Surprise Summer Cut by Vedant

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I had always refused to get my head shaved. The summers were brutal but the pride of having hair outweighed everything else.
It was the first day of summer holidays and mom told me: "Guddu, come with me to the market". I looked at my sister and mom said "Let her read her books. you and i will finish some important work and get back". I dutifully accompanied my mother to the nearby market area. I hated going to the market as it was crowded. Reading my thoughts, she asked me - "do you want to wait in Ruby aunty's parlor (it was right on the road to the market) while i go and get things?". I readily agreed. She led me inside.
I knew that this was the place where mom and sis visited for their haircut. I was a bit shy but thought that the cool shop was better than the summer sun and agreed. Since i was a kid, they probably would not mind. My face was red and sweat dripping from my face.
As we entered,there was another lady sitting there. She saw both of us and smiled. The owner of the parlour was Ruby aunty. She welcomed my mom and after hearing her request, said : "Arrey yes. It's very hot". She turned to me and said : "Do you want me to help you feel cooler?. I have helped some people yesterday." My mom gave it a thought and said -"Yes that would be good". . She turned to me and said: "I'll be back.Do as auntie says and don't be mischievious. Your hair has grown real big- maybe you can ask aunty to cut it". I agreed. She stepped out.
Then Ruby aunty gave me a glass of water to drink and after i had gulped that, put a sheet around me and said "My assistant Reshma here can help with making your hair shorter. Is that OK? I will watch". I nodded.
Reshma took over. She was a younger girl and had a ready smile.She shook hands with me and made friends with me. Ruby aunty moved away. Reshma then removed the light cloth over her shoulders to reveal sleeveless kurta.
She then started with cutting my hair from the back. She asked me to bend my head forward and kept correcting the posture. Ruby aunty asked me about school, the last term etc and how i planned to spend my holidays. Meanwhile i noticed that the back of my head felt cooler but the comb was not moving above a quarter portion of my head. Reshma seemed to read my thoughts and asked if i felt less hot. I immediately said that it is better there. Then Ruby aunty said: "Do you want to get relief from this sweating? i'll show you something in that region itself. if you like it, tell me". She then handed a mechanical clipper to Reshma. Reshma skilfully ran it in a small region at the back of my head and now i could feel the breeze. I said that it is really good. She asked "this is very short. Shall i cut it this short?" I asked: " show,I should not look like a fool". She showed a mirror and while the hair looked less shorter than the rest of the places, it was OK. I agreed. Reshma then ran the clipper all over the backside.I enjoyed the rubbing of the clipper on my head and most importantly loved the cool feeling as my hair dropped to the ground. Then she tilted my head and ran the clipper. this time it felt even better. She repeated it on the side and top and while i had really short hair, the relief from the summer heat was good.
Then Ruby aunty said: "This will reduce the heat but you will still sweat". Reshma said " I can help make it cooler for you, if you agree". Just then my mother came in. She looked at my hair and exclaimed: "great nice hair cut". Then after some thought said :" Only a bit remains, Akshay why don't we remove that also?". I got angry and said "Nooo". Then Ruby aunty said: "OK like before just see how it feels if we do it in a small region". Reshma said "You don't look so bad". This raised my confidence and i agreed for the trial. This time Ruby aunty took a thick shaving blade and passed it on to Reshma who scraped at a region near my neck as my mother watched. she then asked how it felt and it felt much better than last time. She smiled and asked - shall we try?. I was apprehensive. My mother picked the electric trimmer and said "First with this". She told me "Two minutes Akshay" Before i could react, my head was held firmly by my mother and Reshma had started the trimmer. I felt 1 expert stroke of the trimmer at the back of my head. Then she said "It's at number 5. Let me make it 0" and then 4 quick strokes followed from the top to the bottom direction. Then 4 similiar strokes at the front. I had started to enjoy the trimmer running over my head and did not complain but shuddered at the thought of how i would look. The hair falling down was a pleasurable experience.The next 5 minutes the trimmer ran in every direction possible and then my mother released her iron grip. I looked up shocked. What i had was a stubble. but i felt much better.
My mother ran her hand over my head and asked "Can this be smoother?". Reshma said yes.. Reshma started to apply water and then applied shaving cream on all sides. Then with a brush she evened out the cream and it started to form a white layer on my head. She was in no hurry and took great care to spread it well. My mother said "I have some work and will be back in 5 minutes". Ruby aunty said "It will be over by then". My mom said " 2 minutes". Reshma was concentrating on spreading the cream evenly and when she was satisfied, she took the razor. She asked for Ruby aunty's help and she held my chin firmly as Reshma bent my head and started to carefully scrape the backside of my head. This time she started from the top itself. After running 4 strokes, my mother came back. She had a big smile and took over from Ruby aunty as Reshma shifted position to the side indicating that her work was over on the back side. The side was over quite quickly. Now the scraping blade felt very good.Finally the blade started to run over the top side. I sat and enjoyed the sound and scraping. Finally the scraping got slower and only in specific regions. Then my mother again released her grip and when i looked up, i saw my face with a bright white patch above my forehead.My mother was running her hand over my head and okayed it after a few runs. Reshma was watching my expression with some amusement. She said " Looks very good". Ruby aunty also said that it looks good. This boosted my confidence. Not to mention, not being tortured by the heat. I was about to get up when Reshma signalled that it was not over yet. She removed the cape and threw the collected hair to the bin. Then cleaned me with a brush. It felt nice as it went over my head. She then applied powder on my head and let me go.
Ruby aunty said : "it will be a change for your head. In this summer heat, the breeze will make you feel cool. You can play without worrying too much about sweating soon. You can apply healthy oils and herbs to nourish your hair follicles and in the long run it will not only yield good hair but may also help the various nerves and muscles and increase brain power"
I digested this information. Just then a lady came with her 2 sons and said "Usual summer cut for the boys and went shopping.
Reshma said: "See this is something only boys can do, girls are not that lucky. At least not all. So cheer up".
The best part however came at the last: Reshma ran the mechanical clipper over my head for the next 7 minutes.
All the while making conversation with my mom. Many boys had their head shaved in Ruby aunty's parlour as their mom's were her customers.
She then wiped my head off using a towel and asked my mom to inspect. My mom ran her hand all over and said "perfect." and all the ladies burst into affectionate laughter. As a final ritual, she applied lotion on my head.It felt very good and cool. A nice tingling sensation as the hidden hair follicles introduced themselves to the atmosphere.
Mom then said "Ruby, i can't thank you enough. Thank you so much. I could have taken him elsewhere but i know that you & Reshma will appreciate his sensitivities and i was right" As we paid her and set out to leave, Ruby aunty asked :"Did you do the headshave ceremony for him when he was small?" My mom said "We were always planning.Nothing came through. This is the first". Ruby aunty said: " In that case, take this hair as it is the first time". She then instructed Reshma to collect my fallen hair and pack it. Which Reshma dutifully did.
As we were about to leave, Rubt aunty said : "Do you want the summer package?". My mom asked "What is that". She said : "The little hair that comes in 15 days, we will shave it off so he has relief all summer". To my horror, my mother readily agreed
I have enjoyed having a shaved head all summer and the happy sensation that comes with it. My mom has nourished my hair regularly with coconut oil. After 15 days, Ruby aunty shaved me again with the shaving blade on a visit home. The summer did not trouble me and since then i always shaved in the summer.

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