When I was younger, both my mom and grandma would sometimes cook miso soup with kombu (sea kelp). I would want to drink the soup only and strategically avoid the veggies.
"Kombu makes your hair healthy, you know. Long and shiny," my mom would say.
"Oh cool. Good to know," I would say, and reluctantly pop a piece of kombu into my mouth.
"I don't want my hair to be long and shiny. Do I have to eat it?" my younger brother would say.
I'd imagine my younger brother with long, luxurious, shiny hair. Pantene Pro-V.
"Yes, you still have to eat it. It makes your eyes strong too," my mom would say.
"How strong exactly?" we'd wonder.
"Very strong," she'd say.
"Sounds painful. No thanks," my brother would say.
"Eat it," my mom would say.
"Our hair's gonna be so long."
"Yup."
"Our eyes are gonna be so strong."
"Yup."
"People will make fun of us."
"Yup."
"Look at those long-haired, bionic eyesight freaks with their seaweed soup. Their hair is so shiny. It's weird."
"Yup. That's the magic of kombu."
-j
