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awakened a desire in me to know more about Mozart.
    You were holding a copy of Femigirl magazine.
    It was sent to all elois’ homes when they turned six. It had romantic stories, written in the simplest sentences, about elois competing for the same masco, and one girl would always get him in the end through feminine wiles. There were pictures of elegant weddings and instructions on ladylike behavior and proper dress. Your lips moved when you read, painfully, slowly making your way through the stories, but you waded through every issue again and again.
    I understood for the first time—sharply, painfully—the depth of the difference between us.
    I couldn’t help noticing that for a long time your favorite game was wedding.
    I wasn’t the prince or the knight in our games anymore; I was the groom. You would don a pillowcase veil and clutch a crumpled bouquet of dandelions and cow parsley, but the light in your eyes showed how real it all was to you. You didn’t see a sister beside you; you saw a future where you would be supported and safe, sheltered by undying love.
    I’m sorry I couldn’t give that to you.
    Your sister,
    Vanna ( Vera )

“LITTLE REDIANNA”
    Eloi Girls’ Best-Loved Stories
National Publishing (1951)
    Once upon a time there was a very pretty, very good little girl who was always obedient and kind to everyone. She liked pretty clothes, and she especially liked the color red. That’s why everyone called her Little Redianna.
    One day Little Redianna’s mother asked her to bring some medicine to her grandmother, who was sick. So Little Redianna put the medicine into her basket and set off for her grandmother’s house. On the way there she met a wolf. The wolf told Little Redianna that she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He said he wanted her to be his wife.
    Little Redianna told the wolf she couldn’t marry him because she liked her grandmother very much and she wanted to bring her some medicine. Then she continued on her way. But the wolf found a quicker way to the house, and when he got there he ate her grandmother up. Then he put on her grandmother’s nightgown and lay down in the bed to wait for Little Redianna.
    When Little Redianna arrived at her grandmother’s house with the medicine, she noticed that her grandmother looked strange.
    â€œGrandmother, what big eyes you have,” Little Redianna said.
    â€œThe better to see you with, my dear,” said the wolf.
    â€œGrandmother, what big ears you have,” Little Redianna said.
    â€œThe better to hear you with, my dear,” said the wolf.
    â€œGrandmother, what big teeth you have,” Little Redianna said.
    â€œThe better to gobble you up and make you a part of myself and keep you as my own for the rest of my life,” said the wolf.
    Then the wolf leaped out of the bed and threw off his wolf’s skin, and Little Redianna saw that he wasn’t a wolf at all but a handsome prince.
    â€œBecause you didn’t obey me and agree to be my wife, and decided to bring medicine to your grandmother instead, I’m not going to marry you,” said the handsome prince, and he left Little Redianna at her grandmother’s house, and she never, ever got married.
    The End
    Dear Manna,
    It was inevitable that we would grow out of our games.
    You won’t remember this because you weren’t there. I was twelve and I was working in the garden on a hot day, wearing a bikini. I noticed Aulikki glancing now and then at my bikini bottoms and it was obvious that there was something she wanted to say.
    â€œWell, what is it?” I finally asked.
    â€œIt’s, um . . . that.”
    I looked down at my crotch. Aulikki pointed at the little curls of blond pubic hair peeking out of my bikini. I thought it was interesting that it was curly when the hair on my head was naturally straight.
    â€œYou have to shave,” Aulikki said.
    â€œIs there something wrong