On a beautiful day in early October, Marina Jones met her new neighbours for the first time. The four young women seemed nice and pleasant to Marina. When she had opened the door, the tall woman with the curly brown hair - Veronica - had been in front, and she had made the introductions. Clearly the leader of the group, a woman who knew what she wanted and was used to getting it, was Marina's first impression. She wore simple, well-fitting jeans and a white shirt. Next to her was Sally, of average height, blonde and stunningly beautiful, dressed in a pale red summer dress with a matching silk scarf draped carefully around her neck. Then she introduced Susan - dark hair, glasses, dressed in dark pants and a round-neck grey-and-black sweater. And finally Yasmin, who they usually called Mini, the shortest girl of the group, standing at the back in a very thick looking yellow down jacket with the hood up and tied around her face.
Marina invited them in, and offered a refreshment. The women sat down - Veronica on a chair, the three others on the sofa. Yasmin had untied her hood and taken it off, but remained in the thick jacket, which looked even bulkier while she sat down. She had short light brown hair and looked a bit flustered. Meanwhile Marina learned that the girls had met in uni, and after finishing their studies they had decided to hire a house together, since they were all still single. Veronica and Susan did most of the talking, with Sally occasionally making herself heard, but quiet "Mini" in her down jacket just sat there and sipped from her hot chocolate. Marina Jones, who was a retired teacher, found this group of friends quite intriguing.
When they left, Marina noticed another peculiar thing. The girls stood up and Veronica was saying goodbye, but meanwhile she saw how Susan immediately grabbed the hood of Yasmin's jacket and pulled it over her head again. Then she took the drawstrings and tightened them, not simply pulling but roughly yanking them tight before knotting them.
During the next few days, Marina saw how the girls settled into their new place. She didn't want to be that typical old woman spying on her neighbours (she was 64 and in perfect health, but admittedly a bit lonely at times ever since her husband had died), she found them quite interesting to watch. In particular that curious, silent girl Yasmin. Every time Marina spotted Yasmin outside, she was dressed in either the yellow down jacket she had worn on that first visit, or an orange down jacket that looked just as thick. And always with the hood up and firmly tied, despite the pleasant autumn weather. Did she have some kind of illness? And there were other things Marina noticed. It seemed like it was always Yasmin doing the grocery shopping, always alone. It was also Yasmin raking the fallen leaves or putting out the garbage. And however briefly she had to go outside - always with her head buried deep inside the thick hood.
One evening, several months later, Marina saw a taxi arrive at the neighbour's house. After a moment Veronica, Susan and Sally emerged from the house, all clearly dressed for a fancy night out. There was no sign of Yasmin.
On a whim, she decided to pay her remaining neighbour a visit. She walked the short distance to the their front door and rang the doorbell. Nothing happened. She rang again, longer now. She knew Yasmin had to be inside, why didn't she answer the door? She rang a third time and finally the door was opened, but only slightly, so she could not see anything inside.
"Yasmin?" she asked, "it's Marina Jones, your neighbour."
"What is it?" The girl's voice was shy.
"Can I come inside? It's cold out here."
Silence.
"Yasmin? Can I come in?"
"Okay." The door was opened further, revealing Yasmin. She was dressed in a red heavy one-piece down suit. The hood left an opening just big enough for her face; everything else was covered as the suit had attached mittens and socks with the same thick filling as the rest of it.
Marina followed the red fluffy person inside, and meanwhile she noticed that the suit zipped up the back.
"Isn't that quite warm to wear indoors?" she asked.
"Yes."
"So why don't you take it off?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because they've tied the zipper at the end, so I can't open it."
"So they left you stuck in this suit, while they went to party? Why?"
"I said I wanted to go too," Yasmin said, sounding genuinely ashamed for having suggested such a thing.
"Well that's perfectly normal. Why wouldn't you be allowed to go?"
"They said I could go if I wanted. So I was really happy. Then they all got dressed up and I asked what I could wear, because I don't have nice dresses. Veronica told me they had a beautiful red dress for me. I had to strip to my underwear and then go to my room. I did and then I found this on my bed. They all burst out laughing at my reaction. And then they put me in the suit and tied the zipper at the end so I couldn't get out. Then Veronica asked if I still wanted to come with them."
Marina was shocked at the cruelty of the other girls. "I could help you out of the suit," she offered. "And then you could even go to the party."
"I have nothing to wear though. And no way to get there."
"I can fix both of those. I still have some clothes from my daughter. You're about the same size as her, I think they should fit you fine. I'm sure you'll find something you like. And I have a car. I'll take you there."
And so Marina helped to transform Yasmin into a beautiful young lady. She brushed her hair, helped her select a dress, found fitting high-heeled shoes and applied a bit of make-up. Then she brought the girl to the city.
"I'll come back to pick you up at midnight, okay?"
"That's great. Thank you so much."
"Enjoy yourself."
---
Yasmin emerged from the building, clearly in a hurry. She seemed to stumble along as she headed toward Marina's car.
"Hurry, let's go please, quick," she begged as she got into the car.
Marina immediately started the engine. "What's the problem?"
"They're leaving. Veronica, Susan and Sally. They're going home, I saw them. We need to get there before them, or I'll be in a big trouble."
"Don't worry. We'll make it, you'll see." Marina sped up. It was snowing by then, but that was fine. She was confident she could get them home quickly and safely, and it would slow down the other girls.
"Did you have a good time?" she asked Yasmin when she'd caught her breath.
"Yes, it was great, I - oh! I'm so sorry! I lost one of the shoes when I left!"
"Don't worry about that, it's only a shoe. Tell me about the party."
"There was this really nice guy - Jamie. I danced with him and we talked and, well, I liked him a lot."
