Doctor's Advice (part 2)

-- read part 1 here --



After a little over twenty-four hours, Myriam decided that Sandra had stayed in her hot prison long enough. Once she had opened the sleeping bags, she helped Sandra stand up and then directed her towards the bathroom. Sandra, still deaf and blind, and sleep-drunk after lying semi-conscious in the sleeping bags, had no idea what happened. Myriam had put the heating in the bathroom at the maximum for the last couple of hours, so it was quite hot in there now. After all, when Sandra would emerge from her sweaty clothes, cooling down too quickly would certainly trigger her illness. Or at least that's what Sandra believed now.

Myriam helped Sandra out of the mittens, sweatshirts and leggings. She had already filled a hot bath. "Just take a nice long bath, and I'll bring you something to put on afterwards."

Sandra did as Myriam told. She did feel a lot better. She was hungry which was a good sign; her fever felt gone. After the bath Myriam brought her ski pants and a down jacket. "This is the only thing I could find," she said. "All my sweatshirts are in the laundry now, and you really don't have anything warm. So you'll have to wear these." So Sandra, put the down jacket and pants on, with only her underwear underneath. Myriam also brought her Moonboots for her feet. And of course Sandra had to wear the hood.

Gradually Sandra recovered from the illness. The next day, the 'doctor' came again and was pleased to see how well Sandra was cared for. She could go back to work next day. Also, Ann took a blood sample from Sandra for further analysis.

Sandra always went to her office by train. She took a 15 minute walk to the station. The train ride was about 25 minutes, and then she had to walk just 5 more minutes. When she worried about what she had to wear now, Myriam put her at ease. "I've taken care of everything already. I just need to do some small modifications, then your outfit will be ready." But she refused to answer any of Sandra's questions about her outfit. "You'll see tomorrow."

When Sandra woke up the next morning, she was a little nervous. Myriam had a completely different taste in clothes. For Myriam, winter clothes had to be as thick as possible. She favored hooded sweatshirts and down jackets, while Sandra didn't like such clothes at all. She liked to show off her slender body, and she didn't want to hide her pretty face under a hood. She was a bit afraid Myriam would want her to wear down clothes and a hood. If the girl had any idea what she was in for, she would have been much more worried.

Sandra still had to sleep in the two down bags, and had to wait for Myriam to let her out. Then she was told to take a quick shower, and Myriam would bring her clothes. When Myriam entered the bathroom with a bundle of clothes, Sandra was already waiting for her, wearing just her underwear. Sandra first handed her a pair of leggings and thick white turtleneck sweater. Next was a black hooded sweatshirt. When Sandra had it on, she noticed there were thin black gloves sewed to its arms. "Those keep your hands at least a little warm, but you can still work normally," Myriam said. Sandra thought that was actually a good idea, but she didn't understand why they had to be sewed to the sweatshirt.

Myriam then put the sweatshirt hood up and pulled it tighter. Sandra saw that the normal drawstring had been replaced with a thin chain. "What's that for?" Sandra asked in a worried voice. "Well, I know you'll want to take your hood off. But it's really better if you keep it up, even inside. So to make sure you wear the hood, I'll put this collar..." - she took a leather collar that was about 10 cm wide - "...around your neck, and now I can attach the chains of your hood to it, and lock the whole thing." She performed the actions as she spoke. With the collar and the chain-drawstring locked in place, there was no way for Sandra to take off her hood.

"But what will my coworkers think when I wear a hood all day!" Sandra protested."You'll have to explain that it's for health reasons. I've already called your boss; she is very understanding of your situation. I have explained how important it is that you remain warm at all times, and she has agreed to see to it. Now wait here while I get the rest."

Myriam left the bathroom and returned with a pair of brand new down pants and Moonboots. The pants were very thick, the down-filled rings bulging out. And they were in shiny red nylon. "Do I really have to wear those?""Yes, Sandra. From now on you will only wear down pants. Remember what the doctor said. Come, I'll help you."

After the down pants were on, Sandra was put in shiny black Moonboots with black fur at the top. Myriam sat down and used another chain to secure the Moonboots, looping it under the fur, "because I know you'll want to take them off inside, but you mustn't." When she was finished, Sandra looked down. "Hey! You have connected them with the chain!" "Ah, yes, I only have one piece of chain, so I had to use it for both. But it's okay, the chain is long enough, you can still walk." It was true, but the chain still limited her steps a bit. She could take steps of about 30 cm, but no more.

"These will be the clothes you'll wear indoors from now on. Even in the office, you won't be able to take down your hood or your Moonboots. Because your down pants are inside your Moonboots, you can't take those off either, but you can lower them enough to go to the toilet. Now we will have breakfast and then I'll put you in your mittens and jacket."

So when it was time to leave, Myriam handed Sandra a pair of enormous black nylon down-filled mittens. They went up to her elbows and were secured with a drawstring and a zipper. It took about five minutes to get them properly done up. Sandra noticed how incredibly thick they were; she couldn't even close her hand into a fist anymore.

"Now you only lack a coat. One moment, let me get it. I found this fantastic down mantle for you!" When Myriam held up the down mantle, Sandra's mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious! I'm not going to wear that!" she exclaimed. The coat was just gigantic. It came down to just below the knees, but it was so thick Sandra thought she wouldn't fit through a doorway wearing it. It even had attached mittens, and of course a huge, fur-trimmed hood. Worst of all, it was again in a bright shiny red colour. Sandra was afraid every head would turn towards her when she wore that coat outside.

"Well you'll have to wear it, Sandra. I threw away your old jackets. With your current condition they are useless. You can't go outside without a jacket, or you'll be ill for a month. And you have to get to work. So what choice do you have?"

None, of course. So Myriam helped Sandra into the coat, zipped it up all the way and tightened the hood. Here, too, she had inserted a thin chain, which she connected to the zipper with a padlock.

"I'll put the key for the lock in this pocket, Sandra. When you get to the office, you can ask someone to let you out. I'll keep the keys for your sweatshirt hood and Moonboots, so you can't take those off. Now off you go, or you'll miss the train!"

She opened the front door and shoved the reluctant Sandra outside.



-- on to part 3 --







Overview