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Luisa is sitting at her vanity with her chin in her hand. As is the daily custom, she's waiting for someone to come and help her with her hair.
There's a knock. The rhythm of it tells her it's Tio Bruno. She quietly says, "Come in".
He smiles as he enters, but then looks worried when he sees his seven-year-old sobrina's glum demeanour.
"What's the matter, conejita?".
Luisa sighs. "Isabela doesn't have to have help with her hair. Why does mine have to be so difficult?".
Bruno comes closer. "We're a very curly people - which is no bad thing". Bruno chuckles and tugs one of his own curls, which bounces back like a spring. "Dolores's hair is even curlier than yours and all us grownups had to work out how to get it under control without the noise of the brush hurting her ears. Your hair is just like your mama's, you know. Though she used to have it short when she was younger, like Mirabel. Oh - we could cut yours like that if you want".
Luisa looks horrified. "No! I mean, no thanks."
Bruno holds his hands out, placatingly. "Then we won't cut it", he assures her. "But I am an expert in handling it". He picks up her brush and sets it spinning in his palm. "Curls, waves, coils - I can tame it all. Well, especially since your Tio Félix taught me a lot. So what would you like today?".
Luisa thinks about how Isabela doesn't have to tie her hair up every day. She can even sleep with it loose and it's always smooth and shiny. Luisa has to have her hair up out of the way; otherwise it might get caught in something when she's doing her chores or blow into her face. It could be really dangerous if she was carrying something really heavy and suddenly couldn't see where she was going, and not be able to get her hair out of her face if both hands were full. And it would tangle in the night if she slept with it free. Dolores sleeps with her hair wrapped in a silky scarf; maybe Luisa should start doing that too. And her curls are hard to brush (and sometimes painful if there's a knot) and it's not easy to make it look neat. She knows Abuela looks at her disappointedly if it's lumpy or there are too many stray hairs flying free. Her papa once somehow got the brush caught up in it and her Tio Félix had to spend about 10 minutes carefully unsnarling it. That hurt quite a lot but Luisa tried hard not to cry. She knows if it was anyone else, it would have hurt them more. (Sometimes, not feeling pain as sharply as other people is a blessing).
She practices on her dolls but they all have straight hair. She wouldn't ask Dolores if she can practice on her (not with her super sensitive ears). Mama said she could practice on Mirabel with supervision (but the toddler won't stay still long enough and Luisa's scared of hurting her) or even Mama herself (but there's never time. Mama's just as busy as Luisa is).
She can do a simple bun or ponytail by herself (though not perfectly), but anything more is too difficult. Even her night-time braid has to be done by one of the grownups. Maybe she should let them cut it short...
"I wish my hair was more like Isa's. She looks like a princess", Luisa says, sadly.
"It's true you don't have princess hair", he says, his hands on her shoulders as he stands behind her. Before Luisa's bottom lip starts to wobble, Bruno adds, "You have goddess hair".
Luisa is shocked.
Bruno nods, frantically. "Uh-huh. Your hair is the same texture as a lot of the ancient statues and paintings. L-let me show you...".
He speeds from the room and returns with a couple of books. He opens one and turns some pages. "The three graces! Yes. Oh, not that one - missing heads. This one. That's it! Look!".
He turns the book so she can see. She sees a statue of three women, all with wavy hair like hers in elaborate styles.
"Which would madam like?", Bruno asks.
She looks up at him wide eyed. "I can have one of those?".
"I can try. I reckon I can work it out".
Luisa hesitantly points to the figure on the right.
"Excellent choice, madam".
Luisa giggles.
He parts her hair down the middle and then separates and clips up two sections above her ears and one at the back of her neck. He then makes the rest into two braids above the bottom section and wraps them upwards around her head, pinning them so it looks like a headband on the crown of her head. The two front sections he twists back and around the back of her head, crossing over the crown band and secures them firmly in place. The loose section at the back he then forms into two ringlets that hang down the back of her neck. He figures they won't get in the way too much. He's very pleased with himself and with how like the picture he's managed to get it.