"That's great. Did you get his phone number?"
"No, but I told him where I live, and he said he'd come visit me soon."
Marina brought Yasmin home and helped her back in the down suit, tying the zipper like before. Then she went back to her own house with the clothes Yasmin had worn, well in time before the taxi with the others arrived. She was happy and pleased with herself. It's like a fairytale, she thought. She hoped that Jamie would show up and take Yasmin away from those wretched women she lived with.
Not every tale has a happy end though.
---
Veronica opened the hood of the sleeping bag and the one of the down suit below, revealing a bit of Yasmin's sweaty face.
"Had a good night?" she asked sarcastically.
"No," Yasmin whispered. "Please let me out. It's so warm." She tried to move, but the thick down-filled bag had been tied securely to the bed, and the ropes around it had kept her immobile all night.
"But maybe your memory is a bit better than it was last night now. So I'll ask again: did you have any visitors yesterday?"
"Yes, our neighbour came over."
Veronica smiled. A nice and uncomfortable night did wonders to help the truth. Of course the neighbour had come over - they had seen the fresh footprints in the snow.
"Why?" she asked.
"She wanted to borrow some milk," Yasmin said.
Veronica's smile disappeared abruptly. Did the girl think she was stupid? It had only started snowing when they left the party at midnight. No way that old woman had come to borrow milk at that time. And besides, there must be a reason Yasmin hadn't wanted to tell that woman was here. There was more to this.
"I think we'll have to give you the rest of the day to think about it some more," she said as she started closing the suit's hood again.
"Shall I get a heavy blanket so she doesn't get cold meanwhile?" Sally suggested.
"No, please, no!" Yasmin thrashed around her enclosed head as much as she could. "I'll tell everything! Really!"
"Everything? No more lies, nothing left out?"
"Yes! Please, open it again!"
Veronica considered for a long moment, then she opened the down suit's hood again. "Last chance, Mini," she said. "You'll tell everything now or I swear you'll be in this the rest of the day and the next night."
---
When Jamie came over later that day, Susan answered the door.
"Hello, handsome," she said, leaning against the doorframe in a lazy, gracious pose.
"Hi, I'm here for Yasmin."
"Yasmin? We have no Yasmin here. It's just Veronica and Sally and me."
"Really? But... I met her last night and she gave me this address. I wanted to bring back her shoe, she lost it last night."
"She must have tiny feet," Susan said, examining the shoe. "I'm sure it wouldn't fit me, nor Veronica or Sally."
Jamie looked crushed. "Then I must have gotten the address wrong. If there's nobody else here..."
"Well do come in then, and you'll see there's nobody else here."
"No, I mean, I believe you of course, I didn't mean..."
"Don't worry, come in and meet the others, and have a look around."
"Sorry to disappoint you, it's just the three of us here," Veronica said after Susan had explained the situation. "And Mini of course."
"Mini?" Jamie asked.
"Our mannequin. We like to put our excess clothes on it. We call it Mini. See." Veronica opened a wall-high cupboard, and Jamie saw an expedition-quality down suit. The hood had been tied shut completely, and judging by how thick and tight everything was, there must be many more layers under the suit. Several straps were needed to hold the whole thing up apparently. On the mannequin's hands were huge mittens and its feet were in oversized Moonboots.
"Well, Mini won't get cold," he said.
"No. But I'm afraid she's not the one you're looking for either," Veronica said, pointing at the enormous Moonboots. "Those feet wouldn't fit that small shoe of yours either."
She closed the cupboard and locked it, leaving the mannequin in its darkness.
woensdag 23 december 2015
dinsdag 8 december 2015
Aisha
Life is full of coincidences, and the way Ingrid and Aisha met is a perfect illustration of that. Had Ingrid not fallen at that exact moment, just when Aisha was the only person around, they would never have known each other and everything that follows would never have happened. And the fall itself was caused because Ingrid was distracted by a crossing cat, and lost her footing on the icy pavement. So in a way, we have the cat to thank for everything that comes next.
As said before, Aisha was the only witness of Ingrid's tumble, and that little coincidence was critical as well, because if anyone else had been there, Aisha would have hurried on instead of helping Ingrid. Aisha is not a particularly selfish person, however. The problem was how she was dressed at that moment. She was wearing her black, knee length down jacket, with the hood up and tied quite tightly, leaving just her eyes and nose showing. But the really weird thing, the thing that excited her but caused her to avoid contact with other people, was that she was locked in the hood. She had replaced the drawstrings with small chains, attached a padlock and left the keys at home. The padlock was covered by her long white scarf, but still...
So when Ingrid fell, Aisha's first impulse was to let somebody else help her, but with nobody around, she had no other choice than to approach the woman who was clearly hurt quite badly.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, and immediately realized it was a stupid question. Yes, she was hurt.
"Should I call an ambulance?"
The woman on the ground considered this, then said: "No, I live right around the corner. It will be easier to have the doctor come over. Better than sitting here in the snow, too. I just need to get home. Could you help me?"
"Sure. Where are you hurt?"
"Left ankle seems sprained, I won't be able to stand on it. And my left wrist hurts really bad. I think it's broken. Can I use your scarf as a sling?"
Aisha's face suddenly felt very warm under her hood. Taking off her scarf! She hesitated but there was really no possible explanation for refusing. She just had to hope the woman wouldn't notice the padlock. So she unwrapped her scarf and knotted it, creating a makeshift sling which she carefully hung around the woman's neck so she could rest her painful hand.
