After signing an autograph for the last flight attendant, Julia Roberts finally breathed a sigh of relief, ready for the plane to take off. "The Parent Trap" had wrapped filming, and just a day earlier, Marcy had informed her that the "Hook" production would be on a one-week hiatus due to funding issues. This meant she didn't need to rush over immediately and could perhaps give herself a little break once she got home—maybe even take a few days to relax and go out with friends.
With that in mind, she suddenly remembered something. From her small handbag, she pulled out a tiny card. It depicted a beautiful English manor and was inscribed with one of Shakespeare's sonnets in elegant handwriting. She recalled that when she first received it, the ink had barely dried. Julia found herself softly reading the sonnet:
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."
What an interesting person, she thought. Unlike most men she had encountered, he was polite yet had a distinct personality—courteous without being overly formal, and very attentive. Even the sonnet on the card was written in American English. Although they had only spent a few days together and had limited interaction, he had left a remarkable impression on her.
As she was lost in thought, a voice softly interrupted her: "Want some advice?"
Julia turned, slightly startled, to find Catherine, who had been staring out the window since they boarded, now gazing at her intently.
"What advice?" Julia asked curiously.
The little girl shrugged, saying, "Cherish life, stay away from Frank."
"Oh, darling, how can you say that about your uncle?" Julia said, half-amused.
"I'm just telling the truth. My dear uncle is a notorious playboy," Catherine said, shaking her head.
"Cathy, that's not something you should be discussing," Julia said, stunned.
"Because I'm only 11?" Catherine pouted.
Julia thought for a moment and said, a bit helplessly, "Alright, we're just friends. We didn't even exchange phone numbers."
"That's what they all say. All physical relationships start with just friends," the little girl muttered.
"What did you say?" Julia didn't catch it.
"Oh, I said if you insist, just pretend I didn't say anything." Catherine grinned, then hugged Julia. "Okay, I won't bother you anymore. I'm going to take a nap."
With that, Catherine reclined her seat and lay down to rest. Julia shrugged, feeling the girl had something on her mind. But since Catherine didn't want to talk about it, Julia didn't press her. She asked the flight attendant for a blanket, covered Catherine, and then picked up a book to read.
Though Catherine lay on her side with her eyes closed, she wasn't really intending to sleep. Just as Julia suspected, she had something on her mind. It was a unique concern, one that no ordinary little girl could have—why did her heart race when she was close to Jessica or Kate, but not when she was with Julia? Did this mean she didn't "love" Julia?
In fact, that was exactly the case. She didn't have that kind of "love" for Julia! More accurately, she didn't have that desire-filled "love" for her. Catherine was very aware of her inner world. If she hadn't understood this a few days ago, she had a clear realization after "The Parent Trap" wrapped. She could calmly analyze herself and concluded two things: first, she was indeed starting to go through puberty, with increasing hormones; and second, she would always be a female with a male soul.
Regarding the first point, it goes without saying that it is common sense that women develop earlier than men; and the second point is already a fait accompli, and there seems to be nothing to say, but these two points are combined and it is troublesome.
Everyone knows that when a child begins to develop, the changes in secondary sexual characteristics will gradually become obvious. In fact, these are simply sexual maturity. Because of the sexual maturity, there will be more things in the interaction between men and women. This is actually very normal, but for a girl with a male soul, this is undoubtedly a disaster.
When I was still a child, no matter how mature I was psychologically, I didn't have the concept of sex physically, so it didn't matter if I took advantage of Jessica or Kate. At most, it was a play between girls, but now it's different. You have to know that the little girl was a pure little otaku who only watched adult videos and masturbated in a certain matter. When she was with a girl, she could only hold hands. If such a person hugged his sexual fantasy object one day, who knows what would happen!
Yes, that's right. Both Jessica and Kate were once the objects of his sexual fantasies. Big Mouth Sister just admired them, so she blushed and her heart beat fast when she was intimate with Jessica. Besides, Jessica is still a lovely lolita now. You know, every otaku has a little lolita complex in his soul. To be honest, sometimes I have to sigh that the human spirit is so powerful. Even if the female body is stimulated by female hormones, as long as the soul is male, there is still a great yearning for certain things.
What a disgusting question! Catherine roared in her stomach, I am a girl now! A girl! ! But she didn't think it was convincing at all - as long as she thought that she might marry a man in the future, have sex with him, get married and have children, she would feel like she was about to pass out.
There will be a way, there must be a way! Before she fell asleep, she kept repeating this sentence in her head.
*************************************
Life seemed to return to its usual routine: going to school, coming home, and spending weekends playing with Jessica. As for that issue, Catherine had pushed it to the back of her mind. Since it couldn't be resolved, she chose not to think about it for now. After all, as an "adult," it was quite simple to control her feelings with reason. However, the closeness she once shared with Jessica had noticeably diminished.
A few days later, this routine came to an end. By mid-June, summer vacation was about to start. In the past, Catherine would go to a girls' summer camp for about half a month or three weeks. It wasn't particularly fun, and she only went because Jessica went too. However, this time, she decided not to go. Living, eating, and bathing together in the camp might be manageable for her alone, but adding Jessica into the mix, who knew what might happen? So, she decided to stay home for this vacation.
"Darling, is something bothering you?" her mother asked, sitting beside her.
The little girl stopped playing the piano, closed the lid, and sighed internally before casually responding, "Nothing, Mom."
"Come on, Catherine, your worries are written all over your face." Susan hugged her and patted her little head.
Catherine remained silent, her thoughts occupied by Jessica. She remembered Jessica asking her three days before going to camp, during their visit to the amusement park, "Cathy, what's wrong? Why does it feel like there's suddenly something between us?"
But what could the little girl say? She hadn't anticipated Jessica would be so sensitive. She could only reassure her that nothing was wrong, maybe she was just tired from a month of filming.
Jessica clearly didn't fully believe her, and she looked at Catherine with what could only be described as a look of wistfulness until they got home. This made the little girl's heart race uncontrollably.
"Mommy, can I have my own secrets?" the little girl asked softly, snuggled in her mother's lap.
"Of course, but if you ever want to talk about anything, you can always come to us," Susan said lovingly, patting her back. Then she added, "Darling, how about we go on a trip?"
Catherine looked at her mother in confusion. They had traveled before, but it was usually to visit grandparents in New York or London, or with other relatives. As for their yacht, it was more often used for hosting parties.
As if reading her daughter's thoughts, Susan winked and said, "Just the three of us, like a regular family."
"Really?!" The little girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Will Daddy be free?"
"Of course, I promise," her mother answered with a reassuring smile.