The Pill

It had been 2 years since Melissa got married and moved from Chicago to Arizona. Her younger sister, Michelle, kept in contact with her but hadn’t seen her since she moved.

When planning a vacation, Michelle decided to visit her sister during the winter. She had missed her sister and wanted a break from the cold Chicago temperatures. She looked forward to spending time with her sister in the warm Arizona temperatures.

When her plane landed at the airport, Michelle made her way off the plane. As she walked through security, she could see Melissa in the distance.

From a distance, it appeared Melissa had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, but as Michelle got closer, she was surprised to see the mid-back hair her sister had when they lived in Chicago was now cut into a short pixie.

The sisters embraced when they met and looked at each other. Michelle couldn’t help noticing her sister’s hair and asked, “ What happened to your hair?” Melissa giggled and replied, “I

cut it.” Michelle stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how Melissa could have done such a thing.

The sisters spent the rest of the day catching up. After dinner, while drinking wine, Michelle asked her sister, “Why did you cut your hair so short?” Melissa explained that the blistering hot desert heat made her mid-back hair unbearable. Over the past 2 years, she’s been going progressively shorter.

Opening another bottle of wine, she explained that the following day, she had an appointment to get a trim.

Michelle admitted she thought her sister looked amazing with a pixie; however, she’d never have the guts to cut off her long hair.

The following day, Michelle awoke with a pounding headache. During breakfast, Melissa told her sister to relax, for she planned to have Michelle accompany her to her 11 a.m. haircut appointment. Afterwards, they would go to lunch.

After breakfast, Michelle showered and readied herself to go out, but she still wasn’t feeling well. Before they departed, she decided to go into the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and take an aspirin for her headache.

But when Michelle opened the medicine cabinet, she didn’t see any brand-name aspirin. There was a bottle marked Diazepam, which was marked for muscle spasms. Michelle figured it was a pain reliever and took a pill, then headed out, unaware that she’d just taken a generic Valium pill.

Driving to the salon, Michelle began feeling very relaxed. The effects of the Valium began to take effect. She became very agreeable. No matter what Melissa asked her, she agreed to it.

The sisters entered the salon and met the receptionist. Michelle looked around aimlessly, as Melissa confirmed her appointment and introduced her sister. When the receptionist confirmed Melissa’s appointment, she noticed a cancellation and asked if Michelle wanted the opening.

Melissa, seeing Michelle wasn’t paying attention, asked her sister if she wanted to get her hair cut. “Sure,” she replied with a slight slur.

The receptionist then called for 2 stylists. Melissa greeted her usual stylist and introduced the other stylist to her sister. Both girls were then taken to different sides of the salon to get their hair cut.

Melissa sat down to get her hair washed. Having a small amount of hair to wash, she was done quickly. Michelle’s hair, being mid-back, took longer to wash. The Valium began to give a feeling of sedation, and she found herself having a hard time staying awake.

Meanwhile, Melissa’s stylist towel-dried the hair. Once dried, her stylist asked, “How do we want it today?” Melissa replied, “Let’s buzz the back and sides like you wanted to do last month.” Her stylist smiled and replied, “Good idea, you can go longer without needing a trim.”

As the stylist began cutting Melissa’s hair, Michelle’s stylist finished drying and combing the hair. She said to Michelle, “You have a lot of hair. It reminds me of when your sister’s hair was this long.” Michelle, in a state of euphoria, simply said, “Yeah….”

The stylist, not knowing her state of mind, said jokingly, “How about we cut your hair as short as hers too?” Michelle, in total agreement, replied, “OK…”

The stylist, a bit surprised at Michelle’s response, confirmed by asking, “You want your hair cut like your sister’s?”  Michelle, clearly not in her right state of mind, said, “Yeah….”

The stylist then walked to the other side of the salon. She saw Melissa’s stylist buzzing the back of her head. Seeing how short Melissa’s hair was, she decided to ask Michelle one more time before she started cutting.

She returned to Michelle, who was now starting to fall asleep. She woke Michelle up saying, “Late night last night?” Michelle, in a semi-slumber, said, “Yeah….”  The stylist replied, “Don’t fall asleep now, we’re about to cut off all of your hair like your sister’s, right?” Still sedated, Michelle simply replied, “OK”.

With a final confirmation, the stylist proceeded to make quick work of Michelle’s hair. She hacked off large chunks from the back and the sides, sending a sea of hair to the floor. All the while, Michelle sat lifeless, unfazed as to what was happening.

With the bulk of the hair removed, the stylist began to section the back and sides of Michelle’s hair from the top.

She then attached a number 4 guard to her clippers, pushed Michelle’s head down, then began running the clippers up the back of her head.

As the clippers mowed through her hair, sending a vibration through her scalp, Michelle let out an audible “mmmm” sound. The stylist told her, “If you think that feels good, wait until you feel how it is without all that hair on your head.”

The stylist continued on with the haircut, reducing Michelle’s hair from mid-back to just 1/4 inch on the sides and back. As she turned her attention to cutting the top, Melissa, who was now done with her haircut, came around the corner.

Shocked at what she saw, Melissa shouted out, “OMG! You cut your hair!” Michelle, not comprehending the gravity of the situation, simply smiled and said, “Yeah….”

The stylist explained that Michelle asked for her hair to be cut just like her sister’s. Since Melissa was standing nearby, the stylist was able to look at her and give Michelle the exact same haircut as Melissa.

At this point, Melissa could sense something was wrong with her sister. Michelle seemed so aloof. She had a faraway look in her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

When Michelle’s cut was complete, Melissa paid for the 2 haircuts and escorted her sister to the car. Once inside the car, Michelle fell asleep. When they arrived home, Melissa and her husband carried Michelle into the house and laid her in bed.

Later that night, Michelle finally awoke from her drug-induced slumber. She still felt groggy, but was more coherent. Melissa heard her sister when she woke and went to her bedside.

Melissa asked, “Are you OK, sis?” Michelle looked confused and said, “Yeah, I had the strangest dream. I dreamt  I went to a salon and cut off all my hair like yours.” Before Melissa could answer, Michelle suddenly noticed Melissa’s hair was shorter and said, “Wait, did you get your hair cut?”

Reality began rushing in as Michelle remembered she was going to join Melissa at the salon. She placed her hand on the back of her head and felt the velvety bristles of hair where her long locks used to be.

In shock, she jumped up from the bed and ran to the bathroom, where she coherently saw her new haircut for the first time. Seeing her reflection, she screamed out in horror.

Melissa joined her in the bathroom and tried to console her sister. Michelle demanded to know how this happened. Melissa explained, “The stylist told me you asked to have your hair cut like mine. You were acting very strange.”

Michelle was very confused. She told Melissa that she had no recollection of asking for a haircut and wondered if she was drugged. Melissa thought it might be possible and asked if she remembered taking anything.

Michelle replied, “I only took 1 aspirin.” She opened the medicine cabinet and showed Melissa the bottle of pills. Melissa looked in shock and said, “You took these?  This isn’t aspirin, it’s VALIUM!”

Michelle looked at her sister and groaned, as it all made sense. She was full of regret that there was nothing she could do. She decided to go back to bed and sleep off the lingering effects of the Valium.

Days later, the feelings of regret and remorse left Michelle. She began to like how she looked with a pixie cut and loved how easy it was to maintain. However, when she returned home, the feelings of regret returned as she no longer had her long hair to keep her warm. The cold Chicago winds blew around her exposed ears and neck, chilling her to the bone.

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