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Renni

Renni and the Clear Creek

     There was a small town along a river valley in the southern plains that was home to a poor family with 5 children. The father worked for the railroad and was gone for weeks at a time. The mother stayed at home, trying her best to make a living by sewing. The oldest was Pat, very strong and stubborn, like her father. Second was Trudy, very beautiful, like her mother. Third was Sally. Sally was very intelligent, and had great plans for the future. Fourth was Renni, who did not inherit the strength and will of Pat, the beauty of Trudy, or the intelligence of Sally. By the time Renni was born, the parents were hoping for a boy, so Renni was a disappointment. Finally, the fifth child, Joe Jr., was the boy they wanted. Joe grew up very spoiled by his parents and older sisters. They had a clear, spring fed creek on their property.

     As they grew, Pat would dictate things to the others. She would almost always get her way as the others would not try to argue with her. Trudy spent countless hours on herself, since she was so beautiful. Sally spent much time studying, she was always ready to absorb new information. Renni seemed to be cast aside by her sisters, because she didn't have the standout traits of her older sisters. She would get handed down dresses from Pat, unwanted beauty products from Trudy, and outdated, boring books from Sally. There never seemed to be anything new or special just for Renni. Then there was Joe. He got anything he wanted, stretching the finances of this poor family, usually at the expense of Renni.

     Renni became very shy, talked with a slight stutter, and had a problem with her vision that made her a poor reader. She had low self-esteem, largely because of the way her sisters treated her. Although Renni did not have the standout traits of her older sisters, she was not without her hopes, dreams and passions. Her hopes included a large, country club wedding with hundreds of guests, marrying someone who could give her the things she could not have now. Her dream was to live in town up on the hill, and be part of society, volunteering to help the poor. Her passion was growing and caring for her long hair, hoping someday it would be as long as her wedding dress. As she grew into her teen years, she would take an old, broken mirror and set it against the large oak in the front yard, and carefully brush her long hair to keep out the tangles. She would then braid it into two braids and roll them up on either side of her face. This was the one thing Renni had that was hers and her sisters could not take away. Or at least so she thought. Renni had a place at the spring fed creek where she would wash her hair, as this untreated water would make her hair shine, even if she used regular soap. Being shy, Renni did everything Pat told her, even when it meant giving a bicycle she found in the trash to Sally, instead of letting her keep it for herself. Trudy would keep her distance from Renni, telling her that her long hair was ugly and needed to be cut. She would say washing hair in a creek was disgusting!  Trudy would tell Renni, "Quit spending all that time on your hair and more time on something more useful!". Sally avoided Renni having no patience with the speed that Renni could learn. Joe, however, was close to Renni . Joe was a charmer and could get anything he wanted, not only with his parents, but when he went into town. Once in a while, he would talk some girl out of some kind of hair accessory and bring it home and give it to Renni. She would wear them to the dinner table with her long flowing hair and her sisters would be jealous of this attention she would get from Joe.

     Once, Joe bought Renni a nice tie-dye headband with some money he sweet talked out of an old lady. He brought it home and had Renni try it on. It looked quite stunning with Renni's waist length shiny black hair. She sneaked into Trudy's dresser and stole some of her shampoo and ran to the spring fed creek to wash her hair. As she wore the headband  to the dinner table with her freshly washed hair hanging freely behind her, the father, on a rare visit home, commented how nice she looked for dinner, usually a comment reserved for Trudy. Renni, surprised at this comment, politely said, "T-thank you, Daddy!". This infuriated Trudy. She immediately piped up, "What about me?". The father, trying to apply damage control, told Trudy she looked nice, also. "I don't get to see you all very often, and Renni went to an extra effort to look nice.", he told her. With this, Trudy stormed upstairs, followed by Pat. Joe, he said, "As long as I am here on this earth, I will never understand my daughters, especially Renni.. I don't know how she puts up with her sisters.". "I hope you get a job where you can spend every night at home and get to spend time with your kids and understand them. Upstairs, Pat and Trudy plotted to get back at Renni for stealing the attention of their father. They decided to cut Renni's long black hair in her sleep. This was a small rural house and all four girls shared the same bedroom, so they pretended to be asleep when Renni came up for bed.