Next, Aisha helped the woman up. She stood on her right foot, with her right arm around Aisha's the base of Aisha's thick hood for support. Then they slowly advanced, the injured woman hopping on one foot, trying to be very mindful of more slippery patches. Aisha had her arm around the woman's waist, so she could catch her if she should fall again.
"I'm Ingrid by the way. And thanks for helping me."
"I'm Aisha, and no problem. How far is it to your house?"
"It's really close, just around the corner. The second house, number 23."
Once they reached Ingrid's place, Aisha, who was now carrying Ingrid's purse as well, found the keys and unlocked the door. Then she helped Ingrid inside, where she dropped down on a sofa. Aisha put Ingrid's bag next to her.
"Thanks again. Could you just do one more thing for me? I have ice in the freezer. Can you get it? And also a towel to put it in."
Aisha was feeling pretty uncomfortable in her tight down hood, but you can't really refuse in such a situation. So she went to the kitchen, and returned a moment later with the ice and the towel. Meanwhile Ingrid had managed to take off her shoes. Aisha handed her the towel - and then the dreaded question came.
"Thanks. Won't you take off your coat? Or at least the hood?"
Aisha's face (thankfully almost entirely hidden) turned scarlet. "I, uh, I,..." she stuttered.
"You can't take it off because it's locked?" It was more a statement than a question; Ingrid wasn't blind, after all, and the padlock had been right in front of her eyes when Aisha handed her the towel.
"Uh, yes..."
At that moment, when Aisha thought she couldn't possibly be more embarrassed, another person entered the hallway.
Sheila entered the living room and stopped as abruptly as if she had ran straight into a brick wall. Picture the scene she arrived at: her friend and roommate Ingrid is sitting on the sofa, with one foot bare and her arm in a makeshift sling. Standing in front of her is a person in a thick black down jacket, with the hood up and tied tight. The person turned towards her, and amusingly, the expressions on both faces were identical: fear. Sheila's first impression was that Ingrid had been beat up by a robber, who would now lunge at her. Aisha felt as if she'd just been caught masturbating in front of strangers.
The moment passed, however, and Sheila realized her first impression was wrong. She was still shocked, however, and she wanted to ask "What happened?" but somewhere between her brain and her mouth the words got changed to "Who are you?" at the hooded person. It was Ingrid who answered though, and told her about the accident she had.
Aisha, meanwhile, just wanted to escape from the humiliating situation, and realized that, now that Sheila had arrived, it was time to bolt.
"Well, I really need to go now, so..."
"Yes, okay, thanks a lot Aisha. Please, can you just write down your phone number before you go? I'd like to call you again later."
Aisha did this, without the faintest idea about the consequences of that innocuous act.
---
A week after that incident, Ingrid called Aisha. They talked for a bit about Ingrid's injuries. (The ankle was better, she could pretty much walk normally. The broken wrist was in a cast.) Then Ingrid said she had a present for Aisha, to thank her for her help. Aisha said that wasn't necessary, but Ingrid insisted that it was something special for her, and she hoped Aisha would enjoy it. Aisha's curiosity was roused, and she agreed to come over on Saturday.
Of course this time Aisha didn't wear her lockable down jacket, so she was able to take off her hood and jacket. Ingrid and Sheila were both there, and the three girls talked for a couple of minutes before Sheila brought in the cardboard box that contained Aisha's present. She opened it and revealed a bright red long down coat. But, as Ingrid quickly explained, it wasn't an ordinary coat. Just like in Aisha's other jacket, they had replaced the hood drawstring with a chain so it could be locked. In addition, they had done the same with drawstrings around the waist, at the hem, and around the wrists. These last ones had been done in such a way that they could be led through loops in a matching set of mittens, making those also impossible to remove. And finally there was a pair of Moonboots, also with chains and locks to prevent them being taken off.
"So now you can be locked into your complete outfit," Ingrid concluded. "What do you think?"
Aisha was stunned. Not only had Ingrid noticed the lock on her hood and known what it meant, apparently she had taken the idea one step further. And why? To mock her? To please her? On one hand Aisha was embarrassed that someone knew her secret (two persons, actually); on the other hand she had to admit that she was excited to wear these clothes. In the end though, it was just her upbringing that kicked in and made her smile and thank them. When you got a present, that was the only correct response, her parents had taught her, even if you had your doubts about it. And she sure had her doubts. She was very uncomfortable about her secret being out.
But there was nothing she could do about that now. And of course she had to try everything on. A minute later she was dressed in the knee length down coat, the Moonboots and the heavy, down-filled mittens. Everything in a fiery bright red. Then, one by one, the chains which were worked into the garments were pulled tighter and locked with padlocks. One on each of her Moonboots. Then those around her wrists, which also kept the mittens on her hands. Next the one on her waist. And finally the one at the hem of the coat. This one Sheila pulled very tight, nearly forcing her knees to touch, before she locked it.
Aisha wanted to say that was too tight, she couldn't walk this way, but then she realized that didn't really matter. She wasn't realistically going outside like this anyway. All of those locks were clearly visible. She said: "It's a really nice outfit, but you know I can't go outside in it, right? Everyone would be able to see the locks." "Right! We've thought of that!" Sheila said, and quickly left the room. Aisha was momentarily puzzled, until Sheila returned with a green rubber raincape. Without a pause, she put it on Aisha. "There, all covered!" she grinned.
It was true. The cape was slightly longer than the down coat, so it even hid the odd position of her knees. It had no armslits, so her arms were entirely under it.
"Oh, one more thing," Sheila said. She pulled up the back of the cape and took Aisha's right arm. She did something with the padlock on her wrist, pulling her arm backwards a bit while she did this. Then she suddenly took her left arm as well, and before Aisha knew what happened, they were locked together on her back.
