The Intriguing Emotions of Ford

Chapter Twelve: Unexpected Visitors

Paru and I were on our daily walk with Neon, while Morgy attended to his farm chores. She skipped down the pathway, humming and smiling. It was a nice feeling to see her so joyful. It would've been great if my parents gave me that sort of attention and happiness as a child. Instead, they forced me to study and become polite, courteous and intelligent. 'All girls fall for a brainbox,' they'd tell me. Well, so do some men...

"Papa Paru! Can we stop for a moment? My tummy hurts..." Neon wrapped her arms around her stomach, doubling over. We both rushed up to her; Paru had an idea of what this could be. He leaned over to me.

"It can't be...? It's way too early..."

"It's possible... She has been developing faster than the other girls at school. She's nearly ten now. We've got to accept that she's growing up."

"We can't jump to conclusions, Ford. Let's just get home, eat lunch, and hope it's just a hunger pang." I nodded and we led our daughter home.

"Ooh! Ooh! Can we have spaghetti? I loooove spaghetti."

After lunch was complete, Neon grabbed our hands and took us all outside, including Morgy, to play a game of tag. Now, I'd normally refuse, due to my fear of sweating, but I wanted Neon to have a happier childhood than I did.

"Tag, Papa Ford! You're it!"

"Aaaahhh!" Morgy bolted out of the way of me.

"You can't escape me, you three!" When I came close to Neon, I slowed down to give her a chance. "Oh, just missed you!" She suddenly stopped in her tracks, doubling over again.

"Ow..." She sat down on the field, clenching her stomach. "I don't feel hungry this time..." Morgan wasn't sure of what had happened, and ran to her side at once to comfort her. "Help me, Papa..." He scooped her up and carried her inside to lay her in her bed.

"We need to check something. How do we go about it?"

"I'll do what my mother did when it happened to me. We'll tell her we're going somewhere, get her to change her clothes, and we can tell from them." We explained the situation to Neon, and she shrieked halfway through. We burst into the room to see her panicking.

"PAPA! What is that? I'm scared, Papa...!" She grabbed me and cuddled me tightly. Paru inspected Neon's skirt and found a small, red stain at the back.

"Oh, my darling girl. Do you know what this means?" She shook her head nervously. "...It means you're growing up."

"Welcome to the adult club, Neon!" She giggled and cheered.

"But, what is it anyway?" We all looked at Paru, the only one who could explain it without feeling embarrassed.

"You see, this is called a period. To girls like you, it happens every month. You'll bleed a tiny little bit, but it's nothing to worry about. I have them too. You'll need some of these." Paru grabbed some of his sanitary products and put them in a little cupboard.

"Looks like I'm providing them for two, now! I'll have to get some more stock!" I chuckled. We were all grinning, but Neon's face told a different story. "What's the matter, Neon?"

"Nothing... I'm just... Just scared of growing up!" She burst into tears without warning. Paru rushed to comfort her and wrap his arms around her while she sobbed. She wasn't ready for this; why did it have to come now? How would she cope? Nobody else in her class had it yet; she'd be singled out. Is this how parents feel when their children are struggling?

While we were comforting our distraught daughter, Morgy was speaking with a mysterious figure at the front door.

"Hey, what do you need?"