I was with my boyfriend at the park, enjoying the warm, breezy afternoon. We were sitting on the grass, laughing over some inside joke, when a woman appeared out of nowhere. She was in her late 30s, with sharp eyes and a purposeful stride. Without saying a word, she walked straight to me and pressed a sanitary pad into my hand. “You need this,” she said in a tone that felt almost too urgent. I stared at her, unsure what to make of the situation. I wasn’t on my period, and I had just checked in the restroom a little while ago. But her eyes seemed to demand a response, so I looked down at the pad, feeling a strange chill creeping up my spine. “Thanks?”

I managed to say, confused, but she was already walking away, disappearing into the crowd without another word. I tried to shake off the odd encounter, but my instincts told me something was wrong. I excused myself and went to the restroom to double-check. No period. Everything was normal. But as I returned to my boyfriend,