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In a faraway land of broken roads and sinking meadows, lived a girl. Neither drowning in despair nor aflame with elation, she was of average emotion, average temper, and average stature. She was average in almost all apart from her hair. It was long and lustrous. When sunlight caught it at just the right angle, "gleam" would be too mundane of a word. It glowed. It omitted such radiance: beholders wouldn't be in awe, they would be afraid.
On the other side of the planet, far away, lived three boys: neither brothers nor related, neither friends nor foes: acquainted with each other, to say the most. These three boys were summoned by a King. The King had told them to go find a girl. The King told them to travel on their respective horses. He told them that there was a destination and that they would find it. He gave them no further detail, but told them to rely on the horses. And so, the boys set out in search of her.
They traveled for seven days and seven nights. They traveled through villages and through towns, through kingdoms and through forests until they reached a house. The house wasn't anything spectacular, in fact, it was quite the opposite. An unhinged wooden door frame encompassed the slightly open door. Improperly placed nails were just rusting and as a result, evading their purpose. Without hesitation, they knocked.
A girl opened. She had long, yellowish hair and an unmemorable face. She let them in, knowing very well of their origin and their physical state. She supplied them with hard bread and water. After their meal, she sat them down and told them her hair was doing well. She then asked them to leave. The boys said thank you and went back to the King to report the girl's strange behavior. He replied with a nod.
A year later, the boys were summoned again. They were given the same instructions. Only this time, they had reached a different house: a nicer house. The house had green vines lining its large gate and a nice white fence framing its perimeter. The boys knocked. The same girl opened. She sat them down, fed them food - only this time it was cheese and wine - and told them her hair was shorter and suffering.
The boys went back to the King. The King nodded.
Another year had passed when the boys were summoned again. They traveled for seven days and seven nights until they reached a large castle. Its stone walls could rival the King?s and the lavish red carpet led to a big door. The boys knocked. The girl opened the door. Only this time, the girl's head was covered with a red scarf. She let them in, gave them a feast made up of roasted duck, freshly picked fruits, and other international delicacies. She sat them down like the other two times and told them that things had really gotten bad.
She had lost all of her hair.
The boys went back to the King and reported what they had seen, just as they had done the previous times before. Shaking his head, the King looked at each boy thoughtfully while pressing his finger to his temple. His wise eyes seemed to lose their usual gleam. He shook his head once more and said,
"An eye for an eye will make the world blind."
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