     When they thought Renni was asleep, Pat pulled out a pair of scissors from under her pillow. She and Trudy quietly snuck up on Renni. Renni usually wore her hair in braided pigtails when she slept, but Pat knew cutting just one would do the trick. In fact, she thought that would be preferable, since that would force Renni to have to cut the other pigtail herself. As they reached Renni's bed, Trudy carefully lifted up one of Renni's pigtails for Pat to cut. Just as Pat was about to snip, Renni woke up startled at what she was seeing. Recognizing what was about to happen, she kicked Pat in the stomach, making her drop the scissors. Trudy, startled at Renni's reaction, let go of her pigtail. Renni ran to the corner of the room, not a good move. Trudy picked up the scissors and went after Renni with them. She had Renni caught in the corner, and Pat pushed her down and held her so Trudy could cut her hair.  Meanwhile, Joe heard all this racket from the next bedroom. He ran in to see what was happening. Upon seeing Joe, both let Renni go and she ran to him. Joe told Renni to go to his room where she would be away from her sisters. They asked Joe not to tell their parents. Joe made a pact with each of his sisters to keep quiet. Pat could no longer tell Renni to give up anything of hers to one of the older sisters. Trudy had to give Renni some of her better shampoo, and Sally, having nothing to to with this episode, merely had to keep quiet.

     Life was different after this. Renni never let anyone see her hair down, especially her sisters. She always would put it in a tight bun, except when brushing or washing it. She only took her hair down in private at the spring fed creek where she would wash it. She would let it air dry out by the creek, even in the winter. The winters were not too harsh this far south, but if it was too cold, she would wait for a warmer day.  Once in a while she would show her brother, Joe, how long it had gotten, but put it back in the bun before leaving his room. Joe was not only her younger brother, but her only true friend. In high school, she didn't make any friends. She didn't read well, and would rather sit alone at a table rather than risk being laughed at because she was a slow learner. The family finally had the money to buy the glasses she needed, and her reading improved some. However, the lenses were a type that required thick black frames. No one in the school ever knew how long Renni's hair was. One by one, the older sisters left home to start life on their own. Pat moved out of town and got married. Trudy went to New York to become a model. Sally won scholarships and went to an Ivy league school. The father took off with the train one day and never came back. Many rumors emerged about what happened, but there was a terrible accident, and he was not coming home again. Renni managed to graduate from high school with a mere 2.0 GPA, not good enough for college. Renni got a serious case of acne while in high school, and with the thick frame glasses, never seemed to land a date. By this time, her hair was to the top of her thighs, but no one but Joe knew that, not even her own mother.

     Soon after Renni graduated from high school, her mother took ill, and could not care for herself. Renni put her life, or what little life she had, on hold to take care of her mother, so her sisters could peruse their carreers and families, and Joe could concentrate on his schoolwork. Joe, being the persuasive type, managed to hustle some money so they could have food on the table. Renni learned to do her mother's sewing to support them. Mom, in her last days, would take Renni aside and thank her every day. She would tell her how much it hurt to see how she was treated growing up. One day, you will be rewarded for what you've done for your family. It may be a while, but you will know it when it happens. "I have one last wish, Renni. I know you go down to the creek and spend all that time on your hair, but I have not seen you wear it down since that day your father made that comment at dinner. Please, let me see it.", pleaded her mother. Renni stood up and let her hair fall fall down her back, and down her thighs. Her mother looked up in tears and told her how beautiful it was. Renni ran upstairs and got a brush and brushed it out for her. Just then, Joe came in, seeing Renni and her long hair freed from the bun. "Joey, isn't your sister just adorable with her hair down?", asked the mother. "I know, I've seen it", said Joe. Joe proceeded to tell her about the incident where Pat and Trudy tried to cut her hair in her sleep. "Please don't hold it against them!", cried Renni. "This is in the past, I don't want to do anything to hurt my sisters in the eyes of Mom." Renni went to put her hair back up when, "Don't. Please, leave it down. Please, leave it free.", said Mom. Joe agreed, and Renni left her hair down the rest of the night. The mother sent Joe upstairs to get a large wooden box out of the closet. He brought it down and gave it to her. In it was a large ruby heart on a gold chain, and a document. She took out the ruby heart and gave it to Renni. "This will be yours. Consider this a down payment on the blessing you will get for your selfless deeds. Your father won this on a bet and gave it to me on our wedding night." she told Renni. "Joey, you hold on to this and read it after I am gone.", she told Joe.

     That night, the spirit left her mother, and the three older sisters came back into town. On the night of the wake, Joe told his sisters about how Renni gave up everything to take care of their mother while they were out enriching their lives. He produced a document stating that when the house and property was sold, all proceeds were to be divided as follows. It would be 50% to Renni, 20% to Joe, and 10% to each of the rest. "I plan to give my 20% to Renni, so she can start a life of her own.", Joe said. Again, the older sisters were mad at Renni, for seemingly going behind their backs and stealing their mother's attention. Pat said that Renni would probably end up a loser on the streets. Trudy said she would never find a husband with her acne scarred face, thick framed glasses, and those old maid dresses she wore. Sally thought Renni was not smart enough to go anywhere but dead end jobs. Joe was saddend by this, his sisters could not accept Renni, even after this. Renni wore her long hair in a bun as tight as she could get it, and she made her own black dress for the funeral. After this, an estate sale was held, and Joe took care of everything. Renni still went back to the house to wash her hair. She would go back to the house to see if anyone moved in, because the buyer of the house was anonymous. Upon seeing no one there, she would head to the creek and do her hair. Joe set her up in an apartment in town, and she found a job as a clerk at city hall. It didn't pay well, but she was used to having very little, and was satisfied by supporting herself and not having to ask Joe for help, even though she knew he would gladly help her. Joe lived nearby, landing a job as a sales rep but would travel often. Renni was happy with this. Things were peaceful, no one bothered her, and she continued to care for her long hair as if it were a precious jewel. She continued to sew in her spare time, making things for herself, but some of the things that made her look her best never were worn outside of her apartment. She never heard anything more from her sisters.

