwise, is it my fault that I did take bread before you?"

"Why does that matter? You could have thought of saving some slices."

Lisa turns off the music and shuts down her cell phone.

"Excuse me? How could I know you wanted to make a sandwich today? Step up in time instead next time."

Penny tightens her hands. She must remind herself to breathe.

Their mother Daniella enters the kitchen. She rubs her tired green eyes and some black unbrushed curls have not come up in her knot are hanging down her cheeks. Danielle's gaze, directed at Penny, reveals that she heard the sisters' fight.

"We can buy more bread this afternoon, Penny, and you'll have it for breakfast tomorrow. Okay?"

Penny looks annoyed at her mother, then at Lisa. But no, that's not okay. Yes, Lisa obviously could not have known I wanted a sandwich today, that's true. But it's still unfair and Lisa wanted to fight when she did not lower her music. And what if I should step up earlier? Lisa may not like to sleep but I do. I can not help that I get annoyed but if I say something, everything would only get worse, I know.

Penny draws in air with her mouth, counts to five in her head and then exhales slowly through her nose while she mentally counts to five again. She reminds herself to be calm. Calm. She fingers the stone around her neck, it usually calms her.

"Okay," she replies shortly.

With a reluctant sigh, she picks up a package of cereal from the pantry.

At the same time as the Englund family is arguing over bread, a cat is walking around the quiet streets in Graytown. It looks like it's looking for something. The reddish-brown fur shimmers in the morning sun and a small tuft of orange fur on his head moves in step with his steps.

Some early risers walk past the cat. One of them sees it and clicks a little with his tongue to catch its attention. The cat stops and looks at the person giving a smile before commenting to his friend how cute the cat is. The cat gives off a meow and the person meowa back to it. The cat moves on calmly.

Apart from these few people, it is almost empty on the street. If you could understand the cat, you would have heard it speak for itself:

"It's been years since I came here. My days of searching just feel longer. And the nights, they're starting to get cold again. Lately I've had to remind myself of my mission. I have to find the Princess, nothing else matters until I do it."

For fifteen long years he has been searching for his Princess. His search has led him across most of the county. It was by pure chance that it ended up in Graytown where he continues his search.

He wishes there was an easy way to find the Princess. But his magic has become weaker and weaker over the years. He has no approach other than to walk around and try to recognize the Princess. Just recognizing her would have been easiest to do in the first years when the memory was at its strongest and the Princess had still had a child's body shape. Over the years, the task became more difficult. What if he walks past the Princess and does not recognize her? To be on the safe side that he should not miss her, he walks around among people and talks. Ordinary people hear him meow. The princess, on the other hand, will hear words. So he talks and watches people's reactions.

The cat stops at an overflowing garbage bin. Food scraps have fallen out and are thrown around the ground. He sniffs a little at the leftovers but quickly turns his head away. He reminds himself how unworthy it would be to take food from the ground.

"Don't even think about it! As a royal adviser, you should not sink so low," he says reproachfully. With a high head, the cat continues to walk. "I must face this challenge. No mortal need may stop me in my mission!"

However, his stomach does not seem to agree and growls loudly in protest. With a sigh, the cat sits down and puts its paw on his stomach. It has still been a few days since he last ate, at a family that it managed to charm. But now the family had gone on a vacation and he made sure to sneak away before they could take him. The cat was not allowed to get stuck in one same place, even though he often considered living as a family cat and thus abandoning both his mission and his desire to come home. He is ashamed to feel that way. It just feels so hopeless sometimes. How will he manage to find the Princess?

With a sigh, the cat continues its walk.

He must never forget why he is here. He must never betray his promise. Too much depends on him succeeding in his mission; The princess must be found. Only then will he finally be able to see his home and family again.