I. Introduction

It must have three years ago. I sat on the train because I had to travel for a business meeting. 

Al went well, the Train left prompt and didn’t have any holdups. It was a rather quiet day because there seemed to be no other person in the train. After about one hour, we approached the jail near the town where I had to be. 

The jail was a big, ugly building mostly made of concrete and steel. Big coils of barbed wire lay on top of the walls. I was a very depressing sight. Just as we approached the main buiding (The train almost drove round the entire building as if to say. “Have a good look. Never end up in here”) the train stopped all of a sudden. There was no warning, we weren’t approaching a station, there seemed to be no reason at all.

It took about 50 meters before the train didn’t make any movement at all and we stood still. 

Strange was however that there was no sound, no light nothing at all. All stopped responding all of a sudden. Together with the dark concrete Jail it was a really sinister experience. 

At first I expected the train to leave again soon, but nothing happened. The train just stood there, motionless in front of the jail. After a few minutes, I looked out of the window. Curious as if I could find out wat had caused the train to stop there. My eyes followed the depressing long grey lines of the jail, but It was just as dark, grey and depressing as before. Even the air looked grey and depressing. Nothing gave me a clue, however why the train would sudden stop. 

Suddenly I discovered a window in the building. The window wasn’t covered with bars, curtains or blinds so I could clearly see what was going on. 

In the room was a large chair, somewhat like a barber chair. Big, and even from this distance intimidating. In front of the chair was a mirror again just like in a regular barbershop. Just everything looked far more depressing and intimidating. Why would that be there? I couldn’t help but to look even better. The chair had leather strips dangling from the armrests. Why would anybody use restrains in a barber chair? Several thoughts crossed my mind, but all of a sudden I mentioned that a door, only visible in the mirror opened..

II. Witness

First I mentioned a wife, she wore a uniform and looked quit severe. No smile, not even a small one was on her face. It took her some time to enter the room while she was trying to pull something inside, but I couldn’t see what. It looked however like she was fighting with a struggling person. It took her a considerable amount of trouble to get true the door. The, suddenly I saw what happened. I could clearly see a young women, no older than perhaps 20 years,  in the mirror. She was wearing beautiful, long brown hair and she tried to get loose of the first women’s grip.

No matter how much she tried, the first women was pulling her more and more in the room. The young women’s face showed a mixture of sadness, disbelieve and horror on it but nothing could help her.  

As if the one women (which I could now identify as some kind of guard) wasn’t bad enough, there was a second guard behind the girl. Together they drove the girl more and more in the direction of the big chair. She tried one last time to escape but it was of no use. The guards where simply to strong for the girl and finally they pushed her in the chair.  

One guard hold her and the second one secured the restrains around her arms.

In just a little time the young woman changed in a helpless, restrained, little girl unable to resist to whatever would follow.  

Although the site of the helpless girl seemed disgusting to me, I couldn’t help but to look. My eyes where simply guarded in the direction of the helpless women, clearly paralyzed by fear and sadness.

I simply had to watch and follow every movement in the room.

The first guard took a big black rubber cape and started to cape the women. Slowly her body was covered by the cape. Her beautiful hair hanging over it. The sight of the hair on the cape was simply intoxicating.  

No matter how much she tried, it was useless to resist. The girl was in the hands of the guards like a Mouse in the hands of a Cat.  

Then I saw how both of the guards took a pair of scissors and started to cut in the long hair. The girl was clearly paralyzed she didn’t even try to resist. Long locks of beautiful brown hair slowly tumbled down like in slow-motion. With every snip where the locks of the girl reduced and the hair, once beautiful on the head landed on the cape or on the floor.  

There was a strange sensation in my stomach. In the mirror I was only able to see the girl’s face in horror and the guards cutting in the hair but I couldn’t see how much was cut.

The guards where cutting the back of the girl’s head but that was invisible in the mirror. Tears of horror and disbelieve where in the girl’s eyes, but every sign of resistance was gone.

The locks fell down like some kind of bizarre ballet slowly but with deadly precision. A pile of hair grew in the girls lap and on the floor. Now the guards started cutting the sites.  Without any ceremony, no respect or no effort to create a nice model or to cut it neat. This was a hack job.

It was the only job to cut of the hair. The girl started to look like a freak. A wild mixture of short and very short hair was visible at the sides of her head. Nothing was left of her once beautiful hair. 

Suddenly one of the guards grabbed a lock on the girls forehead and pulled her head up. She twisted the lock and started to cut. The girl now looked me straight in my eyes with her tear-covered face. When she saw me, she started to cry bitterly. Rivers of tears tumbled down her cheeks and I could se how her shoulders where shaking. Once again she looked me straight in the eyes like she wanted to say: “Why are you looking. Please help me!”  

Although the sight of the girl touched me, I simply could resist. I had to watch and see how the guards slowly cut of all of the girls hair.