* * * * *

    As years passed, Renni still lived in the same apartment and had the same job. She saved money by making all her own clothes, usually loose fitting long dresses that would not draw any attention to her. She would make more flattering and sexy things, but never wear them. Joe, however, moved up to VP of sales and moved to corporate headquarters in Denver. He kept in touch with Renni every Saturday night, inquiring about her social life. "Did you meet anyone? How's the job? Heard from your sisters? How long is your hair, now?", were some of the things he would ask. Then there would be the real mystery, "Has anyone ever moved into our old house?". Working at city hall, Renni had access to records. The taxes were paid by cashiers check coming from Wyoming. The name on the books was someone who lived in Colorado. Yet no one had ever moved in. Once in a while, someone would stay there for a night, and do maintenance. On Saturday's, Renni would park her car out on the gravel road and walk through the woods and look. Seeing no one, she would spend the rest of the day by the creek remembering her past and washing her hair. Her hair was now to her knees and it was easier for her to strip down to a swimsuit and go completely into the creek to wash her hair. The cool spring fed creek felt so good, she could spend hours relaxing there. In winter the water was warmer than the surrounding air, so it still felt good. By nightfall, she would head back to her apartment and wait for Joe's call. She would send him pictures of herself with her long shiny hair hanging free.

     The house mystery was only for Renni. Joe knew who the owner was. Joe was able to persuade a gentleman at the bank to find a buyer for the house and have Joe pay him back. After three years, Joe paid it off, but let it sit vacant, just so Renni would have this place to go that she loved. It was the least he could do after what Renni did for him and Mom, and his sisters. He enjoyed hearing Renni talk about sneaking around the property and washing her hair in the creek. It seemed to add a little to her otherwise drab life.

* * * * *

     Joe had a friend, Pete, who lost his young wife to an accident many years ago. He was another VP, but in R&D, working at the corporate headquarters with Joe. After working hard to achieve this position, he wanted to explore other possibilities. He was a good friend of Joe. Pete' young wife also had very long hair that he would help take care of. He never got over her, and didn't seem interested in remarrying. Once, at lunch, Pete saw a picture of Renni in Joe's wallet, as Joe paid for lunch. Joe told Pete how she cared for his mother, thus allowing him and his sisters to further their careers. "One day, she will get the happiness she deserves.", Joe told Pete. Time went on with no more mention of this. Then one day, Pete decided he wanted to meet Renni and see what she was like. Joe was all for this. The plan was simple. Take a week off and stay at the old house. Joe had the utilities turned back on, and told Pete that Renni went there every nice Saturday afternoon to relax and wash her hair in the clear creek water. This would be the only time they could catch Renni with her hair down. Joe warned Pete that Renni was very shy, and to proceed slowly. "I bet it's a beautiful sight, watching her wash all that hair while standing in the creek!", Pete told Joe. "Watch, don't interrupt her. Wait till she's done. She parks her car along the gravel road just beyond the property marker. Go there and wait for her. Make up some kind of excuse about checking the car.", said Joe. They took a moving van up to the house to unload a few things for Pete's stay. Joe got a room at the town motel.

     It was now 15 years since her Mom's passing, and Renni, now 35, parked her car on the gravel road, and went up to the house as usual, expecting to see no one. But this time, there was the  moving van. Tears came to her eyes, as she now realized her peaceful days at the creek were now over. She wondered how washing her hair in the shower with treated city water would affect it. By now, her hair was half-way between her knees and ankles. All of a sudden, the front door opened, and Renni jumped for cover, not seeing who was there. It was Pete who got into the moving van and drove off. Renni saw this as an opportunity to make one last trip to the creek. As she made her way there, she noticed some new fruit trees had been planted nearby the small pool where she washed her hair. "The new owners must have planted these. They must see this beautiful area the same way I do. I wonder if the lady of the house has long hair and will wash it here with the clear spring fed water?", she thought. So many thoughts. Renni was sad, thinking this would be the last time she could come here. Little did she know, the moving van did not go very far......

