"I wish I had better hair," Amy said. For a long time Amy had thought that one of the biggest reasons she looked so plain was that her lanky hair didn't stand out. She was often envious of the girls she saw with thick braids and shiny ponytails. Her hair wasn't what one would call luxurious, but not for lack of trying. She had used countless conditioners and hairstylists to try and do something interesting with her shoulderblade-length locks, yet they remained dull and limp.
She laughed an empty laugh. "Look at me, making an impossible wish to a mirror in a novelty shop." She gave one fleeting look at her self-described "boring" appearance before setting off to find Lina.
Amy found Lina examining a pair of silver-and-cyan earrings. They looked almost Egyptian except for the dominant silver color. Amy didn't think Egyptians made anything that wasn't out of gold or stone. "Like 'em? I've been looking for a new pair for a while now." Amy consented to Lina's choice and they approached the old man at the register. "Aren't you going to get anything?" Lina asked.
"There's nothing I want that this store can give me," Amy sighed.
"Again with the cryptic answers. Amy, I thought you really believed this store was magical."
As Lina prodded the old man with her finger to wake him up, Amy thought how awesome it would be if the store really was able to grant her wish.
The man awoke with a sneeze, sending both girls jumping back in surprise. He adjusted his small glasses and looked at them as if he was greeting a family member he hadn't seen in years. "Hello! Hello! How are you finding my shop?"
"Uh...it's pretty interesting," Lina blurted out. "I'd, um, like to buy these."
The old man's eyes flickered for a moment when they set upon the earrings in Lina's hand. It was a look of startled recognition, which Amy thought was puzzling. Then again, the whole store gave her that kind of vibe. "Fifteen dollars, young lady," he said shortly.
Later, Amy returned home after saying goodbye to Lina. She had a small amount of homework which she wanted to get an early start on so she could relax the rest of the evening. After her encounter with the mirror she was feeling slightly depressed and needed work to distract her.
As she worked, she had a strange itch on her scalp. No matter how much she scratched, it persisted. "Ugh. Now I've got dandruff on top of everything," she whined. She decided to take a shower right after her homework.
The shampoo of the week was a little-known brand whose bottle promised "Shinier, fuller hair after just one wash." Amy had been using it for the last five days with absolutely no change to her looks. Still, it did a good job cleaning her hair, and since she had almost given up on the possibility that there existed a shampoo that could perform her sought-after miracle, she had pledged to use up this bottle before spending any more money.
After her shower she wrapped her hair in a towel and set down on the couch to watch television. Her mother came home soon afterward with bags of groceries in her arms. "Are you turning in early?" she asked when she saw her daughter in her pink bathrobe and toweled hair.
"No, I just felt like taking a shower," Amy said in a somber voice that her mother knew all too well.
She set the groceries down in the kitchen and returned to sit beside Amy on the couch. "Dear, when I was your age I thought my looks were the most important thing, too. But I didn't meet your father because he liked my hair."
"I know," Amy sighed. Her mother's pep talks never seemed to matter, but Amy had long since tried to argue with her. Usually she'd say "But those were different times," or something equally hollow, but her mother always persisted.
"You could always buy a wig," she heard her mother say. She turned her attention from the television and gave her a wide-eyed frown.
"Just kidding," her mom said. "Why don't you help me with dinner?"
After a quiet but satisfying dinner, Amy retreated to her room. The trip to the store and her renewed depression made her just want to get some sleep. She pulled the towel off her head and noticed her hair still had a slight sheen. "Weird," she thought. "It should be dry by now." It felt dry, too. She yawned, too tired to think any more about it. She put on her pajamas and snuggled under her covers, hoping she could keep her mind off her looks and on more important things tomorrow.