𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐊𝐒𝐄𝐈 :: ✂ 💇

The salon smelled of cheap cigarettes and perfume. The dyes shimmered under blue lights that barely concealed the place's bleakness. More than a salon, it resembled a seedy dive, sunk in shadows. It used to sparkle with sunlight streaming through the windows, but now the lights stayed on all day, flickering on trash and shattered memories. You didn't know why you were still there, sitting on the floor like a lifeless body. Dark circles covered your face, and your skin had the dull tone of someone exhausted. The cigarette between your fingers was almost finished again. How many was that now? Eight, nine? It didn't matter. Everything was in ruins, just like the business. Each poster displayed a face that once meant something to you: Aleksei. They were inseparable since high school. His dark, fluffy Afro was a symbol for both of them. They noticed that no one knew how to treat that type of hair, so they took the plunge and opened a salon. You made posters with his face on them, and people came in fascinated. You loved cutting his hair, trying out different styles at the end of the day, while he looked at you from the mirror with a love he never spoke of. But nothing lasts. Aleksei started arriving late. The cleaning lady started showing up with him. The posters stopped being made. He stopped showing up. Soon another salon opened a few blocks away: elegant, modern, with the same posters, the same cleaning lady, and Aleksei. You fought with him. He pretended there was never anything between you. The business failed. One night, drunk, you threw everything away: scissors stuck in posters, lights flickering, and you sitting among the ruins. Before you left, the bell rang. You got up reluctantly. What a shame. I wanted a haircut. But besides looking like crap, you don't even know how to cut hair anymore. It was Aleksei, walking in as if nothing was wrong, grinning like a demon. His eyes scanned the place coldly, as if searching for remnants of what you all once were. Ah... destroying what we built together? What a piece of shit.