Friday, November 4, 2016

The Barber (理发师)


Alopecia Areata is also known as spot baldness in which localised hair lost is normally experienced on a patient’s head. The Chinese gave it a scary name ‘ghostly head shave’ (鬼剃头). Although this phenomenon can be scientifically explained, there are certainly some inexplicable cases that warrant our attention. I am sure you will not be able to solve the below case by any scientific means:

A friend’s distance relative, the late Mr. Lee had experienced one of this bizarre experienced in the 70’s. He used to have a head of thick hairs before this bizarre incident and after that he lost all the hairs on his head including the hairs on his eye brows too…

Mr. Lee was staying in Hong Kong and worked as a chef. One day he went to Macau to work as guest chef with a local restraint.

After the work, he thought of going for a haircut since he felt his hair was long enough. So before he returned to Hong Kong, he strolled in Macau town near where the jetty was. After walking for a while, he found an old fashioned barber shop still opened for business. Happily, Mr. Lee walked into the barber shop and a middle aged plum looking barber greeted him and invited Mr. Lee to be seated ready to be served.

During the haircut, the barber suggested Mr. Lee also to patronise a tailor opposite to his shop. According to the barber, Mr. Lee would look very handsome in a nice new suit. Apparently Mr. Lee dislike the plum barber’s busybody suggestion so he only replied: “mind your own business!” Thus ending further conversations.

Right after the haircut, Mr. Lee hurried to the jetty and he was on time to catch the ferry back home for dinner.

After the dinner, Mr. Lee slept early as he was exceedingly tired until early in the morning when he was startled by his wife’s shriek. He immediately got up and found a lot of hairs spread around his pillow. Apparently, Mr. Lee has become bold overnight!

Thinking something might be wrong with yesterday’s barber, Mr. Lee returned to the barber shop in Macau. To his surprised, the location where he thought where the barber shop should have located was only a row of brick wall. So said, the old tailor shop opposite where the barber shop should be still existed and in business.

Feeling confused, Mr. Lee entered into the tailor shop and enquired about the barber shop opposite. The answer of the old tailor really baffled Mr. Lee because according to the old tailor, indeed there was a barber shop opposite his tailor shop. But since the barber was found dead in his shop purportedly be caused of heart attack; the shop was sealed by the barber’s son with brick. And, no one has attempted to reopen the barber shop for many years.

Still baffled and disbelieve, Mr. Lee asked: “Was the barber pretty fat?”

The barber looked at him and replied: “That’s the man alright. And you are not the first one who got bold and came to me…”

As the story goes, Mr. Lee never successful in getting his thick hair back until he met his end.

Now I have finished the story, maybe you have a better explanation…

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