Her hair was long, and full, and blonde. It fell all the way to her ankles, and entirely surrounded her. She leaned forward slightly, too, so it blocked out peripheral vision. The only way to see her face was to look at her from head on—and since she was staring out the subway car’s window, that wasn’t possible.

Except I noticed two bright blue eyes looking curiously at mine out of the reflection on the grimy glass. “Like what you see?” she asked—not sarcastically, but more sort of curiously.

“Er, well, I—”

And now a smile beneath those eyes. “Don’t worry, I get it all the time.”

“You have to admit, hair like that is…pretty rare.”

“Mm-hm. Would you like to touch it? Go ahead.”

I reached out—and at that moment, the subway suddenly slammed on the brakes. I fell forward, into her hair—literally. There was no impact of body against body. Instead, I fell into a pile of golden warmth that surrounded me and suspended me.

From a distance, I heard her voice. “Oh dear. I guess I’ll have to keep you now.”