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with hair?” I asked.
    I had seen Aulikki in the sauna, and she didn’t shave her own body hair. Aulikki looked uncomfortable and fumbled for words. She said we had to be careful in case someone dropped by on a hot day and noticed it.
    At first I didn’t understand, and then I did and rolled my eyes. It was another one of those eloi things that kept popping up more and more every year. This new rule about hair was inconsistent, though. I was supposed to let the hair on my head grow long so no one would mistake me for a morlock. And I was supposed to wear a bikini in the summer because elois liked to wear bikinis in the summer. So if the hair on my head was so sacred, why should the hair farther down have to be kept out of sight, particularly when I was supposed to wear clothes that were obviously going to show it?
    Then Aulikki suggested I shave my armpits as well, and I asked if I should shave off my eyebrows, too. I meant it as a joke, but Aulikki said that it might be a good idea to start plucking them now, and I should keep my leg hair under control, too.
    I marched inside to do some research. According to one book, a person’s individual smell was an important factor in mating. The hair in the armpits and on the groin traps special odors that exude their scent to those close by. This made shaving seem even more stupid than I’d thought. Why purposely destroy a physical characteristic specifically linked to the survival of the species?
    Judging by the pictures and the mascos I’d seen, they weren’t required to trim anything except their beards and the hair on their heads, and even that rule seemed to be loosely interpreted.
    Then it said that hair on the groin and armpits was a visible sign of sexual maturity. That in ancient human societies it may have helped to identify whether another individual was of mating age. If elois were required to shave off this identifying characteristic, did that mean that mascos actually wanted to mate with children?
    Another book said that armpit and pubic hair also had a health function. It protected the extremities from chafing during movement, provided cushioning, and promoted air circulation.
    But I was supposed to shave it off.
    There were many, many more bizarre aspects to the world than I could have imagined. I realized I’d been stupid. It wasn’t enough anymore to be a brave shepherd girl inside. My body was betraying me, turning me into a princess against my will.
    We both were going to become narrow-waisted, big-breasted, long-legged elois, but you were the only one who approached the change with curiosity and excitement. You started to talk more and more about entering the mating market and the debutante ball you would have when you turned fourteen.
    I was so jealous of you, Manna. You grew and developed such poise, like a young tree, but I was afraid and filled with angst about the unknown life ahead of me.
    Luckily, Aulikki saw that.
    Aulikki was already nearly eighty when I reached the age of coming out. Because of her age and lack of resources, she got permission to put off my debut for two years so the two of us could come on the market at the same time. That meant I could spend two more precious years at Neulapää.
    I never told you how important it’s been to my whole life to have a sister like you. I would never have learned how to behave, how to talk to strangers, if I didn’t have you.
    With eternal gratitude, your sister,
    Vanna ( Vera )

MODERN DICTIONARY ENTRY
    masco — A popular unofficial vernacular word for the majority of males. Used to distinguish these men from so-called minus men ,a minority of men who, because of their limitations (such as chronic illness or serious physical deficiencies), are designated as outside the mating market.
    Dear Manna,
    Sometimes, for no reason, just to torture myself, I wonder when it was that things took a wrong turn. If I could turn back time, of course, our parents would