Ophelia said as she opened the box and took out a white sanitary pad.
“Menarche doesn’t happen just once. It lasts for several days. Even though the flow has lessened now, when you sleep at night, your body relaxes, and it can easily leak out. Do you want to wake up in the middle of the night, find yourself lying in a pool of blood again, and then wash the sheets once more?”
That sentence struck Merlin right where it hurt.
“Ugh…”
Merlin’s mind instantly flashed back to the bedsheet she had soiled this morning, the argument with Ophelia about it just now, and Ophelia’s reddened eyes.
That kind of awful experience, that kind of embarrassing thing—once in a lifetime is enough! No matter how shameful, it’s still better than staying up all night to wash sheets.
“I understand…”
Merlin, like a deflated cat, drooped her little head and obediently accepted reality.
Seeing her daughter finally being well-behaved, Ophelia nodded in satisfaction. Then, under Merlin’s gaze, she reached out from the pile of freshly washed clothes beside the bed that hadn’t yet been put into the wardrobe and picked out one of Merlin’s little panties.
Pure white cotton fabric, with a lace trim around the edge and a small light blue bow embroidered in the center, full of pure and innocent girlish vibes.
Of course, Ophelia had bought them for Merlin. Let that Merlin go buy her own panties? Just thinking about it was impossible. Even if she did buy them, what if she ended up buying those dark, ugly men’s boxer shorts? Then it would be Ophelia’s turn to be speechless. So it was better for Ophelia to buy them for Merlin. It was no big deal, and she could pick styles that suited Merlin.
At that moment, this intimate item was held between Ophelia’s two long, fair fingers, openly displayed in the air.
Merlin felt all the blood rush to her head, her ears red to the point of bleeding. Those were… her panties! Just being held in her mother’s hand like that—the shame was comparable to public execution!
“M-Mom! What are you doing with that?!”
Merlin couldn’t help letting out a wail and tried to snatch them back, but Ophelia dodged.
“What’s wrong… Didn’t I buy these for you? Don’t move, watch.” Ophelia’s expression was calm, completely ignoring her daughter’s shame and anger.
She laid that little pair of white panties flat on her knee, elegantly and calmly.
“First, peel off this layer of sticker…”
With a soft rip sound, Ophelia tore off the protective paper on the back of the sanitary pad, revealing the sticky side.
Ophelia pointed at the crotch area of the panties and patiently instructed, “Watch carefully, Merlin. This has a front and back. The wider end goes to the back, the narrower end to the front. Then, align it with the narrowest part in the middle of the panties and stick it on flatly…”
Merlin was so ashamed she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground and cover her eyes with both hands, but she had to watch through the gaps in her fingers, enduring the heat on her face, and carefully observe every move Ophelia made. After all… if she didn’t learn, she’d have to ask Ophelia to do it for her next time, and that would be even more embarrassing!
Ophelia’s fingers skillfully smoothed over the pad, pressing it perfectly onto the soft cotton fabric without leaving a single wrinkle.
“After sticking the middle part, it’s not done yet.” Ophelia pointed at the two extra “little wings” on the sides of the pad. “See these side flaps? You need to fold them back and stick them on the back of the panties. This will secure the pad, no matter how much you toss and turn while sleeping, or even roll around in bed, it won’t shift, and it won’t soil the sheets or panties.”
As she spoke, Ophelia carefully folded and stuck the flaps, her expression focused and serious.
Looking at her mother’s face full of intellectual beauty, and then at the little panties with the bow that belonged to her, being fiddled with in her mother’s hands, a complicated and indescribable emotion welled up in Merlin’s heart.
‘So this is… what it means to be a girl? Is this what a mother is?’
“Alright.”
Ophelia checked it over, confirmed it was stuck firmly and smoothly, then raised her head in satisfaction. She held out the little panties to Merlin.
“Here, go change into them.”
Merlin looked at the panties, like a train about to depart, starting to emit steam. Damn it! Couldn’t she be more tactful? Just handing them over like that! She quickly reached out, grabbed the panties as if they were a hot potato, turned around, and dove into the bed covers.
“I-I know! I’ll change now! Stop staring!” Merlin’s muffled, exasperated voice came from under the covers.
Watching her daughter’s back as she burrowed into the covers, Ophelia couldn’t help but chuckle. “Take your time changing. After you’re done, you’ll have to stick one on by yourself, okay?”
“You’re so annoying! I can do it myself!”
“I know, it’s not hard, I got it after seeing it once, Mom, stop talking!” Otherwise Merlin would die of embarrassment!
Merlin’s comprehension was still excellent. Afterwards, Ophelia took out several more pairs of panties for her to practice, and Merlin actually managed it. Finally, this embarrassing topic could be put to rest.
Merlin flopped limply onto the bed. Today had been a day of ups and downs. She was just about to go back to school, and then this had to happen.
At that moment, Ophelia also flopped onto the bed. Every time she fought with Merlin, it was so tiring. Although Merlin had become much more girly and sensible than before, it had only gone from very difficult to just difficult.
She turned sideways to look at her daughter, who was sprawled like a lump on the pillow. “Merlin, do you still plan to go to school in a few days as originally planned?”
Although Merlin was a bit listless, she still enunciated clearly, “Of course I’m going.”
Ophelia nodded. “Indeed… if you can go, try to go. It’s also part of being a girl. You can’t take a few days off every month when those days come. At most, take some medicine to avoid strenuous exercise.”
“Feeling better after taking the medicine?”
Merlin nodded. “Except for lower back pain, almost no discomfort.”
“That’s good… Take another dose before bed. I specially went out today to buy the ingredients and make it for you.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
Ophelia quietly looked at her daughter. “Really, you can be sweet-tongued once in a while… What’s the use? I’d rather you rely on me more, and when I’m teaching you, you could be less stubborn.”
Merlin nuzzled into Ophelia’s embrace. “I know, aren’t I very obedient now?”
“Hmph, how many days do you think you’ll last?”
“What do you mean by last… It was just too sudden this time, I wasn’t ready. It won’t happen next time.”
Ophelia pulled her daughter into her arms. “I hope you can keep that promise.”
“Meow.”
“I give up on you.”