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Show 5 8 I did what she asked. Since I had no mind of my own, it seemed, I might as well obey Hilde too. She led me to the small open space behind the Meinersing house. "Sit on this rock," she instructed me, wrapping a cloth around my shoulders. "What are you going to do?" "I am going to cut your hair. See, I've borrowed Mother's scissors - they were part of her dowry so I must be careful of them." She tilted her head and looked at me critically. "Your hair is so ragged and straggly, you look as though it hasn't been cut right in ages." "It has never been cut right at all," I said. "When it gets too long, I hack off the ends with a bakery knife." "It looks it." "Did Gast tell you to do this?" I asked. "What difference does it make? Sit still while I comb out the knots so I can see where to cut." The comb pulled my hair at first, but then her fingers became so light and gentle on my head that I relaxed and began to enjoy what she was doing. The scissors made little snip, snip noises as bits of my pale hair fell to the ground. More and more pieces fell, looking like yellow bird feathers. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, leaning my head back toward Hilde. After a long, pleasant while, she brushed my neck with her hand and announced, "All done." "So soon?" I blushed when I realized how disappointed I sounded. |