Pomeline of Orchards,

  During out last meeting, you told me to contact you whenever I needed any tailor-related services. I am looking for festival outfits for my three children, and I am inquiring about your services. I have included their measurements and preferences on a separate slip of paper included in this letter. It will be our first harvest festival, so I leave all the details to you. I will be providing the fabric. We are developing green and yellow dyes, and this would be a good opportunity to test their durability. Let me know if you are available and what you are charging for this order.

  Regards,

  Norman Persson

  Dearest Norman Persson,

  I am so glad that you contacted me! The first festival garments are very important, and I am more than happy to work on them! Thank you for including measurements for the non-human extremities as well, a lot of people forget that! I really admire your attention to detail. The beadwork will take some time, but I am confident that I can finish a few days before the first day of the festival.

  Being the first to work with new fabrics is such an honor! Normally, I would charge 100 Lapis for a festival garment befitting of a noble, but for the sake of our continued relationship, I am willing to do all three garments for 150 Lapis.

  Best wishes,

  Pomeline of Orchards

  Pomeline of Orchards,

  That sounds good. I will send Rowboat to send over the payment and the fabrics. I did not know there were beads involved. I am sure you will do a great job.

  Regards,

  Norman Persson

  Dearest Norman Persson,

  I have finished the festival garment for the eldest boy, I am sure he will look very handsome in it, just like his father. The fabrics are absolutely beautiful and I am having a lovely time working with them. They don’t wash out or fray like dyed fabrics tend to do. You keep surprising me with your brilliant products.

  I would like it if you told me more about your inventions. If you would allow me to be so bold, would you like to attend the adult’s only day of the festival? You deserve a break after working so hard, and I would love to talk over a drink.

  Best wishes,

  Your Pomeline of Orchards

  Pomeline of Orchards,

  I would be okay with that. It would be beneficial to our partnership. I am glad the dyes are holding up well.

  Regards,

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Norman Persson

  Dearest Norman Persson,

  I am so happy to hear that you agree! Saying that you want to deepen our partnership is very bold of you, Norman. Bold and stern is a deadly combination for my poor heart, it is fluttering as I write this. My heart has been fluttering a lot more lately, especially when I think about those dark eyes. Despite my age, I have never felt like this before. I hope you never have either.

  I find myself staying up at night, reading and re-reading your letters. Isn’t that embarrassing for a woman my age? I simply can’t help myself, you’re always on my mind. I think my employees have started to notice my sighing.

  Sweet wishes,

  Your Pomeline of Orchards

  Pomeline of Orchards,

  Your heart problems sound serious. I have never felt that before.

  There is no need to think so hard, just do what you feel is best. I am sure I will love it.

  Regards,

  Norman Persson

  Dearest Norman Persson,

  You’re right. Overthinking does no good in these matters. We simply need to follow our hearts. I have finished the garments and they’re ready to pick up anytime. I think they came out lovely, just like you. I can’t wait to meet you when you come to collect them, to experience your intense gaze on me again.

  I’ve spent many sleepless nights thinking about those eyes. I hope you think about mine whenever you indulge in pleasure.

  Sweet wishes,

  Your Pomeline of Orchards

  “Noblewomen write a lot of compliments in their letters, don’t they? I don’t understand the last part, maybe it’s a noble greeting.” Norman mumbled to himself as he stored the letter in his desk drawer, next to all the others. They all smelled heavily of perfume, and some of them even had smudges of lipstick on them. Pomeline sure was an eccentric woman.

  “Uncle! You promised you’d help me!” Shimri called from downstairs. Norman had promised to help him cut his hair today, and the boy was getting impatient. He wanted to have a male haircut in time for the festival, and he didn’t trust himself enough to cut his own hair.

  Shimri sat shirtless on a stool in the bathroom. He had a towel over his chest and lap, and his hair was put up in a low ponytail. Norman sat behind him, handling the scissors with expert precision. He’d always cut his hair at home, and this was no different. “Alright. I’m going to snip off the ponytail now. Are you sure? Final warning.”

  “I’m sure!” Shimri squeezed his eyes shut. What followed was an audible snip and the sensation of his head getting much lighter. He looked at the cut off ponytail on the bathroom floor. It was white, and dyed a dull red at the tips. Like blood on a snow field.

  Snip, snip, snip

  Every snip made both his head and his heart feel lighter. He had always been told that his long beautiful hair was one of his best selling points, so to get rid of it felt so freeing. He didn’t have to look desirable. He didn’t have to have selling points. He wasn’t Shimmer the soon-to-be prostitute anymore. He was Shimri, the teenage boy and apprentice dye maker.

  “All done. It was a bit difficult to cut around the horn, but I think I did pretty good.” Norman nodded in approval. He hadn’t lost his talent for hair cutting just yet. “We don’t have a mirror, but you can look in the basin.”

  Shimri looked at his reflection in the water. It felt foreign, but good foreign. “I look like a boy.”

  “Of course you do. You did before as well. Put on a shirt, then help Rowboat with dinner.” What kind of observation was that? Of course he looked like a boy. Was that an insecurity boys in this world had? He didn’t remember ever having any such insecurities.

  “I’ll be right there, Uncle!”