When two weeks had gone, I was rather good at posing in the right manner and I was now also able to balance myself on high heels. My aunt declared now it was time to take photos the next night. My mother should be in charge of the photography which should take place in different corners of the house.

The next evening after supper my aunt began the beauty treatment. My legs had to be shaved from every dark masculine hair and my arms were shaved too. "Later we will bleach the hair on the arms in order to make them look authentic, but it is not so necessary tonight," she said. I was sitting at the dressing table in the room of my aunt. Bottles and brushes, pots and tubs were placed there. Mystical sticks in colored plastic cases were shining in the strong sidelight from each side of my aunt's big makeup mirror. It was here she every morning made up her own face, a ritual without which a day could not begin. She had taught my mother the same procedure and now it was me that was going to be treated by cosmetics. The strong light almost hurt my eyes.

"You had better close your eyes," my aunt said wrapping a scarf around my hair.

I closed my eyes. My dream was beginning to become true. My aunt started. All the procedure, that every cosmetic minded woman knows. I had to go through it. It was thrilling. Cleansing, covering a little dark spot with a special stick, foundation cream, dark powder to suppress, light powder to emphasize. She modulated my shape of face with light and shadow. My eyebrows were moderately plucked, colored and shaped by brown sticks. The eyelids were covered with colored shadows, the lashes were impregnated by mascara and black lines were drawn along the edges of the eyelids. A set of artificial eyelashes were trimmed and glued to the eyelids just along the edges of my own lashes. Afterwards the black lines were made broader Now rouge on the cheekbones and at last my lips were drawn up and filled out with a crimson lipstick. At no moment during the treatment had I been allowed to see myself in the mirror - I could only follow the procedure in my thoughts feeling the cosmetics being put on my face. Now my aunt said:

"Please, look in the mirror. Fantastical, don't you think?”

My aunt laughed. But I only heard it as far away. I stared into the mirror. It was completely incredible, a young girl's face looked out at me. A young girl thoroughly made up, but looking nice and natural. A scarf was still wrapped around my hair — and this scarf made my ap-

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