My sister opens her room"s door herself for me when I come and knock it. She looks cheerful this afternoon, makes me wonder what the cause of her good mood."Henry! Come in, I already expecting you to come"
Her eyes shone when see I"m not come to her room empty handed, the potato chip container in my hand surely incite her curiosity but she just takes my arms and leads me to enter her room.
"You look in good mood, sis, is something good happen?"
"Hu um, I also think today I feel very happy, Henry"
Look at her cheerful expression, I wonder if I should tell her about her fiancé arrival or not. Consider with her feeling about him, talking about him already make her depressed. I need to discuss this with her at the right time, in careful ways.
"Tell me about that, sis. Is that because of me?"
"Mmm…you"re also part of it, Henry. Let"s sit down and talk, don"t just stand like this. Aren"t you going to tell me what is in that thing on your hand to me?"
My sister drags me to sit on the chair in her room.
"Oh, this is something I just made to accompany our talk, sis"
"Aw, what is that Henry?"
"Please take a look by yourself, sis"
I handed her the container full with potato chips which she opens it immediately to see what the content inside. She picks one slice of potato chips after the lid open.
"Henry…this is potato, right?"
"Yes, it is potato chips. If you feel hungry but it"s not time to meal yet, you can consume these potato chips to appease your hunger"
My sister put the potato chip on her mouth and starts to chew it.
"Mmm…this is good….mmm…nice…mmm…tasty"
After the first chip disappears into her belly, her hand already pick the second…then the third potato chip and put it on her mouth. I add more salt to seasoning this potato chip because it seems my sister like a strong flavor, and it seems my guess is not wrong. My sister is stopping her eating on her tenth chips because she realizes I watch her eating while smiling at her. She bashfully apologizes to me about her behavior.
"Sorry Henry…I"m being carried away with this potato chip"
"It"s okay sis…I"m glad you like it. That"s mean my works to make it is not wasted and add more happiness of yours"
"Ah yes, I haven"t told you why I"m so happy today. Well, it"s started since I wake up and had breakfast, it"s the first time I"m eating such soft bread and that hamburger is taste so good. I feel so pleased with today breakfast. Then you visit me with that curry dish which also tastes good, giving me an alternative how I"m supposed to live in the future, and….."
My sister pauses her words for a moment. She seems a bit hesitant to continue.
"And at lunch today, auntie no longer scolds me again like before. It makes me no longer need to eat in my own room. I can meet our father and you more often Henry"
Although I feel that"s not what she wants to say before, I"m not pushing her to say what in her mind before. If she wants to tell me, she will tell me. If she wants to keep it as her secret, then let it be. I also have secrets that I"m not ready to reveal to anyone yet.
"I"m glad you can reconcile with auntie, sis. It feels something is off when there"s friction between family members."
"Mmm…also after lunch, Claire is visiting me. You know Henry…I"m surprised when Claire suddenly lift her skirt and show her underwear to me. I"m quite shocked because when Claire said "sister Eliza, I want to show you something" I thought she only wants to show something usual or ordinary. Who knows she suddenly lift her skirt and show me her underwear. Only after I see the underwear she currently wears and she said "sister Eliza, thanks for making this underwear for me" I realize that underwear is the one you ask me to modified yesterday"
"Hahaha…please forgive her for her boldness, sis. She really likes the underwear you made for her"
"Mmm…I don"t mind about that. I must admit that modified underwear really make Claire looks s.e.xier. What makes me more surprised is Claire said she currently has her periods coming and maybe you already know what women wear during their periods, right?"
I just nod to confirm her question without interrupting her story.
"Of course that makes me curious, how can she wear that kind of underwear when she having her periods. That"s when Claire suddenly lowered her underwear and shows me the pad on it. If I"m not seeing a faint blood trace there, I will doubt Claire is having her periods now. She told me that it"s you who give her that pad, I even get envy how lucky she"s to become your girl. But that only last after Claire ask me "sister Eliza, when your periods comes? Henry also want to give you this pad but he too shy to ask you directly about that", when I hear that I feel happy because my brother didn"t forget me"
My sister stops her talk and looks at me with compa.s.sionate eyes.
"How can I forget my dear sister, I know women"s periods is a hard time for them. It"s just I don"t have much of that pad so I can only give to people who close to me"
"So, that"s why you also ask me to make one for myself yesterday. Why you don"t ask me directly about this Henry?"
"Hmm…well, you see…sometimes to discuss womanly matters, it should be done by woman and woman. Besides, Claire always wants to make herself useful for me, so I a.s.sign her to do this job. I can"t ask Clara to do this you know? She wouldn"t suddenly lift her skirt moreover lowered her underwear and show it to you, would she?"
My sister giggling when hears my explanation.
"You"re right Henry…I can"t imagine if Clara will able to do that to me"
"So, next time your periods come, tell Claire and she will help you use that pad for the first time. It"s actually simple to use, you can put that pad by your own after you see how to use it once"
My sister smile wide and sweetly when hearing my words. Her hand takes my hand and grips it tightly.
"Thank you, Henry….you know, this pad is more meaningful than jewelry or gold. It"s something that women need during their hard times"
"You"re not going to ask me where I get that pad from, sis?"
"No, if you want to tell me, you will tell me about that earlier. I already satisfied that you did not forget your sister over your girls for such convenient stuff"
We take a break for a moment to enjoy some potato chips and tea together before continue to discuss party host matter and her fiancé arrival.