You continued to smile and study your reflection with your amber-colored sheep eyes. Any passing feelings of disorientation that you had, you attributed to the surprise of seeing your new haircut. Lovingly given to you by your Daddy. You loved him. You loved your Daddy.
You also loved your new haircut. You didn't know the name of the hairstyle, but how many four-year-old lambs did? However, anyone with a critical eye could say that your ivory-white locks were an adorable tribrid between a pageboy haircut, an afro, and the kind of cherubic curls you'd see on Greek pottery. Your wooly tresses were thick and dense. They were wider than your slender shoulders and just long enough to graze them every time you turned your head. Reminding you of your new haircut. Your bangs framed your face adorably, and caressed your cheeks, tickling them. Your bangs also drew attention to your ovine features. You studied yourself more closely, and your smile grew.
You were such a cute lamb. You just couldn't stop looking at yourself. You looked at your muzzle, which was tipped with an adorably dark sheep's nose. You looked at your waifish little lamb ears. You gazed at the fine, silky, white hairs adorning your face, and then you saw your rectangular pupils and amber eyes again. You almost felt like they were insisting that you look at them. And so, you did. Leaning in more closely towards your reflection, you gazed more deeply.
And then you remembered something. As you touched your hair with your thick-nailed fingers, you recalled a trip to the grocery store. Back when you were living in the big city. Right before your birthday. Your hair was really long. Really, really long! And as you sat in the grocery cart that Papa was pushing, a woman remarked that your parents had such an adorable daughter. She thought that you were a girl! You were so mortified! Of course, you were too timid to do or say anything but pout adorably. You were blushing so hotly for minutes afterwards, even as your Daddy and Papa set the record straight. That was when you knew that you had to get your hair cut, even though Daddy's scissors were so scary! But everything had turned out alright, and you really liked your new look.
A soft giggle slipped from between your lips as you recalled that memory. You wanted to keep on looking at yourself. To take yourself in. To look into those fascinating eyes of yours. The urge was almost a compulsion, interrupted by a sound in the hallway. Footsteps?
You slowly got to your feet. You felt a little unsteady on your dainty, adorable hooves. You must've been sitting for a very long time! As you got your bearings straight, you looked at Papa. He was still working on the woman sitting in the chair. He was spritzing her ivory curls with a spray bottle, and you wrinkled your adorable lamb's nose. The stuff in the bottle smelled really good, like grass.
Suddenly, you felt a reassuring hand on your shoulder. It was Daddy. "Do you like how that smells, buddy?"
"Yes, Daddy," you said in your soft and high-pitched voice. You had to crane your neck upwards to look at him, which was only disorienting for a fleeting second.
"Did you know that Papa and I make all of our products? We try to put all the good things from nature into them."
You shook your head. Daddy kneeled and put an arm around you.
"Hey, kiddo, why'd you get up? Are you feeling OK? Do you need to use the bathroom?"
Before you could answer, the woman in the chair gave a baa-ing chuckle. "Hey, I completely understand. You know how kids are. They're always restless, you know? Especially after spending all that time sitting down."
You looked at the woman in the chair. A part of you could've sworn that her hair looked longer each time Papa ran his brush through her hoary tresses.
"I just wanna stretch a little. May I, please?"
Daddy and Papa smiled. They always did love how polite and well-mannered you were.
"Alright," said Papa as he worked on the woman's hair with his comb. Sheep ears were poking through her hair. "You won't touch anything you're not supposed to, sport?"
"No, Papa." You said as you massaged your furry legs and adjusted your sweater before walking into the hallway. Your little hooves made clacking noises on the hardwood floor. As you walked, one of your sheep ears twitched.
You had heard another noise. A walking noise...footsteps. As you carefully walked towards the source of the noise, you could hear Papa talking to the lady sitting in the chair.
"You're going to love this hairstyle, trust me. When I'm through with you, I just know you're going to find yourself the ram of your dreams.” He waited for a moment. “Or an ewe," he added with a reassuring chuckle. A baa-ing laugh and a few words that you couldn't make out was the woman's response.
The footsteps were louder now. Even though you told Daddy you'd be brave for him today, your heart was fluttering. You followed the noise into the downstairs bathroom, and as soon as you did, the door closed. Before you could say anything, a hand was on your mouth. It was a girl!
She was much taller and stronger than you, although all things considered, it wasn’t a difficult thing to be taller or stronger than you.
The feelings of terror and helplessness made you want to cry, but all you could do is whimper a little. Tears were welling up in your amber-colored eyes.
"Is that you?" She asked as she called you by name. "It's me, Zoe!"
You didn't know what to say. A part of you wished Daddy or Papa was here to help you, but there was something about her that felt a little familiar. The biggest part of you just wanted to cry in fear. As you thought about what you should do, you heard a knocking on the door.
"Hey, buddy, is everything alright in there?"