    Pete and Joe saw Renni jump for cover, so they decided to hide the van and watch Renni from the woods as she walked down to the creek. Not even Joe was prepared for the events that were to happen. Renni unloaded the contents of her paper bag. First was a towel, and she laid it out on the bank of the creek. Next, she took three bottles and placed them on the towel, followed by a large brush, a comb, and a mirror. Then she took out the ruby heart and put it on the towel. She stood on the bank of the creek and stared for a while, seeminly making sure she was alone. After a few moments, she took off her loose fitting blouse. Then she took off the baggy cargo shorts she had on, and the oversized t-shirt, revealing a sky blue one piece swimsuit and a nice figure. Joe looked over at Pete, who looked as if he was in a trance. "I never knew she looked this good! She always dressed like an old maid!", wispered Joe. Renni then took off the loafers and the socks she had on, and put on the ruby heart. Other interesting things were happening. Two squirrels came down from a tree to watch. A bird landed nearby on a bush. A rabbit watched from a rock on the other bank. It seemed the animals were here for a show. Joe and Pete knew they were witnessing something very special, something going on here for many years, something never meant for anyone to see. In silence, they continued to watch.

     Renni took off the thick framed glasses and put them on the bank. She arranged the three bottles, then dipped her toes in the creek. Satisfied, she began to wade in. She stepped off an underwater ledge into a deeper pool, and was submerged to her upper thighs. She raised both arms up to the large bun on top of her head, and began to take out the pins. With one hand, she held the pile of hair on top of her head, and with the other, removed the last pin. She let go of the piled hair and let it fall, to her neck, down her back, past her waist, and splashing into the clear water. Then she kneeled in the creek, then submerged her whole body, wetting all her hair. She went under three times. She took the first bottle and shampooed her hair with it. She rinsed it by submerging herself completly in the creek. She would repeat this until she was satisfied her hair was completey rinsed. She took the second bottle, and repeated the same steps. For the third bottle, she did not rinse right away. Instead, she left this in her hair and sat on a rock on the bank, messaging her hair. A deer came from the woods to have a look. It didn't seem scared at all. The deer came right up to her, smelling the scent of the third bottle. She then waded back into the creek to rinse off the contents of the third bottle. When this was done, she sat in the deep pool, only her head above water. The current had pushed her hair behind her, and seemed to be messaged by the current. She closed her eyes and didn't move.

     They could tell she didn't want to leave. Dusk was upon the clear creek, and Renni had to get out. She stood on the bank to look at the creek one last time, her long shiny black hair hanging free behind her dripping of spring water. Pete's heart skipped several beats seeing these sights. She dried herself off and went to put her clothes back on, and pack up her paper bag. She left her hair hang free to dry.

     Pete had his car hidden in the weeds, and went to it. Joe went to take the van back to town. Pete drove up behind Renni's car, just as she came out of the woods. Startled, Renni jumped back into the woods. Pete got out of his car, and called for her. "Ma'am, are you OK? Do you need help?". he called out. Renni was struck with fear, and hid. She realized this was probably the new owner, and she was trespassing. "Don't worry. My name is Pete, and I am not going to harm you. Please, come on out!". Renni decided hiding wasn't going to work, and he was not going away, so she came out of the woods. "Please! Don't call the police. I'll go away and n-never c-come back.!", she stuttered. "You're fine, I won't do anything to you. I can't help but notice your beautiful hair. Never in my life have I ever seen such beauty. And believe me, I've seen some of the best. Tell me, is it that clear creek water that makes it shine so?", said Pete. "i-I've wa-ashed my here, I mean hair here all my life. I-I used to l-live here.", Renni stuttered some more. "Are y-you the new o-owner?", she asked. "Not yet, I'm just trying it out for a week. Say, I'm headed into town for dinner, how about joining me and tell me about this place, since you used to live here. And don't mind me, you can wash your hair here any time you want!". he said. "Pick a place, I'm new here and don't know where to go, my treat." he told her.

     Pete and Renni met for dinner and hit it off well. It wasn't long, and Pete gave up his VP position to move to Renni's small town to marry her. They built a new house up on the hill, but kept the old house and property, just so Renni could go there and wash her beautiful hair. They were married at the country club and had hundreds of guests, including Renni's sisters. Renni showed the town her beautiful hair at the wedding, cascading down her wedding dress, and all were amazed how long and beautiful it was. There was enough money, so Renni could quit her job and volunteer in town helping those in need, just as she dreamed as a girl. Renni's hair stopped growing as it reached her ankles, but she continued to care for it at the creek. Renni had two daughters, and as they grew, washed their hair at the creek, also. Renni never found out it was Joe who kept the clear spring fed creek in the family. She only knew that Pete and herself bought the house and property from the mystery owner. And one spirit, her mother, was smiling. Renni was finally rewarded for her selfless deeds.
 

Renni and the Clear Creek is fictional and any resemblance to an event is accidental.

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