304 Purpose In Life

Catherine was in the living room, sitting in her favorite place in the sofa when Agnes the Psychotherapist arrives to see her.

"Hello Catherine, I see, you finally get out of your shell, welcome back to the real world!' said Agnes cheerfully.

Catherine looked at her and smiled. 

"You remember everything already, right?" asked Agnes.

"Yeah. Too bad I also remember all the pain that pushes me to the edge of darkness," she replied.

Agnes sighed and patted her shoulder. "I know, I'm sorry you have to remember everything. But hiding in the farthest corner of your mind won't help you in the long run. You were just delaying the inevitable by running away from the pain and the truth. What made us human is our ability to feel emotions such as pain, joy, anger, regrets and so on. The world we live is a cocktail of emotions and experiences thrown together, there is no hiding from it, we have to experience it all whether we like it or not. Believe me, people who experience the most pain will become better persons after their ordeal than those who don't. Pain has these unique ingredients that will help you equip yourself with the inner strength to survive anything and everything that life will throw in your path. It's impossible to exist in this world living with pure happiness only. You have to experience everything. I just hope that you will become a much better person after your painful ordeal. Continue to live for your son, if you can't live for yourself, live for him. Give him a meaningful life. That way you will have a purpose in life."

The whole time the Psychotherapist was talking to her, Catherine maintains her silence she understood every word that came out from Agnes' mouth.

"Did you understand everything I said to you, Catherine?" asked Agnes.

Catherine nodded her head. "Yes, I understood everything, thank you!"

Agnes smiled at the younger woman. She took a piece of paper from the pocket of her shoulder bag and wrote something on it. "Here's my phone number. Call me anytime if you wanted to talk to me about something. Or if you need someone to talk to, okay?"

Catherine accepted the piece of paper. "Thanks, Agnes," she said.

"This will be my last visit to you. All I can say is that pain and suffering need to be faced head-on so that you can easily overcome it. The sooner you can accept the pain, failure, and mistakes done by your loved ones, the better for your early recovery. Don't hold grudges inside your heart, it will only push you down. It will make you miserable in life and prevent you from enjoying life to the fullest. Consider life as a book, every page has its own story to tell, do not stop reading in the middle because there's something you didn't like, continue reading the next page because you will never know the next page can bring a smile to your face. Every episode in our life is precious we have to treat them as an adventure." Agnes poured her golden advice to the younger woman as their parting message.

Catherine smiled at her warmly. "Thanks, for dropping by...Agnes."

"I will go now, Catherine. Do take care of yourself. Don't forget to talk to me if you need someone to talk to," said Agnes.

"Okay, I will," replied Catherine.

Agnes rose to her feet and enveloped Catherine in a friendly hug. "Just continue to be strong, everything will turn out just fine," then she walked away heading for the door.

Catherine watches Agnes' fading form until it disappeared behind the closed door.

She focused her gaze on the beautiful view of the ocean. Agnes advice continues to drill inside her mind and heart. If she can't escape John's clutches then she might as well jump into his skin for survival.

'Don't hold grudge inside your heart, it will only push you down.'

'Don't hold grudge inside your heart, it will only push you down.'

'Don't hold grudge inside your heart, it will only push you down.''

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

Minerva sat down beside her on the sofa. "Are you feeling better now?" asked the nurse.

Catherine blinked her eyes a few times.

"Yes. I just want to ask some advice from you. What is the best way to ask for money from John? I never ask for money from him. It's kind of awkward, he isn't my husband yet," she asked.

Minerva was dumbfounded for the first time. She scratches her head. She never had experience asking money from the opposite sex. She always earns her own money. "I dunno. I guess you have to devise a way how to do it, in a way that he won't think that you are a gold digger," said the nurse jokingly.

"Okay. I guess I have to do it on my own then," said Catherine.

"Good luck dear. You know Sir John better than I do. Just don't make it sound that you are desperate for money. Learn to improvise and be creative, use your head, my dear," said Minerva.

Catherine nodded her head. "I will do my exercise routine downstairs after lunch," she said.

"Okay. What food you would like to order later for lunch?" asked Minerva.

"Potato soup, fish with coconut milk, and I also like Creamy Rosé Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes," said Catherine.

"Okay. I will order them for you. Anything else?" asked the nurse.

"That's all, I will go now inside my room to take a bath," she said and turned around heading towards the master's bedroom.

"Don't forget to drink your vitamins!" Minerva reminded her.

"I will," she answered.

Inside the bedroom, Catherine spends twenty minutes luxuriating in the bathtub, soaping her entire body. She closed her eyes and dream of her imaginary world which is ten times better than her reality. She can still remember everything so vividly inside that cave. She sighed.

She caresses her protruding tummy. "How are you doing inside my tummy, my son?" she murmured.

She was rewarded by a kick on her abdomen from the inside. "Awww, baby, can't wait to get out and see the world, eh?" she smiled while talking to her belly.