"Hey!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"With your arms under the cape, they're useless anyway. Might as well lock them together, while we're at it." Sheila said.
"But I don't want that! Unlock them, please!"
Ingrid stepped in. "Don't worry, Aisha, we'll unlock them afterwards. Now it doesn't really matter, does it? With those mittens locked on and under the cape, you couldn't do anything with your hands regardless."
While that was true, Aisha didn't think it made her any happier.
Aisha tried a few tentative steps. "I can hardly walk like this, with my arms on my back and my knees together. I feel like I'm tied up."
"Yeah, you are pretty well tied up," Sheila said. "Just one more thing." And suddenly she had something in her hand that made Aisha really afraid.
"W-what's that?" she stuttered, although she knew what the red ball that dangled on the leather strap was for.
"As you said, you're essentially tied up now, so it's only fitting that you get a gag as well," Sheila grinned, and ominously walked up to her. Aisha tried to step back but found herself stopped short by her hobble. Sheila was holding the gag right in front of her face now.
"No, no, I don't want a gag. Listen, I..." Aisha babbled, but that wasn't very smart. With her mouth open, Sheila could easily push the gag in, and she buckled up the strap and locked it. Aisha protested but nothing intelligible came out.
Then Sheila put Aisha's hood up and pulled it tight to hide the gag. Only her nose and eyes remained visible. She used a scarf to cover everything up further, and finally pulled the rubber hood of the cape over it all and tied that in place. It still left a good amount of the red hood visible.
"Okay, let's go," Ingrid said as both girls put their jackets on. Aisha shook her head as much as the hoods would allow. She didn't want to go out like this, all tied up and gagged! But they each put an arm around her and gently but firmly pushed her towards the door, ignoring the wild shakes of her hooded head and the pathetic grunts in her gag.
That was the first time Aisha went out completely tied up and gagged - but of course it wasn't the last time. Once her initial panic subsided, she enjoyed the afternoon, and Ingrid and Sheila took good care of her. So if you ever run into these three girls, one of which stays covered under her coat and cape, with the hoods up and tied tightly, always silent and never moving her arms - you'll know you've found Aisha. Go say hello to her; I expect her face will turn red while she lowers her hooded head to escape your attention.
As said before, Aisha was the only witness of Ingrid's tumble, and that little coincidence was critical as well, because if anyone else had been there, Aisha would have hurried on instead of helping Ingrid. Aisha is not a particularly selfish person, however. The problem was how she was dressed at that moment. She was wearing her black, knee length down jacket, with the hood up and tied quite tightly, leaving just her eyes and nose showing. But the really weird thing, the thing that excited her but caused her to avoid contact with other people, was that she was locked in the hood. She had replaced the drawstrings with small chains, attached a padlock and left the keys at home. The padlock was covered by her long white scarf, but still...
So when Ingrid fell, Aisha's first impulse was to let somebody else help her, but with nobody around, she had no other choice than to approach the woman who was clearly hurt quite badly.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, and immediately realized it was a stupid question. Yes, she was hurt.
"Should I call an ambulance?"
The woman on the ground considered this, then said: "No, I live right around the corner. It will be easier to have the doctor come over. Better than sitting here in the snow, too. I just need to get home. Could you help me?"
"Sure. Where are you hurt?"
"Left ankle seems sprained, I won't be able to stand on it. And my left wrist hurts really bad. I think it's broken. Can I use your scarf as a sling?"
Aisha's face suddenly felt very warm under her hood. Taking off her scarf! She hesitated but there was really no possible explanation for refusing. She just had to hope the woman wouldn't notice the padlock. So she unwrapped her scarf and knotted it, creating a makeshift sling which she carefully hung around the woman's neck so she could rest her painful hand.
Next, Aisha helped the woman up. She stood on her right foot, with her right arm around Aisha's the base of Aisha's thick hood for support. Then they slowly advanced, the injured woman hopping on one foot, trying to be very mindful of more slippery patches. Aisha had her arm around the woman's waist, so she could catch her if she should fall again.
"I'm Ingrid by the way. And thanks for helping me."
"I'm Aisha, and no problem. How far is it to your house?"
"It's really close, just around the corner. The second house, number 23."
Once they reached Ingrid's place, Aisha, who was now carrying Ingrid's purse as well, found the keys and unlocked the door. Then she helped Ingrid inside, where she dropped down on a sofa. Aisha put Ingrid's bag next to her.
"Thanks again. Could you just do one more thing for me? I have ice in the freezer. Can you get it? And also a towel to put it in."
Aisha was feeling pretty uncomfortable in her tight down hood, but you can't really refuse in such a situation. So she went to the kitchen, and returned a moment later with the ice and the towel. Meanwhile Ingrid had managed to take off her shoes. Aisha handed her the towel - and then the dreaded question came.
"Thanks. Won't you take off your coat? Or at least the hood?"
Aisha's face (thankfully almost entirely hidden) turned scarlet. "I, uh, I,..." she stuttered.
"You can't take it off because it's locked?" It was more a statement than a question; Ingrid wasn't blind, after all, and the padlock had been right in front of her eyes when Aisha handed her the towel.
"Uh, yes..."
At that moment, when Aisha thought she couldn't possibly be more embarrassed, another person entered the hallway.
Sheila entered the living room and stopped as abruptly as if she had ran straight into a brick wall. Picture the scene she arrived at: her friend and roommate Ingrid is sitting on the sofa, with one foot bare and her arm in a makeshift sling. Standing in front of her is a person in a thick black down jacket, with the hood up and tied tight. The person turned towards her, and amusingly, the expressions on both faces were identical: fear. Sheila's first impression was that Ingrid had been beat up by a robber, who would now lunge at her. Aisha felt as if she'd just been caught masturbating in front of strangers.
