The Watcher (part 3)

-- read part 1 here --
-- read part 2 here --

The next morning I was eagerly waiting to see how Oskar was going to dress me. Finally they arrived, but they were approaching so slowly. I impatiently hopped from one foot on the other. But then I saw Elena’s short steps and I realized the drawstring around her knees was tightened. Not as tight as it had been when she was watching Oskar, because then she wouldn’t have been able to walk at all. But it clearly limited her steps.

“Hi Clara,” Oskar said, and Elena echoed him, although it was harder to hear her. She was of course wearing the thick shiny blue Parkasite down mantle. In the hood opening the white fur from the jacket underneath was visible. Then I saw something else. A piece of metal was attached to the zipper and the drawstrings of her hood. Oskar saw me look at it.

“It’s a magnetic lock,” he explained. “After what happened I’m not taking any risks. Elena agrees with my precaution. From now on she will be locked into her Parkasite coat wherever she goes. While she watches my morning runs, she also wears the two other down jackets underneath. For the rest of the day the Parkasite coat will suffice. Shall we go inside?”

I followed Oskar to the changing room. Elena came last. While Oskar carried his sports bag, Elena carried a much larger bag. I assumed it contained my clothes.

"You can take off your own jacket, Clara," Oskar said once we were in the changing room, "and your shoes as well." I did as he said. Meanwhile Elena put the bag on the table. Then she stood in a corner to watch me getting dressed. Oskar opened the bag and took out a large pile of down-filled nylon. My heart started beating faster at the sight of it.

It was a down suit in yellow and black. I had never worn a down suit before but I was happy to try it on. I put my legs in first, then my arms, and zipped the suit up. It was really warm. Oskar put my hood up, fastened the velcro flap in front of my mouth, and tied the hood tightly, until only my eyes were showing.
Next he gave me a pair of Moonboots. These too were yellow and black, matching the suit. They were in shiny vinyl. I put them on my feet and tied them. Oskar then helped me into a pair of black mittens exactly like Elena’s. Once they were secured, my hands were almost useless. I thought that would be all, but then Oskar reached into the bag again.

This time he showed me a down mantle, and my eyes widened at the sight of it. The whole mantle is in a pure, bright yellow. It was like looking into the sun. It made me a bit nervous. I was going to be very visible like that. I liked down clothes, but this coat would make me quite showy.

Despite that I obediently put my arms into the coat. It came down right to the top of my Moonboots. Oskar did up the zip and really wrapped me into the coat. The hood was tied until I could barely see out, and he fastened drawstrings at the bottom and around my waist. Just like Elena, the drawstring at the bottom allowed me only a little room so I could take small steps.

“You girls can go outside now,” Oskar said. “I’ll see you at the track.”

Elena turned and slowly made her way outside. I followed at a similar speed. From behind she looked like a shiny blue sleeping bag with Moonboots underneath. I imagined I must look like a similar yellow sleeping bag. We must look quite the odd pair, I thought. But it  was still very early so there was nobody around to see us. I knew that later there would be people, though. I wondered what they’d make of us.

While Oskar was running his rounds, Elena told me how they had acquired my new clothes.

"Yesterday afternoon, Oskar was still not pleased with me. And with good reason, I admit. I should not have allowed you to take my place, it was not fair towards Oskar, who thought it was me all the time. So I think he wanted to punish me a bit when he took me into a shop in my Parkasite mantle with the hood up and tied. By then he had bought the magnetic lock already, so I couldn't open my own coat. He spent a long time finding the thickest down suit available, and of course I was very uncomfortable. But I didn't complain, because I knew I deserved it.

Eventually a shop assistant approached us and asked if she could help. She directed the question at Oskar but I saw her give me a sideways glance. Oskar told her that I was cold all the time, and he wanted the warmest available down suit. She showed him the suit from Feathered Friends that you are wearing now. Oskar then unlocked my Parkasite mantle and helped me out of it. Then I took off my Moonboots and they both helped me put on the suit. Oskar put the hood up and tied it so tight that only my eyes were showing. The girl started explaining that the suit really wasn't meant for everyday wear, and that it was an expedition suit, adapted to the most extreme conditions. But by then Oskar had seen the down mantle and insisted on putting that on top of the down suit.

So shortly afterwards, I stood there, in front of that amazed girl, wearing the same two layers you are wearing now. The shop assistant said I must be melting in there, but Oskar waved that away. "It's exactly what she wants, isn't that so, dear?" he asked me. And I of course did as he wanted me to, and assured the girl that it was true. Afterwards he helped me out of both layers and handed me my Parkasite mantle again. I knew what he wanted so I zipped it up all the way, put the hood up and tied it. We stayed in that shop a while longer after that.

When we eventually left, Oskar asked me in a clear voice whether I wanted to wear the mantle right away, and of course I had to say yes to that, so he again gave it to me to put it on. It was humiliating to wrap myself into such excessive clothing in front of the shop personnel and the customers, but I knew I had to do this to make up for my earlier mistake. It was particularly embarassing when I struggled to tie the hood over the thick Parkasite hood. I didn't manage to get it tight enough to completely cover the hood underneath, so part of the blue hood remained visible inside the yellow hood. But Oskar patiently waited until I had finished my show before we could leave."

I was transfixed by Elena's story, and afterwards I asked her several questions about the details of it, because I wanted to hear more about it. Of course, that meant we were not looking at Oskar during that time - we were facing each other. Oskar noticed that and didn't like that we paid him no attention. Elena and I had no idea that the consequence of this would be that would both be gagged in the future.





-- on to part 4 --







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