Trafika Europe 14 - Italian Piazza

Lessons in Torture and Seduction

entire expanse of days from one menstruation to another, even if it ’s used to describe “those days” – begins al l over again. The l ining thickens unti l the next regular shedding. The problem here is the tissue, known as the endometrium, is outside of the uterus, and under the spel l of hormones has enlarged over the course of this period cycle. And since it has no way to exit the body, it doesn’t get expel led and remains there, becoming a large mass, known as a cyst, which is destined to grow. Before mine burst, it was a large, compound, sol id round mass, about two inches in diameter. Dottore Rombini helps me understand how this fundamental part of me works with arresting clarity. He tel ls me I was lucky because even though the tissue was outside of its normal home, it had managed to find an escape hatch. By rupturing, it sent the blood through the fal lopian tubes. Then the blood, he says, exited normal ly from the…and here he hesitates but I forgive him. I don’t want to seem l ike a megalomaniac but I think he l ikes me, and using as an excuse the possibi l ity that an emergency might come up, I ask him for his telephone number. I glance at his fingers: no wedding bands or secret society rings from some group l ike the Masons. Rombini doesn’t hesitate. In fact, he seems almost

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