The moment passed, however, and Sheila realized her first impression was wrong. She was still shocked, however, and she wanted to ask "What happened?" but somewhere between her brain and her mouth the words got changed to "Who are you?" at the hooded person. It was Ingrid who answered though, and told her about the accident she had.
Aisha, meanwhile, just wanted to escape from the humiliating situation, and realized that, now that Sheila had arrived, it was time to bolt.
"Well, I really need to go now, so..."
"Yes, okay, thanks a lot Aisha. Please, can you just write down your phone number before you go? I'd like to call you again later."
Aisha did this, without the faintest idea about the consequences of that innocuous act.
---
A week after that incident, Ingrid called Aisha. They talked for a bit about Ingrid's injuries. (The ankle was better, she could pretty much walk normally. The broken wrist was in a cast.) Then Ingrid said she had a present for Aisha, to thank her for her help. Aisha said that wasn't necessary, but Ingrid insisted that it was something special for her, and she hoped Aisha would enjoy it. Aisha's curiosity was roused, and she agreed to come over on Saturday.
Of course this time Aisha didn't wear her lockable down jacket, so she was able to take off her hood and jacket. Ingrid and Sheila were both there, and the three girls talked for a couple of minutes before Sheila brought in the cardboard box that contained Aisha's present. She opened it and revealed a bright red long down coat. But, as Ingrid quickly explained, it wasn't an ordinary coat. Just like in Aisha's other jacket, they had replaced the hood drawstring with a chain so it could be locked. In addition, they had done the same with drawstrings around the waist, at the hem, and around the wrists. These last ones had been done in such a way that they could be led through loops in a matching set of mittens, making those also impossible to remove. And finally there was a pair of Moonboots, also with chains and locks to prevent them being taken off.
"So now you can be locked into your complete outfit," Ingrid concluded. "What do you think?"
Aisha was stunned. Not only had Ingrid noticed the lock on her hood and known what it meant, apparently she had taken the idea one step further. And why? To mock her? To please her? On one hand Aisha was embarrassed that someone knew her secret (two persons, actually); on the other hand she had to admit that she was excited to wear these clothes. In the end though, it was just her upbringing that kicked in and made her smile and thank them. When you got a present, that was the only correct response, her parents had taught her, even if you had your doubts about it. And she sure had her doubts. She was very uncomfortable about her secret being out.
But there was nothing she could do about that now. And of course she had to try everything on. A minute later she was dressed in the knee length down coat, the Moonboots and the heavy, down-filled mittens. Everything in a fiery bright red. Then, one by one, the chains which were worked into the garments were pulled tighter and locked with padlocks. One on each of her Moonboots. Then those around her wrists, which also kept the mittens on her hands. Next the one on her waist. And finally the one at the hem of the coat. This one Sheila pulled very tight, nearly forcing her knees to touch, before she locked it.
Aisha wanted to say that was too tight, she couldn't walk this way, but then she realized that didn't really matter. She wasn't realistically going outside like this anyway. All of those locks were clearly visible. She said: "It's a really nice outfit, but you know I can't go outside in it, right? Everyone would be able to see the locks." "Right! We've thought of that!" Sheila said, and quickly left the room. Aisha was momentarily puzzled, until Sheila returned with a green rubber raincape. Without a pause, she put it on Aisha. "There, all covered!" she grinned.
It was true. The cape was slightly longer than the down coat, so it even hid the odd position of her knees. It had no armslits, so her arms were entirely under it.
"Oh, one more thing," Sheila said. She pulled up the back of the cape and took Aisha's right arm. She did something with the padlock on her wrist, pulling her arm backwards a bit while she did this. Then she suddenly took her left arm as well, and before Aisha knew what happened, they were locked together on her back.
"Hey!" she exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"With your arms under the cape, they're useless anyway. Might as well lock them together, while we're at it." Sheila said.
"But I don't want that! Unlock them, please!"
Ingrid stepped in. "Don't worry, Aisha, we'll unlock them afterwards. Now it doesn't really matter, does it? With those mittens locked on and under the cape, you couldn't do anything with your hands regardless."
While that was true, Aisha didn't think it made her any happier.
Aisha tried a few tentative steps. "I can hardly walk like this, with my arms on my back and my knees together. I feel like I'm tied up."
"Yeah, you are pretty well tied up," Sheila said. "Just one more thing." And suddenly she had something in her hand that made Aisha really afraid.
"W-what's that?" she stuttered, although she knew what the red ball that dangled on the leather strap was for.
"As you said, you're essentially tied up now, so it's only fitting that you get a gag as well," Sheila grinned, and ominously walked up to her. Aisha tried to step back but found herself stopped short by her hobble. Sheila was holding the gag right in front of her face now.
"No, no, I don't want a gag. Listen, I..." Aisha babbled, but that wasn't very smart. With her mouth open, Sheila could easily push the gag in, and she buckled up the strap and locked it. Aisha protested but nothing intelligible came out.
Then Sheila put Aisha's hood up and pulled it tight to hide the gag. Only her nose and eyes remained visible. She used a scarf to cover everything up further, and finally pulled the rubber hood of the cape over it all and tied that in place. It still left a good amount of the red hood visible.
"Okay, let's go," Ingrid said as both girls put their jackets on. Aisha shook her head as much as the hoods would allow. She didn't want to go out like this, all tied up and gagged! But they each put an arm around her and gently but firmly pushed her towards the door, ignoring the wild shakes of her hooded head and the pathetic grunts in her gag.
