It was pretty late in the morning when she woke up. She was a little disoriented at first, which was a little odd -- surely she wouldn't expect to be anywhere else but in her own bedroom? -- then she remembered what had happened the night before, and realised that the part of her that was not Hazel was still getting used to being a part of her. She looked down her nude body, and reached under her butt to touch the bedsheet, half-expecting to find some detritus of her coital encounter with the djinn... but there was none. The sheets were warm and dry under her fingers, and she was only half-surprised to feel hair at her fingertips.
Her pubic hair. All of it had fallen off her in the night, and she didn't even have to wonder why. The old man liked it this way, she thought. It'll distract him so the necessary could be done. There was no need for her to know just what needed to be done -- knowing too much might undo them, so she shrugged and turned her hand upwards to feel the velvety soft lips of her sex. Everything felt normal, and as she glanced at the mirror and saw her denuded labia, she grinned. It did look kind of sexy, after all. At that thought, she felt a little wetness at her fingertips.
Better stop this, she thought to herself. I've got a fair bit of work to do today. First, she called the office to say she wasn't coming in -- it didn't matter anyway because her boss had already left on his business trip, and there was precious little that needed her attention in the office. Then she rose from the bed, removed the sheet again, and dumped it into the laundry basket. As she walked back, she realised that it was a glorious day. The sun was shining brightly and light winds were blowing here and there, making the windchime in her balcony tinkle in delight. She stopped for a moment at a window and looked outside, not caring that passersby could, and probably did see her standing there naked when they looked up at her window.
It's a great day indeed, she thought to herself. A great day for settling scores.
Hazel stretched and yawned, lifting herself upwards so that the gawking young man down below got a good view of her hairless vulva. Then she went to the bathroom for a good, long shower. She did so not because she felt dirty -- nothing of the sort! -- but because she wanted to make sure the old man would not suspect anything was amiss when he saw her later. There was no way of knowing just how perceptive he was, in spite of the djinn's quick dismissal of his powers, and she didn't think it worth taking the chance. Besides, she liked taking showers -- they relaxed her.
By the time she was done, it was just about noon... the usual time the old man would be found at the tree. She was as certain of that as she was that the sun was shining high in the clear blue sky. Hazel made her way to the tree at the beach and was a little surprised to find that it was not at all as gloomy as she had initially thought. In fact, it seemed to shine with an understated glow, and she wondered why it was that no one around her seemed to notice or care.
When she reached the tree, she began slowly digging at the soft sand between its roots, biding her time and waiting for the old man to turn up like he normally did. He did not disappoint, making his presence known to her when he gruffly asked what she was doing.
"I'm looking for something I dropped the other day," she replied, not turning around. She could feel his eyes on her buttocks, encased in the tightest pair of shorts she could find, and knew that he was sizing her up. "What do you care?"
"You won't be able to find it here," the old man said. "It's gone for good."
"What? How do you know?" she responded, feigning ignorance. "I haven't even told you what I lost!"
"You're the woman who was here last week, aren't you?"
"What if I am? What's it to you?"
"Have you been having some strange dreams? Is there something that seems to be bothering you?"
"You know what, I've made a mistake talking to you," she said abruptly, turning around to glare at him. He looked just the same as he did in her dream, except he looked older and... was she mistaken?.. a little worried? "I think I should leave now."
"No, wait," the old man said, and she could hear the pleading in his voice. "It's just that... I've lost something too, and I wondered if you might have found it while you were looking..?"
"Nothing of the sort," she said, walking away from him. "Nice talking to you."
"Hey, look, I'm sorry I was so nosy, alright?"
Hazel refused to reply, and continued to walk away from the old man and the tree.
"Look, miss, I can help you find what it was you lost," she heard him say, and slowed to a stop. OK, that's a good start, she thought to herself. Now he's willing to help.
She turned round to face him and looked him squarely in those wild eyes. "You'd better not try anything funny with me, buster. I've seen it all, heard it all. You could be a conman, as far as I am concerned."
"Wait a minute, miss," he pleaded with her once more. "Hear me out. I know some... magic. You know, I'm a bomoh. A local magician. I do have some powers that I can use to help you."
"Magic? Pshaw!" she sniffed and made to turn away again.
"Listen, you've got nothing to lose, alright? If I'm telling the truth, you'll find what you're looking for. If I'm lying, you can always call the police. And I'm not even asking for payment."
"Go on."
"Look, let's get out of here and go to someplace quieter, where I can concentrate."
"OK, I live nearby. Let's go back to my apartment," she volunteered. "But I warn you, it's the middle of the day and there are people around. My neighbours are very nosy and will come running once I start yelling. And I will yell if you try anything funny."
"Trust me, miss, you won't have anything to yell about," he seemed eager to assure her. "You'll be pleasantly surprised instead."
"We'll see about that," she muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. She wanted him to be off-balance, unsure of her stance, so she needed to play the unbeliever to the hilt.
They walked back to her apartment in silence, and she made sure to knock on her neighbour's door and ask about her cat, just so he would be convinced she was cautious about him.
When the door closed behind her, she turned to see him casting furtive glances around her living room. "Do you mind if I look around?" he asked politely. "I just need to make sure there's nothing in your apartment that will distract me from my spell."
"Go ahead," she said. The doll had been stowed away in a secure place, so there was no chance of him finding or sensing its presence in her apartment.
After a few minutes of silence as he disappeared into her bedroom, she feigned impatience. "Look, are you really going to help me find it or are you just perving on my lingerie drawer?"
"OK, OK, I'm done," he said, reappearing at the door to her room. "Let's get started. What were you looking for?"
"A doll."
"A doll?" His voice was steady, but the sudden rise in his tone betrayed his interest. "What kind of doll?"
"You know, the cheap kind that you can get at any toy store. With eyes that open and close and all that."
"Why don't you just go buy another one at the store then?"
"They don't make them anymore. That's why this one is special."
"Oh? How is it special?"
