Chapter 2: Three Words on a Folded Slip of Paper
I stepped inside Linda's house on shaking legs.
She led me to the kitchen table without a word and set down a small folded piece of paper in front of me.
"Emily gave me that this morning," Linda said quietly.
"Before we went anywhere near a salon."
My hands were trembling as I unfolded it.
It was Emily's handwriting.
Careful.
Deliberate.
Like she had written it more than once before getting it right.
*Grandma, I need you to cut my hair.
Please don't tell Mom why.
She'll fall apart.
Just tell her I wanted a change.*
I looked up at Linda.
"Why would she—"
"Keep reading," Linda said.
"There's a second note inside."
I hadn't seen it.
A smaller slip of paper, folded twice.
I opened it.
Three words.
Three words that made the room tilt.
I grabbed the edge of the table.
"Linda." My voice came out barely above a whisper.
"How long have you known?"
She pressed her lips together.
Her eyes were wet.
"Since last Tuesday," she said.
"She made me promise not to tell you.
She said she needed to do it herself.
In her own way."
"She's twelve years old."
"I know."
"She's TWELVE, Linda—"
The front door opened behind me.
I turned around.
Emily was standing in the doorway.
She had followed me.
And the look on her face told me she already knew I had read the note.
---
May you like
What those three words said — and why Emily made that choice alone at twelve years old — will break your heart and change how you see this entire story.
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