That was the first time Aisha went out completely tied up and gagged - but of course it wasn't the last time. Once her initial panic subsided, she enjoyed the afternoon, and Ingrid and Sheila took good care of her. So if you ever run into these three girls, one of which stays covered under her coat and cape, with the hoods up and tied tightly, always silent and never moving her arms - you'll know you've found Aisha. Go say hello to her; I expect her face will turn red while she lowers her hooded head to escape your attention.
maandag 23 november 2015
Raissa's Revenge
After she discovered the truth about what had happened during her "quest", Raissa's first instinct had been to rush to Francesca and... do what? She didn't know, and that made her pause. She wanted revenge, that was certain. And she realized she wanted Francesca to be humiliated in public, because that had happened to her. She needed to find a way to get Fran outside in her beloved gear. That would cool off that horny bitch! Well, not literally, perhaps.
---
It was Saturday, and Francesca wanted to spend the day locked inside her Glosssuit. She called her good friend Raissa and asked if she could come over later to free her. That was no problem, Raissa said, and she asked what she was going to wear.
"My blue Glosssuit, with the open face, and a gag," Francesca said.
"You should put the orange pants and jacket on underneath," Raissa suggested.
"Hmm... Why not? This will be a hot day," Francesca laughed.
"Enjoy!"
Twenty minutes later, Francesca was lying on her bed, dressed in the orange down pants and jacket, with the blue Glosssuit on top. Exactly like Raissa had been dressed when she had sent her to the fetish party. The thought of poor Raissa, dressed like this outdoors, made her extremely horny. It had been a naughty thing to do, she thought. Francesca had agreed to go to the fetish party, but then started having second thoughts. She wanted to know what it was like, but she didn't dare to go. She had thought up a plan to make Raissa go in her place, and once that plan was formed she couldn't get it out of her head. And eventually committed to it.
It had been Raissa's idea to wear the jacket under the suit... just like how she was dressed that day. Usually Raissa didn't mind what she wore. Was it possible that Raissa had enjoyed wearing this outfit? Perhaps they could do some sessions in down together? The idea drove her wild and she climaxed.
She was dozing on the bed when suddenly the bedroom door opened. Half asleep and with her head packed in down-filled nylon, she had heard nothing. So she had the fright of her life when there was suddenly a man in her bedroom, dressed completely in black, with a balaclava over his head. She jumped up and would have screamed, but the gag and her hoods blocked the sound almost completely. She backed away in the furthest corner but the man closed the distance in a few steps. She was paralyzed with fear when he grabbed her and threw her face down on the bed. At least he can't rape me, shot through Fran's head, and the absurdity of that caused a brief panic-induced giggle which made her briefly choke on her gag. She made a snorting sound as she sucked air through her nose.
Meanwhile the man was sitting across her legs and ass while he pulled her arms behind her and tied them together. First her elbows, then the wrists. Despite the thick filling of her suit, he managed to tie her arms securely together. He had still not said a word, and neither had she, obviously. Wasn't he surprised about that? Wasn't he surprised to find her in a down suit? Or was he just too professional to show it? That thought sent a cold shiver down her spine despite the fact that she was hot and sweaty.
Once her arms were tied, the man shifted his position and started on her legs. Francesca feebly tried to kick but her struggles only resulted in more heat trapped inside the suit. Finally the man got off her and she felt her ankles being pulled towards her ass. The connecting rope between her ankles and elbows was pulled as tight as possible, completing her hogtie.
The man left the room and she was alone, her mind filled with fearful thoughts, her body drenched in sweat.
Some time later - half an hour, perhaps? - she heard a rustling sound. The man was back, and he lifted her knees while pulling something under them. He worked it further under her body and when he reached her head she could see what it was. An huge, brown garbage bag. Fresh panic engulfed Francesca and she desperately tried to kick and scream, but of course, tied up and gagged as she was, this had absolutely no effect. The bag was pulled over her and closed. Francesca noticed that their were tiny holes in the bag, which would allow air passage. She hoped that meant the man didn't want to kill her.
Now she was lifted up, one person holding her knees, another her shoulders. So there was a second robber. Carefully they carried her out of her bedroom. Then she was placed down again. She judged they must be at the top of the stairs now.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then suddenly she was pushed forward! She screamed in her gagged as she was pushed face forward towards the stairs! But instead of tumbling down the stairs (and likely breaking her neck) she slid over a smooth surface, accelerating downwards. This didn't quite stop her panic however, and she kept howling in her gag while she slid faster. Then the surface leveled off, she was still carried forward by her momentum, until hands stopped the motion of her bagged form. A slide, she realized when she finally calmed down a bit. They had placed a slide on top of the stairs, with soap or oil on it to make it more slippery. At that point somebody bumped against her knees - the second robber coming down.
Then she was being carried again. Through the door - outside now. Placed down again, on something soft. Then, unmistakable - the crashing sound of a trunk being closed, right above her. She was being kidnapped!
The engine started, and now they were driving. Soon she realized the entire trunk was filled with soft things, pillows or mattrasses, so she didn't get hurt when the car turned. So her kidnappers were concerned with her well-being. That was a good thing, at least. That wasn't to say that she was comfortable though. She was still in a tight hogtie, with a large ball in her mouth, dressed in layers of down inside a plastic bag, in a stuffed trunk. Her nostrils were wide as she kept taking deep breaths of warm air that would rapidly run out of oxygen. She wondered how long she could survive here.
Thankfully, it was a short ride. After ten minutes the car stopped and the trunk was opened again. Then the bag was opened and even her ropes were being untied. Still facedown, Francesca had not seen her kidnapper yet. Once she was untied, her legs were pulled over the edge of the trunk so she could easily climb out. She turned and faced her captor.
