Tolsty
Allie watched from the front window as a new woman moved in across the street. Her garb was strange but she carried herself so beautifully that the girl was entranced with the person. The woman and the movers went in and out of the house, with boxes big and small in the house.
To welcome the woman to the neighborhood, Allie’s mom, Allie, and her brother Tim went over with a homemade pie in hand. The woman greeted her neighbors and accepted the pie graciously. She gave a bowing curtsy and said something in a foreign language. When asked what she said, the woman replied,”It’s basically means thanks a million, in American”. And on being introduced, the woman smiled and said they could just call her auntie.
The summer came and Allie and Tim began to play outside. As the two kiddos were experimenting with water guns, Allie’s mom came out of the house and remarked that the two children needed a haircut sooner or later. At that moment, as if on que, the new neighbor came strolling up to the family gathered on the front lawn.
”I hear your children need haircuts to ‘beat the heat’ as you Americans say”,she beamed casually.
”Ah, yes”,the mother of two replied,”Do you know how to cut hair? I was just going to take them to the salon”
”I know how to cut hair for the summer”,the angular woman grinned,”And you need not worry about money, I do it for free”
”Oh wow”,Allie’s mother gushed,”Allie, Tim, follow your auntie over and have your hair cut. I’ll be over in a minute, okay”
Begrudgingly, Allie and Tim went with their auntie over to her house. The woman ushered them into the house and into the kitchen. She told them to wait there as she grabbed her things. Allie and Tim looked around the place and wandered out of the kitchen to explore. The place had an Asian continent esthetic to the interior. As Tim neared the living room, and Allie was still admiring the china in the dining room, the children heard a booming voice.
” I told you to wait in the kitchen!”Auntie grabbed Tim by the collar and dragged him into the kitchen. Allie also entered the kitchen, fearing auntie’s wrath.
Auntie glared at them both, making the children ashamed of their unauthorized exploring. Auntie seemed to calm down after a minute, she took out a short stool from under the sink and placed it before the two.
”You, boy”,auntie pointed to Tim and then at the stool,”Sit”
Tim cautiously sat down on the stool and auntie wrapped a towel about his shoulder and pinned it with a clothes pin. The woman fingered through his head of dirty blonde hair that coated his head thickly. She took a spray bottle, filled it with water, and practically soaked the boy’s hair. Her right palm flattened and smoothed back Tim’s damp hair. Auntie opened a box on the counter and took out a folded up straight razor.
”Let us get cleaned up, no”,auntie said as she unfolded the the blade. Tim watched as she walked up behind his sitting frame and felt one of her slender fingers tilt his chin up. With precision, the woman took a strip of Tim’s hair all the way back through his nape where it cascaded down to the tiled floor. Allie watched as her auntie whittled the dirty blonde strands off her brother’s head. Slowly but surely, Tim was shaved in a matter of minutes. The woman folded up her razor and put it into her pocket. Auntie felt up Tim’s hairless scalp and took the pin out, letting the hair accumulated on it to fall onto the floor.
”Very good summer cut”,auntie proudly proclaimed, nudging Tim off the stool,”Now you, girly”
Allie froze in place which made auntie mad and caused the girl to be manhandled onto the stool. Auntie gathered up the girl’s dirty blonde tresses and pinned it all to the back of her head. She wrapped the towel around Allie’s shoulders and secured it with the clothes pin. The woman grabbed a comb, unpinned the the girl’s hair, sectioned off her crown from the rest of her hair, and pinned the crown in place. Allie watched as Auntie pulled the razor out of her pocket and felt the woman’s hands tilt her head down. She felt the blade slightly tugging on her hair in the back and as the tugging continued, Allie could feel the draft more and more.
”Oh my!”came a surprised voice from the kitchen’s border. Allie’s head shot up, to the annoyance of Auntie, to see her mother standing there.
”She sure do work quickly”,the mother said to Auntie,”I can see you already have Tim done”
”Yes, ma’am”,Auntie nodded proudly,”Work fast to get it all over with no fuss”
”I do have to commend you”,Allie’s mother stroked Tim’s bald head,”He looks much better and more suited for the weather”
Auntie silently agreed as she came around and started to clear the hair off of Allie’s right side. She then did the same to the left side of the girl’s scalp. Allie looked to her mother, who was standing patiently, as if to ask her to stop the madness but the matriarch didn’t. She just watched on as Auntie unpinned the crown and started to spread it evenly over the girl’s head.
”I have her down in no time”,Auntie said,”I bring her over when she is done”
”Oh, alright”,Allie’s mother said, beginning to usher Tim out of the kitchen,”Sweetie, auntie will bring you home when your haircut is done, okay”
Allie couldn’t say anything because her mother and Tim made their way out of the house very quickly. All she could do was hear the snipping of scissors as Auntie cut around the circumference of the girl’s head. Auntie then trimmed the bangs she cut and the other ends before taking the clothes pin out.
”Right, missy”, Auntie took the towel off, shaking the stray hairs bound to the cape free to fall to the floor,”Time for clean up”
Auntie grabbed a broom and dustpan and gave them to Allie to sweep up the cut hair. The girl swept up her and her brother’s dead hair and threw it into a trash bin. She rubbed the back of her smooth neck nervously as Auntie looked her up and down with a critical eye.
”You shouldn’t wear boy’s clothes”,Auntie cut through the silence of her examination,”People will confuse you with your brother. Come, I have some feminine summer clothes you can wear”
Allie followed behind Auntie up to the guest room. The woman dug into the nearby closet in the room and put a very girly sundress on the guest bed. She told the girl to dress and left the room to give Allie the charity of privacy. Reluctantly, Allie took off her shirt and shorts and slipped on the sundress.
She went downstairs where Auntie inspected her again, and the woman gave a nod,”Very much better”
