Period.

A small moment of trust in a German pharmacy

Photo by Annika Gordon on Unsplash

“Do you have anything to induce a period?” I asked the pharmacist behind the clear plastic screen.
“Could you be pregnant?” she replied, her seven-month belly pressing against the counter.
I shook my head. “Definitely not.” 

I braced for impact, for the coming bombs of shame and distrust:

The accusations, the ‘are you sure,’ the request of tracking app data and basal body temperature.
The questioning that I can count, that living in the same body for 38 years is enough to become familiar to its rhythms. That autonomy isn’t a dirty word.

But none of it came. 

Instead, the pharmacist sold me a 500g box of red raspberry leaf tea. 

This time, I’m in Germany. 
This time, women are trusted to know about their bodies. 
This time, being late isn’t suspect and inducing a period isn’t a crime.

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Veronica Zora Kirin is a queer Croatian/American writer and anthropologist who studies paradigm shifts. Kirin is cofounder of Anodyne Magazine and the author of “Stories of Elders.” Her short story “The Wife” received second placement in the International Fiction Festival 2024 and is nominated for a 2026 Pushcart. She is currently working on whatever the Muses demand from Berlin. Read more at https://veronicakirin.com/books and @vmkirin everywhere.