"!!" No sound escaped her suit, but "Carl" was what she had tried to say. The man - now without balaclava - was Carl, Raissa's boyfriend!
"You've done something pretty nasty to Raissa," he said, "and this is payback time. You'll have to walk home like this. Raissa will be waiting for you. I suggest you use the time to reflect on what you did and think of how you will apologize to her."
He turned back to the car and took something from the passenger seat. Her oversized Moonboots, which were meant to fit over the attached feet of her Glosssuit. "You'll need these," he said putting them on the ground. Then he closed the trunk, got in the car and drove away.
Francesca was standing in a clearing in the forest. She recognized the place. She had picknicked here last summer. With Raissa, of course. She was about 10 km from home.
Awkwardly, she picked up the oversized Moonboots and walked over to a bench. She sat down and started putting them on. It was difficult work with her limited vision and the suit's thick mittens, but she took her time for it. She was in no hurry. She knew she deserved this, but that didn't mean she looked forward to her walk of shame.
Of course, some part of her did look forward to it. While she was lacing up the Moonboots, she felt excitement and fear doing a strange dance in the vicinity of her stomach. She managed to tighten the hood of the Glosssuit, making the opening very small. At least that hid the other hood underneath, and the gag. When she finally stood up and started walking, it felt like she was dreaming. This couldn't be happening. But it was. And she knew there was no way out, no way to avoid this.
---
It was horrible. Every person she passed stared at her. She tried to avoid their gaze, but she still saw their amazed and amused faces. Even through her hoods, she could hear giggles and laughter and people talking about her right after she passed. She could never understand the words, of course, but by the way conversation abruptly broke off when people noticed her, she knew it was about her.
The worst was when she had to pass four young women, about her own age, all immaculately dressed in a way that showed they cared about fashion. They were wearing heels that made clacking noises on the pavement - until the moment Francesca crossed them, and she knew they had stopped and turned around to look at her. She thought she'd never forget the sound of their laughter.
And it could get worse still. Three boys, about 15 year old, were walking in the same direction, and they were now right behind her. They talked about her loudly, clearly not minding that she could hear them.
"I think she's going to climb the Himalaya!"
"Yeah, she must've taken a wrong turn on her way to Africa!"
That one's not passing any geography tests soon, Fran thought.
"Look at those boots!"
"Yeah it says Moon Boot on them. Maybe it's a spacesuit?"
One of them now danced to the front of her, and asked: "Hey are you going to the moon? Or the Himalaya?"
When she didn't reply he went back behind her and said to his friends: "She's got her hood tied almost shut! Like Kenny from South Park!"
Another one now came in front of her and asked: "Are you Kenny?"
He went back and reported: "She's not answering!"
"At least Kenny makes noises, this one's dumb!"
"Look! There's a lock on her zipper! She can't get out of that suit!"
This was going bad. She had to get rid of them. Francesca turned into a side street, hoping they wouldn't follow. It didn't work. The first boy showed up in front of her again. "Can't you talk?" he asked. He peered into her hood opening and deliberately blocked her path. She tried to go around him but he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. She tried to turn away again but then he grabbed the drawstrings of her hood, pulling it completely closed. She pulled her head away and grabbed at the drawstrings with her mitten, but he easily held on.
"Let me tie this for you," the boy said. He was starting to make a knot, which would seal her in the darkness of her hood, with no way to escape. Gagged and blind and unable to open the knot with her mittens, how would she ever get out? Panic gave her strength, and she roughly pulled the strings out of her hands and managed to open her hood a bit again. Then, before he could try again, she pushed herself between the boys and ran away as fast as she could.
Francesca ran until she was out of breath, which was soon because of her gag. She breathed heavily through her nose and turned to look behind her. They hadn't followed her. If they had, they would of course have outrun her with ease. Francesca was now even hotter than before, and completely exhausted. Her nostrils were wide, making snorting noises as she greedily sucked in air. She walked on for a bit but eventually she had to rest. The heat inside the suit completely drained her energy. Francesca entered a park, located a bench and fell down on it.
An old woman shuffled past and then sat down on the bench. "That's a fancy suit," the woman commented. "You must think it's really cold to wear a thing like that. Me, I don't think it's cold at all now. We used to have real winters. This is nothing. You young people have grown weak." Francesca of course remained silent during this monologue. "Yeah, ignore me, I'm just a babbling old fool. That's what my son seems to think too. Respect for your elders, that's another thing of the past it seems." Francesca stood up and walked away as fast as she could.
On and on she walked. She was humiliated, tired, and sweating so much it seemed her clothes must all be glued to her body by now. But eventually she got home, and went in through the back door. Raissa was waiting inside, sitting on the sofa. Francesca went down on her knees in front of her and hung her head in a mute apology.
"Francesca, I'm willing to forgive you for what you did to me, on one condition."
Francesca looked up at Raissa.
"From now on, you will wear your hood up whenever you are with me."
Francesca nodded.
---
It was Saturday, and Francesca wanted to spend the day locked inside her Glosssuit. She called her good friend Raissa and asked if she could come over later to free her. That was no problem, Raissa said, and she asked what she was going to wear.
"My blue Glosssuit, with the open face, and a gag," Francesca said.
"You should put the orange pants and jacket on underneath," Raissa suggested.
"Hmm... Why not? This will be a hot day," Francesca laughed.
"Enjoy!"
Twenty minutes later, Francesca was lying on her bed, dressed in the orange down pants and jacket, with the blue Glosssuit on top. Exactly like Raissa had been dressed when she had sent her to the fetish party. The thought of poor Raissa, dressed like this outdoors, made her extremely horny. It had been a naughty thing to do, she thought. Francesca had agreed to go to the fetish party, but then started having second thoughts. She wanted to know what it was like, but she didn't dare to go. She had thought up a plan to make Raissa go in her place, and once that plan was formed she couldn't get it out of her head. And eventually committed to it.
