“Dad, why did Grandma cut my promise?”
Mark’s face went empty.
That promise was not just about hair.
A year earlier, Lily had been diagnosed with leukemia. When chemo made her hair fall out, Leo had stood in the bathroom doorway and told her, “I’ll grow mine until yours comes back.”
And he kept that promise.
He refused trims. He told nurses, teachers, and neighbors his curls were for Lily. On hard hospital days, Lily would twist one of his curls around her finger and call it her lucky spring.
Brenda knew Lily had been sick. She knew enough to know better. But to her, a boy’s haircut mattered more than a child’s comfort.
