5. Lightening the Load

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Somewhere between Jian's place and mine, I decided that if I have to live the life of a wolf, I will not run around like a shaggy dog. So, I took a quick detour to my new, as of today, very talented hairdresser.

To her surprise and admittedly mine, I marched right into the salon with my waist-length, straight black hair to demand she just cut it all off. She left me with just-barely-touching-my-shoulder-length hair.

With the bulky weight of my mane on the salon floor, I feel a lighter load on my shoulders. I roll down the driver-side window, wondering why I hadn't just cut it off months ago. My lips scrunch, knowing full well why I hadn't cut it. Lance liked my hair long. I tried to preserve other things, too, I realize, hoping he'd come back to me.

The hope died in August on the night of the full moon. Compelled to rush outside, I followed the internal call to go to the polo fields. I phased when I stepped under the closest grove of trees in the Presidio. Even though it wa