The CEO's Painted Skin

~In Catherine's World~

Catherine was swimming in the crystal clear water of the lake. When she heard the whizzing sound of the wings inside the cave, she already knew her visitor was already nearby. The angel suddenly appeared in front of her hovering in the air. His delicate wings were similar to that of a butterfly, the angel was so tiny, the size of her palm. His skin was milky white and he had blue-green eyes, they were pretty mesmerizing to look at.

"Hello, Mother! How are you today?" asked the angel, smiling at her.

Catherine ignored the creature and continues swimming into the deepest part of the lake. When her face emerged above the water, she saw the angel sitting on the flat surface of the rock, surrounded by white calla lily flowers.

She keeps her silence, but her eyes were permanently glued his tiny cute form. Although she already got used to his presence, she still has no desire to talk to him for a longer period.

"Mother, why are you not talking to me?" he asked again.

She had been ignoring the angel. The winged creature would visit her inside the cave and many times it attempted to draw her into a conversation, yet she can't be persuaded. Her mouth remained tight-lipped. She would occasionally talk to him but only in a few sentences. Today is not an exemption.

"Why you keep pestering me here inside my home? You are not welcome here! You always keep disturbing my peaceful world. I don't like you!" she shouted at him.

The baby angel kept his smile plastered on his face together with his cherubic cheeks he was oozing with cuteness overload.

"You are my mother, I won't abandon you. I will keep you company until you will come to your senses and come back with me into the outside world where you truly belong," explained the angel.

"I belong here. You can go anywhere you like, you are not needed here," she ignored him completely.

The angel sighed. "Mother, why you don't want to see my Father?" he asked.

Catherine fell silent. "I don't know who your father is! Don't ask me about him!" she replied angrily. The truth is, she has no idea what does his father look like. But the growing baby bump in her belly told her that she's pregnant, but who's the father of the baby?

If the angel was truly her son? How come he was outside her tummy and not inside?

All these things puzzled her deeply and sometimes her head would hurt when she starts thinking about these perplexing things that were happening around her.

The baby angel grumbled. "Father is waiting for you outside. You have to come with me, Mother. Stop hiding inside this cave. You can't hide here forever. You have to face your fears. You have to talk to father and settle your difference with him before I come out into the world. You have to do it for me, Mother! Please don't be a coward, stop hiding! Come out with me into the outside world! You have to do it for my sake!"

Catherine was picking up some stone and began throwing them at the angel, furious that none of the stone hit her target, she was about to get out of the water to attack the creature aggressively but it already flew away.

The creature had completely disappeared from her sight...

'Come with me into the outside world!'

'Come with me into the outside world'

'Come with me into the outside world!'

It seemed the angel's voice continue echoing in her ears over and over again like a broken record, even if the creature already flew outside the cave's mouth, his spoken words were drilling a hole inside her mind.

A few moments later...when the light from the cave's mouth already faded and the night descended on the entire cave, the angel's voice was still creating conflicting emotions in her mind.

What kind of world waiting for her outside?

Why did she fell into this cave and never wanting to go out?

What she was hiding from?

Was she running away from something?

Or was she avoiding someone in the outside world?

Why can't she remember anything about her past?

The only recollections she had in her mind was the moment when she fell into the void of nothingness, she was surrounded by complete darkness, then her body suddenly made a big splash straight into the lake. The rest of her memories were blank. She stops forcing herself to remember everything, then eventually she got used to her surroundings and live peacefully inside the cave.

If she goes outside the cave, will she ever like the world outside?

If she doesn't like the world outside, can she still go back to this cave which she fondly calls home?

What was waiting for her outside?

There are so many questions swirling in her mind. She tried hard not to entertain those questions but the more she thinks about them, the more she was getting curious what lays ahead of herself outside the cave, those invisible voices in her head were also trying to influence her decision by telling her to abandon the safety and comfort of the cave and venture outside.

Part of her wanted to remain inside the comfort of the cave.

Another part of her wanted to venture outside and see the world again.

The heavy conflicting emotions inside her mind was making her restless.

If the cute little angel will visit her again, she will have to ask him a lot of questions. Before she goes outside she must have an idea what is the world waiting up for her outside.

If she doesn't like the way the winged creature describes the outside world, then she will never come out of her hiding place, she will be contented to stay forever inside this cave she called home. She felt safer here and she doesn't have to think of anything else only herself.

She lay her body in the makeshift bed that was made of leaves and flowers and closed her eyes to sleep.