My Red

"Finally!! I yelled in happiness. Dashain was about to start. It was autumn. My mother had promised to take me to my sister's place. "Just wait for tomorrow, dear" she said to me as I was continuously asking her to go early. "Aghhh!!" I groaned in irritation. "When will this night end? Ahhh, why so long?" I woke up early the next morning. "Mom, wake up", I called out my mom who was sleeping peacefully. "Why so early? Wait till afternoon", said my mom. I was very excited to visit my sister's home for her little son. I love my little brother a lot. I was so fond of playing with him. I reached in the afternoon. I stayed there for some days. My sister called me, "Aanchal, come to take the bathe." "Aww, wait here for some time, I will be back", I told my little brother and went to bathe.

"S-s-sister, o-once c-c-come, here-re", I stuttered with so much awkwardness. "What happened?", she asked me standing at the bathroom door. I wrapped a towel around my body and opened the door. "What happened dear?", she asked me. I showed her my underwear which was all red, looked like blood. She just stared me blankly and said that my period had started. She called my mom immediately.

A series of questions were reeling in my mind. "What happened to me? Why do I bleed? Where do I have wound in my body? If the blood came from wound, why didn't I know earlier? Shall I visit the doctor immediately? What if the doctor asks to have the injection? Oh, No. "Thousands of questions made my head heavy and ache started. I felt like my head was about explode and heart was pounding heavily. My sister consoled meto be calm and wait for mom. She helped me to use Sanitary Pad after bath. I waited for my mom.  I was feeling that it had been years that I hadn't seen her.

I was nearly about to cry. Then, my mom arrived. She was looking at me proudly like I had won the war. "Hey!! Don't worry. Now, you have grown up a little more. Just chill". My mother tried to comfort me. I sighed in relief that I would not have the doctor."It's called menstruation. From now on, you will bleed every month. You will need to take care of yourself. You should maintain hygiene and take nutritious food and enough rest. IT IS NATURAL. You are not impure. It has proven that your growth is normal. You have to use pads during menstruation. It will be little bit difficult in the beginning. ", she hugged me tight and kissed in my head. I felt like it was the most comfortable zone of the world.

She reached to her bag and began to search something. I looked at her curiously. She gave me bubble blower. Soon, a big smile was plastered on my face. I was fond of blowing bubbles since my childhood. I blew the bubbles in the air. With those bubbles, I blew my anxiety, awkwardness and fear about menstruation.

"This article by Aanchal Shrestha is the First Prize winner in the competition held recently by BBC Nepal during the 13-day Training on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights."