A Year Without Snow

-15-

Saturday, 10th December 2016 - 1st part

I made my way down the sidewalk. The sky above was set in a dark shade, black clouds moving above me, holding up the rain that was bound to fall on Oak Hollow's roads. The brown and orange leaves immersed the streets, on the road, the sidewalk, on top of cars, everywhere but on the trees, that now stood vulnerably and melancholically naked.

I spotted the establishment that I was looking for and while hugging myself I pushed open the door that had an 'Open!' sign on it. And as soon as I stepped in, a warm wave of heat reached my skin making me sigh with relief. In front of me stood around twenty people, most seated and a few walking from one side of the roam to the other in a great hurry, all women.

One of the women spotted me, she had gray hair with a thin smile and big alert eyes, "Oh, Daisy, dear." She said in her usual steady and confident tone while making her way towards me.

"Hello," I replied giving her a smile as she briefly hugged me and unexpectedly began to take my coat off my back.

"Let's get you out of that jacket, here's not cold, now is it?" She asked but not in a questioning tone.

She hung my brown jacket on a hanger next to many other winter coats.

"Come now." She commanded and guided me towards one of the chairs, "You haven't been here in so long. I hope you haven't replaced me."

"No, never, Mrs. Carson," I assured as I sat down on one of the big red chairs, looking at her through a mirror that stood in front of me.

"Then that mean that you've been careless with your hair." She stated while putting a latex cape around my neck.

"Well..." I began saying but didn't know how to conclude so I just smiled.

"No problem, dear." She assured me and began running her hands through my hair, "So, what's it going to be? One inch, two?"

"By the shoulders," I answered and she frowned.

"A bob cut?" She asked and I nodded, "You've had your hair this long since I can remember, are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"A decided young woman, that's how I like it."

After washing the hair, the cutting began.

And a half an hour later I was surrounded by locks of brown hair and in front of me stood a reflection that I could hardly recognize.

"Oh, would you look me at this? It favors you. Makes you look older, and at your age, I bet that's all you want." Mrs. Carson observed.

We made our way to the counter and after I paid her and she gave me my coat she came to hug me and asked me, "How's your mother?"

"She's doing good, working a lot," I answer while putting on my coat, my back feeling colder from the lack of hair.

"Now, that's what I call a self-made woman. Let me tell you, I admire your mother a lot. Like I did your grandmother." Mrs. Carson said and smiled pensively.

"She admires you too," I replied, and it was true, my mom and Mrs. Carson used to be really good friends until my mom started covering more shifts.

"Look at how heartfelt the conversation got. And how's my Rafael? Behaving himself at school, I hope?"

"Yes, he is," I replied shyly not really sure what to say.

"Well, go on, now. But see if you come around more often, I saw there too many split ends!"

As I came out into the cold again, I realized that it was true I hadn't gone to the hairdresser for almost three years, and as I made my way to my grandma's old storehouse I understood something.

I thought before coming here that I would get emotional seeing a third of my hair fall into the ground but I only felt relief. Because like everything I did nowadays, it meant letting some other parts of me go.

Petal by petal, until all the dead skin had latched out and there's nothing left then the person I craved to be.