-TWENTY-THREE-

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"Okay, what is in front of you right now?"

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"Okay, what is in front of you right now?"

"Two glasses of water."

"Very good." I praise. "Alright, pay attention, My Love."

She nods.

"This glass of water symbolizes your private area," I explain. "When you take the tampon, you push this little stick thing and it should—" I push the tampon into the water. "— do that, but inside of you. It doesn't hurt at all and it might be a little uncomfortable at first."

"What does it do?" Sy asks curiously.

"It absorbs all the blood your body is letting go of." Not exactly but the kid's five, I'll save her the details.

"What if I don't want to do that?" She tilts her head to the side.

"Well, I'm glad you asked." I pull the pad from my pocket and begin to explain with the other glass. "This one absorbs blood too, you attach it to your underwear—" I connect it to the counter. "— and the blood starts leaking—" I pour the water onto the pad. "— and it soaks it all up."

"So that's all?"

"Not really." I shake my head. "You have to change it every 3-5 hours and when the blood leaves your body it hurts certain areas of you, you'll be in pain."

"I don't want that." She says, a little scared.

"Don't be frightened, Mi Hermosa Hija," I assure her. "It'll all be over in about a few days depending on the person, you're my strong girl."

She smiles. "I'm your strong girl."

"Remember that."

"What else should I know about periods?" She seems almost eager to know more.

"Nothing else, except it helps if you have a good boy—"

"Ew," She sticks a tongue out in disgust. "I don't need a boy, they're gross and don't know how to do anything. All I need is my best friend Maria, you, Zia Lori, and my other Zia's, Zio's, and Tia's."

"If only you'd stay like this forever." I sigh. "No Sy, eventually you'll want a boyfriend and you'll want to do big girl things with him... or, you'll have a girlfriend. Who knows. You'll start getting annoyed with me so I can't take our limited years together for granted."

"Limited? What's that mean?"

"It won't last forever."

"Yes, it will." She furrows her eyebrows. "You'll stay forever, you're Mamá. You have to. Promise me."

I attempt a smile. "Promise what?"

"You'll stay." She looks worried. "Forever."

"I promise." I hold out my pinkie. "I promise I'll stay forever."

"I love you, Mamá."

"I love you to infinity, Mi Hija."

"Okay good." She grins. "Why do I need a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

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