Three weeks later, the school gym looked completely different.
Salon chairs stood along one wall. Volunteers labeled each donation carefully. Parents, teachers, older siblings, and students filled the room.
One father donated several inches of hair he had been growing for years. A teacher cut the long hair she had worn since college. Other families contributed money. Children decorated cards with encouraging messages for young patients they would never meet.
Maya did not donate again. She had already given what she could.
Instead, she stood beside Liam at the labeling table, checking that every bundle had the correct form attached. Her short hair curled around her face as she concentrated.
