The One-Of-A-Kind Hair Dryer [Creative Non-Fiction]

Euphoria was in the air. It was a day before my older sister's wedding. There was a crowd in our family house, people coming and going. Preparations were underway and I'd planned to have a small party in the evening for her, like a mini bridal shower.

After taking a phone call, I walked into our shared bedroom to see my older sister, Temmy, looking stressed that afternoon because things were not going as expected. The caterer called to complain about an issue related to the menu. The manager in charge of the hall for her reception called to say water flooded some parts of the building.

Temmy was close to tears. "What am I gonna do, Kemmy? My wedding is tomorrow and all this bad news is coming out of nowhere."

I hugged her. "Don't worry. Rest and let me handle the hall issue. When I get back, we'll test-style your hair for tomorrow."

She agreed and laid down. I'd promised to style her hair rather than watch her waste good money that could be channelled elsewhere on an expensive hairstylist. And I was fairly good at hair styling anyway.

After I returned from fixing the hall issue and ensuring there wouldn't be any disappointment the following day, I went home and met two of my friends who travelled from a neighbouring state for the wedding.

We hugged and I introduced them to my parents before taking them into the bedroom. I'd promised them we had enough space to accommodate them for two nights.

Temmy's best friend, Anita, also arrived at our house at the same time. I could mentally picture my mini bridal shower going smoothly that evening with these ladies.

The arrival of guests intermittently kept everyone busy. We ladies sat in our room, chatting, munching on finger foods, giggling and swapping silly stories. Temmy had lightened up and I was happy.

Thereafter, I cleared the plates away and brought out her hair equipment like hair dryer, straightener, curler and others to begin the test-styling. Temmy bought the hair dryer from an online supermarket. It was very expensive, handy and superb.

Our friends commented on how nice the hairdryer looked, as it was the first time they had seen that brand. I worked on my sister's hair and she liked the style.

When night came and our friends laid down to sleep, Temmy called me aside to say I should keep all her hair equipment safe because she would be leaving with them to her new home after the wedding.

I scoffed and frowned, wondering why she would say such a thing. Our friends were trustworthy and could afford the hair dryer and more if they wanted it.

"Don't argue with me, Kemmy. I've been to more weddings than you and know that strange things happen."

"Like what?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"Like things disappearing mysteriously. People develop sticky fingers when they see things they admire in other people's houses."

"But they are our friends. We've known them for years. That's why we let them come here," I stressed.

Temmy shook her head and walked away, but not before saying, "I warn you, Kemmy. Keep my things safe."

I was a little offended that night that my older sister doubted my love and care for her. I blamed her attitude on the wedding and knew she wouldn't speak to me that way if she wasn't stressed.

The following morning was the wedding day. Our friends and I woke up quite early to dress the bride. The church service was fixed for ten a.m. I told Temmy that her hair would be the final thing I would work on before we left for church.

^{Image credit: Duo Chen}

It was past nine when my Dad knocked on our bedroom door to inform us that the cars were ready and we should be ready to leave in a few minutes to avoid getting to church late.

I combed Temmy's hair and applied some hair cream and gel. Then I pulled open our wardrobe to take out the hair dryer and it wasn't there. If I was light-skinned, I would have grown pale from shock.

I turned, my mouth agape to stare at Temmy. She looked up from fixing her gold-plated wristwatch in the mirror and saw my expression. She was alarmed. "Kemmy, what is it?" Her chest began to heave.

I looked at our friends. They were putting on their dresses and makeup. "The dryer is not here," I said. Temmy froze and we stared at each for a long moment.

"Your hair dryer?", "It was there last night. I saw it", "Could someone have borrowed it?" Our friends chorused, glancing between my sister and me.

"I warned you," Temmy snapped. She turned to our friends, "Do any of you have an idea where the dryer may be? Please search your bags. You could have accidentally taken it."

Anita frowned and asked, "Temmy how can you say that? Why would any of us take your hair dryer?" My friends became silent and stared at me. I felt terrible that morning and wished I'd listened. I wanted my sister's day to go smoothly.

"You know what?" I said. "I'll find it later. Let's just finish up here. I'll go borrow Mom's."

My sister was unhappy but once we arrived at the church, she cheered up and the ceremony went alright. My thoughts were divided all through the ceremonies wondering who among us ladies would betray my sister. It was a mystery especially after Temmy mentioned it before bedtime. Or could my sister have taken the dryer to teach me a lesson? I shook the negative thought out of my head.

We returned home in the evening. My Mom told me Anita left in the middle of the ceremony to travel back to her state. One of my friends apologised that she could not spend another night as we'd agreed. She left also.

I went into our room and froze in my tracks. My sister's one-of-a-kind hair dryer sat neatly in the centre of our bed.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I asked my Mom if anyone had come into our room before our arrival. She replied no.

The missing-and-returned hair dryer was a mystery I've never been able to solve till today. I was simply glad it appeared and I could safely return it to my sister.