HAIR

She remembered the day she went to the hair salon. She hadn’t dyed her hair in four years, and hadn’t gotten a drastic haircut in three. She explained in detail everything she had read on the charity’s website – before being cut, hair had to be sectioned into small ponytails, secured with rubber bands and then carefully placed in a transparent snaplock bag. It mustn’t be wasted.

Her hair went down to her belly button. The hair donation required thirty centimeters, and the rest was going to form her new look – a bob just above the shoulders. They had to cut off the dyed ends first. Red is the hardest to remove. 

What ridiculous haircuts they gave her in kindergarten! A bowl cut, as they call it. Shortly after, an epidemic of lice broke out and even the classic elixir of gas, oil and vinegar didn’t work, so she had to have her hair cut very short. When she was in eighth grade, she got blond highlights, which she dyed with magic markers in different colors. She envied grandmothers who sported green, blue and violet heads. Their white hair held pigments well. She wished she had white hair as well, so she could easily change its color. She envied the first boy she fell in love with too, because of the natural white streak in his hair. She used to experiment a lot, she cut her own hair, and she even gave herself bangs a few times. She started dyeing her hair black. Chose red for her prom. She went through all shades of red until she decided to leave her natural color. She felt like someone who had returned home after long wandering.

The hairdresser was skilled. A smiling woman with a boyish haircut was looking back at her from the mirror. Much shorter than expected.

She put the donation form in the snaplock bag with her hair and sent it to the organization. 

Not bad. She looked at herself in the shop windows. She felt lighter, blow-drying took her less time, her tangled hair’s daily battles with the comb ended. She even looked thinner. 

Three months later she received confirmation that her hair was suitable and would begin the long journey of evening out its structure, color and length, of merging it with someone else’s hair in order to obtain the wig that some sick woman had been waiting for. She had read that this process could take years and quickly forgot all about it.

She committed to her new self. Her new hairstyle also made her more daring, somehow. She tried things she’d always wanted to do, but didn’t, using… but used her lack of time as an excuse not to do them. She learned how to play chess and the ukulele, and decided to do needlework. Her hands created dozens of cloth bookbindings, patchwork quilts and cushions in a variety of colors. However, she discovered that her great passion was crocheting. Toys, decorations, scarves – her skillful hands could make anything. 

She didn’t like wearing hats, but after she was diagnosed with cancer, her hair began to fall out from chemotherapy. She crocheted herself at least a dozen hats – various patterns in yellow, green, blue, red, violet, orange, pink. She had a different hat for each day of the week. 

And now, four years later, she had forgotten completely about that day she went to the hair salon. 

Among the six women who had donated their hair for her wig, she saw her name. The snaplock bag with her new hair sat unopened on the floor, as she went to the mirror to thank the woman with the boyish haircut.

Danila Mladenova Raicheva is a contemporary Bulgarian writer and a translator from Veliko Tarnovo. Danila has a bachelor’s degree in English studies and a master’s degree in Translation studies from the Veliko Tarnovo University. In 2024 Danila was selected through a competition to take part in the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation’s inaugural edition of the Translation Academy for the Development of Emerging Translators of Fiction from Bulgarian into English. For her translation Danila choose Mihaela Ilieva’s warm and sincere collection of short stories, “An X-Ray of Freedom”, which has already been awarded the Grand Prize of a National Student Literary Competition as well as an Honorable mention in the National Competition for Debut Literature.

In February 2024, the Elizabeth Kostova Foundation launched an open call for English-speaking translators to join the inaugural edition of the Bulgarian to English Literary Translation Academy. The Academy was designed to connect experienced translators with emerging talents in literary translation, fostering the growth of a new generation skilled in bringing contemporary Bulgarian literature to English-speaking audiences. Over a six-month period, mentors Angela Rodel, Ekaterina Petrova, Izidora Angel, and Traci Speed guided three mentees each, working across genres including fiction, children’s literature, and poetry. By the program’s end, participants had developed substantial translated excerpts to present to publishers, authors, and partners, and to use in applying for translation grants, residencies, and other professional development opportunities. The Academy has also enabled contemporary Bulgarian authors to have significant portions of their work translated, which they can present to literary agents, international publishers, and in applications for global programs. You can find more information about the Academy participants here. The Academy is made possible through the support of the National Culture Fund under the Creation 2023 program and in partnership with Vagabond magazine.