"I don't think so," I murmured as I took her wrinkled hand in mine. I had a good idea of what she was thinking. "I just drew back because I was caught off guard." I'm not so shallow that I'd run away from you now that you're no longer attractive. Our friendship is about more than that."
She had been ashamedly staring at the floor, but now she looked at me with hope in her eyes. "Do you think we're still friends?"
I replied, "Of course."
She took a sniff. "It's my beauty, it's... It was a gift; it's the only thing I have that truly belongs to me. I knew if I broke my word to you, something bad would happen, but they insisted that I follow their plan. Now it doesn't work, and I resemble a character from a horror film. How am I going to explain this to the other employees? They'll believe