As he's adding more pins (just in case), he says, "You know, we all like that there's something we can still help you with. You seem so grown up and self-sufficient these days. Soon, you'll be able to do it all by yourself but I like spending this time with you now while you still need us. Pathetic, I know, right".
"No", she says.
Luisa supposes if no-one had to help her with her hair, she'd barely get any contact with the grown-ups, she's so busy and everyone seems to forget how young she is. It's good to still have kid stuff. And Tio Bruno tells the best stories (and does the best impressions, especially of Abuela, her mama and Tia) while doing her hair. He also listens to her (she tends to be a worrier and he can always coax her to share what's bothering her. He understands and can sympathize because he's a 'catastrophizer' too) and takes her seriously. It's easy to open up when someone's doing your hair. Maybe because you're not face to face with each other. When she thinks about it, she does enjoy the one-on-one time with all of the adults. Her Papa sings songs with her and gives the best head massages. Tio Félix is really funny and Mama is so gentle. And once Julieta's all done with Luisa's braid before bed, it's the only time they get to have a cuddle, which Luisa loves.
"How about you still let me help you sometimes, even after you're able to do it by yourself, huh?".
Luisa smiles. "Deal".
"All done. Hey, maybe next time we could weave some ribbons into the braids too".
As Bruno shows Luisa her hair in the looking glass, she draws in a deep breath. She breaks out into a huge grin as she looks at her head from all angles.
"Tio! I love it!", she says, spinning around on the stool and throwing herself at him, squeezing him tight. "Gracias mucho".
She then bounces out of the room excitedly to show Isabela and Dolores, Bruno following behind. They coo over her hair, asking Bruno if he can do their hair in a style like that sometime too. None of them have ever had a hairstyle as fancy as this.
When Agustin sees her coming down the stairs, he says, "Bright Galatea quits her pearly bed", which makes her beam with pride. She knows that that's the name of the statue that came to life. She knew her papa would get it. She hugs him too.
When she arrives in the kitchen to help bring the platters and bowls of food out to the table, her mama cups her cheek and says she looks muy bonita. Even Abuela agrees she looks nice.
She has a few chores before school and one of the ladies she helps compliments her hair.
Then, when she gets to school and plunks herself into her seat, the other girls all tell her how good it looks. Even when some of the annoying boys pull on her ringlets, it can't dampen her enthusiasm. They always yank on the girls' pigtails and ponytails. They're such a pain.
After school, Luisa has a few more chores before homework and dinner and she gets some more compliments. When she tells people that her Tio Bruno did it, she gets some unreadable looks. She knows people treat her Tio oddly. Even badly. She's overheard them say some awful things. Ridiculous accusations. But she knows they're not true. For a start, she knows he doesn't make the future, nor would he ever hurt someone on purpose. It's not his fault if something bad is going to happen. Why can't people just be pleased that they got a warning? She makes sure to say that her hairstyle is Tio Bruno's work with pride.
A few days later, it's Bruno's turn to do her hair again. He jokes around with her and fluffs her hair up like a lion's mane.
"No wonder they call you 'leona'", he says. She roars at her reflection and they both chuckle.
"Now your hair's so big, let's do something that works with it".
Bruno shows her a picture of a bust of a woman with thick hair which is formed into a huge towering bun that's bisected around the middle horizontally with a thin band. She has a thicker band wrapped around her whole head with the edges of her hair twisted and tucked into it. He lets her choose a ribbon to use as the band and she picks a thick purple velvet one that was one of the gifts el niño Dios got her for Navidad. She has a few flyaways at the sides but Bruno turns then into ringlets.
The style comes together quite quickly and Luisa loves it. She thanks and hugs her tio again.
As time goes on, whenever it's Bruno's turn, he always brings the books and they work their way through the pictures of the statues, busts and paintings, returning to Luisa's favourites often. He lets her practice how to braid, twist, pin and ringlet her hair herself with his assistance.
A couple of days before Mirabel's 5th birthday, they do a style Luisa's become proficient at; a side French braid and an off centre bun tied with a red ribbon. It turns out to be the last time Bruno will help her with her hair.
Now, every time Luisa ties her ribbon around her bun or weaves a braid or twists some hair into a ringlet, even after 10 years, she thinks of her Tio.