A Day in Menopause · A Hormonal Comedy by Nurit Rozenblat
Chapter Nineteen: 23:41 — The Room Is Spinning. I Didn't Order That.
At 23:41 Dana woke up.
She didn't know if she had slept or just pretended to.
Her mouth was dry.
She wanted water.
The bottle by the bed was empty.
"Of course," she whispered. "Why would it be simple?"
She sat up on the edge of the bed.
Waited a moment.
And then she stood up.
That was the mistake.
The room moved.
Not much.
At first it only tilted a little to the side, like a crooked picture.
And then it spun.
Dana reached out a hand and grabbed the nightstand.
"Stop," she said to the room. "Stop right there."
The room didn't listen.
She sat back down on the bed, too fast, and the bed received her with a little bounce.
Eyal woke up.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
"You're sitting up."
"I'm sitting up because the room decided to take a spin and I wanted to watch it up close."
"What?"
"I'm dizzy, Eyal. I got up too fast and everything spun."
He sat up at once.
"Are you okay?"
"Better now. If I don't move, the world behaves nicely."
"Don't get up. I'll bring water."
"See? That's why I married you."
"For water?"
"So there would be someone to bring it when I'm holding on to the nightstand."
He came back with a glass of water and sat down beside her.
"Drink slowly."
She drank.
"Still spinning?"
"Less. Now it's only rocking. We've been upgraded from dizziness to a boat ride."
Dizziness when getting up can happen when blood pressure drops for a moment as you stand up too fast, the voice said. After a whole day without enough sleep, maybe without enough to drink either — the body reacts more slowly.
"He says I got up too fast," Dana said.
"You always get up too fast."
"And he says I didn't drink enough either."
"That's what I told you in the evening."
"True. But from him it sounds medical."
Some women report dizziness during the menopause transition, the voice went on. Sometimes it is connected to fluctuations in blood pressure or to broken sleep, and sometimes there are completely different reasons — like a problem in the inner ear, a sudden change in the position of the head, anemia, or medication. Dizziness that keeps coming back, or that comes with fainting, chest pain, an irregular heartbeat, or weakness on one side — requires a medical checkup, and if there are emergency signs, urgent help.
"You heard that?" Dana said. "If it comes back — we get it checked."
"With you everything is 'if it comes back, get it checked.'"
"Because everything comes back, Eyal. That's exactly the problem."
He smiled.
"Do you need anything from the kitchen?"
"No. I need the bathroom."
"Then I'll walk you there."
"You are not walking me to the bathroom."
"I'll walk you to the door. Escort service."
She got up slowly.
In stages, this time.
Lying down.
Sitting.
Waiting.
Standing.
"You learned," Eyal said.
"My body is teaching me today at a private-lesson pace."
He gave her his hand.
She leaned on it on the way.
"How's the room?"
"Standing still. It probably got scared of you."
"Good. Let it stay that way."
When she came back to bed, Eyal had already put a full glass of water on the nightstand.
And another bottle.
"Two?"
"One for you, one just in case."
"And for you?"
"I sleep. I don't need any."
Dana lay down and looked at the ceiling.
The ceiling stood still.
"That's it," she said. "Everything is stable."
"So sleep."
"I'm trying. This is the second day in a row that I'm trying."
"Since yesterday."
"I know what day it is."
He turned off the light.
It was 23:58.
Dana discovered that it is possible to get out of bed and only make it as far as the nightstand.
Eyal discovered that an escort service is also a marital job description.
And the room?
It went back to its place.
Until the next ride.
End of Chapter Nineteen.
Continued in Chapter Twenty: 03:17 — Who Turned On the Oven? Again.
© 2026 Nurit Rozenblat. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed without the author's prior written permission.
