"I want to be a hairdresser," Kazue said, so she left the town where she was born and raised and went to São Paulo. She even took a year off from high school to live and train at her uncle's hair salon. After that, she got her hairdresser's license and started working at her uncle's salon full time.
One day, at her uncle's suggestion, Kazue participated in a national beauty contest and won first place. This prompted her to set big goals for herself.
Salon da Rosa, which was opened by her aunt and uncle 40 years ago, has a modest appearance and serves mostly older Japanese women who don't follow trends and prefer old-fashioned perms.
Kazue had always dreamed of having the hairstyles of the Brazilian singers and actresses she often saw on TV. At the contest, she met many professional hairdressers, who praised her and encouraged her, saying, "You can become a celebrity hair stylist one day."
Since then, Kazue wanted to be reborn as a new person. She wanted to work at a Brazilian salon instead of her uncle's hair salon. She decided to change her "style" and "name" in order to be accepted by Brazilians. First, she changed her beautiful, straight black hair to brown and started wearing heavy makeup, which Brazilians like. She stopped wearing T-shirts and jeans and adopted trendy fashion. She also changed her name, which is very difficult for Brazilians to pronounce, from "Kazue" to "Glaucia." She began attending beauty salons and beauty-related events on weekends.
One day, she was invited to work at the beauty salon in Jardins 1. They also said they would provide her with an apartment nearby. When Kazue told her uncle about it, he was taken aback by the suddenness of the offer, but he warmly sent her off, thinking of his niece's future.
Kazue worked hard and steadily improved her skills. In her fourth year, she went to France to further her skills. Eight years later, she was put in charge of managing a newly opened branch.
The shop was located in "Youth Town," and its glamorous cafes and beer halls were always crowded with university students, entertainers, and artists. Kazue steadily increased the number of young customers. Not only women but also male customers began to come. The salon also offered not only haircuts but also beauty treatments.
Around that time, Kazue began to distance herself from her uncle and aunt who had taken care of her. She also had little contact with her father and sisters at home, and stopped attending the annual Christmas party. This was because a big turning point had come for Kazue, who had just turned 33.
Kazue - no, Glausha - has fallen in love with Jackson!
At 8 p.m., just after the salon closed, a young man called out to me. "Excuse me, are you Keiko?"
Kazue, who was about to get into her car, turned around and answered, "It's Glausha."
"But she looks like her, very like my first love."
Kazue ignored him and quickly got into her car, but the young man saw her off with a smile and a wave, saying, "See you later!"
A few days later, the young man showed up at the salon and asked Glausha to be his host.
Kazue was surprised, but inside she was happy. The young man asked for a hair treatment and started talking about himself. He said his name was Jackson, he was 21 years old, he had been good friends with "japonês 2 " since childhood, and he had been working as a model for the past two years while studying film at a university.
Two weeks later, Jackson asked Kazue to buy him a luxury brand blazer or shirt, saying, "I don't have any money, so please give me some."
A month later, Jackson held a party at Kazue's apartment, attended by Jackson's " 3 Amigos," and paid for by Kazue.
A few months later, Jackson moved into Kazue's apartment, and that's when Kazue's troubles began.
Jackson became violent and his demands escalated. A colleague found bruises on Kazue's face and arms and encouraged her to report the incident to the police. However, Kazue was afraid of retaliation and did not go to the police. In the end, she was unable to return to her apartment and had to stay at a colleague's house.
However, Jackson quickly located Kazue and brought her back.
A few days later, a colleague was astonished to see a photo of "Glausha" on the television news.
"Glausha! What's wrong?! What happened?!"
Note
1. Luxury residential area of Sao Paulo
2. Japanese
3. Friends
@ 2014 Laura Hasegawa
