The sun had finally come out. After five months of dark, gray, ugly skys, it was now bright, warm and sunny. Those that had endured Cabin Fever were now out in force. The little red-haired girl hurled herself toward the pool, determined to be the first off the diving board this season. Benard watched as she climbed the ladder and checked the bounce of the board, squealing as she bounced higher than she anticipated. He blinked and waited for her to get up the nerve to either dive in or just jump feet first. Another blink and she decided to start safely – feet first.
Off she went, bouncing as high as she dared, her long red hair fanning out behind her as she plummeted into the water. All Benard could see as she entered the water was her hair floating on the surface of the pool. “She must not have went too far under for her hair to remain on top like that.”, he thought. He waited for a few seconds for her to start swimming to the side of the small pool. The red hair remained floating. He rose from his chair to get a better look and the hair never moved. It had been twenty seconds and yet the red floating mass remained, drifting slowly toward the side of the pool. In a panic, he shoved chairs and tables out of his path trying to get to the water where she had went in.
In less than thirty seconds Benard reached the edge of the pool. The red mass still floated just within reach but he couldn’t see his daughter under the hair. He reached out and grabbed hold of the hair, his fingers telling him it was his daughter’s hair alright. He pulled hard, expecting to feel the weight of his only child, nearly falling backward when the red mass came flinging out of the pool with a splash. He stumbled backwards as he stared at the thing he was holding. It was a scalp, small bits of skin were dangling from the hairline. There was no sign in the pool of any accident or danger. The little red-haired girl was gone. All that remained was her scalp. The only thing that remained of his daughter is what he was holding in his hand. He looked around but there was no one else in the pool. No one had noticed what happened. Benard blinked. But this time he didn’t open his eyes for a week.
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