Period 101 With My Father
I was an experienced 10-year old
On a diet of wisdom by old men, of old men
And above all, through my old man.
Our Sundays were about tea, talk and think
Conversation flowed as if time on holiday.
On one such day,
I saw my heavy-set father
Crouched between earmarked books
With centrefolds spilling into the bed,
His mirthful eyes, hesitant,
The lines on his forehead, deep with age, coerced.
He brought out diagrams –
Uterus, tubes, eggs.
Eggs breaking,
Eggs floating,
Blood flowing.
He said –
Your body is going to change.
At some chosen hour
Your vagina will pass blood
For few days,
Every month.
He said –
It’s not that scary
It may hurt and you may be sore
But it’s harmless
Like a bump that appears when you hurt yourself.
He said –
It’s a gift really.
It will allow you to have children and a family.
It will allow you to become a woman.
He held my little hand,
Enveloped me in his arms
While I cowered in my safe space
Lining his shoulder with soft sobs.
He looked at me with his worried eyes
And said –
It’s going to be okay.
And I nodded
Of course, it’s going to be okay.
When I will have my period,
I will collect the blood
And give it to those who need it
And then
I will become a woman.
Author- Zainab Kakal
Zainab Kakal reads for pleasure, loves long walks and enjoys a good cup of tea. She writes at A Thought Experiment.
Edited by – Divya Rosaline