It had been Raissa's idea to wear the jacket under the suit... just like how she was dressed that day. Usually Raissa didn't mind what she wore. Was it possible that Raissa had enjoyed wearing this outfit? Perhaps they could do some sessions in down together? The idea drove her wild and she climaxed.
She was dozing on the bed when suddenly the bedroom door opened. Half asleep and with her head packed in down-filled nylon, she had heard nothing. So she had the fright of her life when there was suddenly a man in her bedroom, dressed completely in black, with a balaclava over his head. She jumped up and would have screamed, but the gag and her hoods blocked the sound almost completely. She backed away in the furthest corner but the man closed the distance in a few steps. She was paralyzed with fear when he grabbed her and threw her face down on the bed. At least he can't rape me, shot through Fran's head, and the absurdity of that caused a brief panic-induced giggle which made her briefly choke on her gag. She made a snorting sound as she sucked air through her nose.
Meanwhile the man was sitting across her legs and ass while he pulled her arms behind her and tied them together. First her elbows, then the wrists. Despite the thick filling of her suit, he managed to tie her arms securely together. He had still not said a word, and neither had she, obviously. Wasn't he surprised about that? Wasn't he surprised to find her in a down suit? Or was he just too professional to show it? That thought sent a cold shiver down her spine despite the fact that she was hot and sweaty.
Once her arms were tied, the man shifted his position and started on her legs. Francesca feebly tried to kick but her struggles only resulted in more heat trapped inside the suit. Finally the man got off her and she felt her ankles being pulled towards her ass. The connecting rope between her ankles and elbows was pulled as tight as possible, completing her hogtie.
The man left the room and she was alone, her mind filled with fearful thoughts, her body drenched in sweat.
Some time later - half an hour, perhaps? - she heard a rustling sound. The man was back, and he lifted her knees while pulling something under them. He worked it further under her body and when he reached her head she could see what it was. An huge, brown garbage bag. Fresh panic engulfed Francesca and she desperately tried to kick and scream, but of course, tied up and gagged as she was, this had absolutely no effect. The bag was pulled over her and closed. Francesca noticed that their were tiny holes in the bag, which would allow air passage. She hoped that meant the man didn't want to kill her.
Now she was lifted up, one person holding her knees, another her shoulders. So there was a second robber. Carefully they carried her out of her bedroom. Then she was placed down again. She judged they must be at the top of the stairs now.
Nothing happened for a moment, and then suddenly she was pushed forward! She screamed in her gagged as she was pushed face forward towards the stairs! But instead of tumbling down the stairs (and likely breaking her neck) she slid over a smooth surface, accelerating downwards. This didn't quite stop her panic however, and she kept howling in her gag while she slid faster. Then the surface leveled off, she was still carried forward by her momentum, until hands stopped the motion of her bagged form. A slide, she realized when she finally calmed down a bit. They had placed a slide on top of the stairs, with soap or oil on it to make it more slippery. At that point somebody bumped against her knees - the second robber coming down.
Then she was being carried again. Through the door - outside now. Placed down again, on something soft. Then, unmistakable - the crashing sound of a trunk being closed, right above her. She was being kidnapped!
The engine started, and now they were driving. Soon she realized the entire trunk was filled with soft things, pillows or mattrasses, so she didn't get hurt when the car turned. So her kidnappers were concerned with her well-being. That was a good thing, at least. That wasn't to say that she was comfortable though. She was still in a tight hogtie, with a large ball in her mouth, dressed in layers of down inside a plastic bag, in a stuffed trunk. Her nostrils were wide as she kept taking deep breaths of warm air that would rapidly run out of oxygen. She wondered how long she could survive here.
Thankfully, it was a short ride. After ten minutes the car stopped and the trunk was opened again. Then the bag was opened and even her ropes were being untied. Still facedown, Francesca had not seen her kidnapper yet. Once she was untied, her legs were pulled over the edge of the trunk so she could easily climb out. She turned and faced her captor.
"!!" No sound escaped her suit, but "Carl" was what she had tried to say. The man - now without balaclava - was Carl, Raissa's boyfriend!
"You've done something pretty nasty to Raissa," he said, "and this is payback time. You'll have to walk home like this. Raissa will be waiting for you. I suggest you use the time to reflect on what you did and think of how you will apologize to her."
He turned back to the car and took something from the passenger seat. Her oversized Moonboots, which were meant to fit over the attached feet of her Glosssuit. "You'll need these," he said putting them on the ground. Then he closed the trunk, got in the car and drove away.
Francesca was standing in a clearing in the forest. She recognized the place. She had picknicked here last summer. With Raissa, of course. She was about 10 km from home.
Awkwardly, she picked up the oversized Moonboots and walked over to a bench. She sat down and started putting them on. It was difficult work with her limited vision and the suit's thick mittens, but she took her time for it. She was in no hurry. She knew she deserved this, but that didn't mean she looked forward to her walk of shame.
Of course, some part of her did look forward to it. While she was lacing up the Moonboots, she felt excitement and fear doing a strange dance in the vicinity of her stomach. She managed to tighten the hood of the Glosssuit, making the opening very small. At least that hid the other hood underneath, and the gag. When she finally stood up and started walking, it felt like she was dreaming. This couldn't be happening. But it was. And she knew there was no way out, no way to avoid this.
---
It was horrible. Every person she passed stared at her. She tried to avoid their gaze, but she still saw their amazed and amused faces. Even through her hoods, she could hear giggles and laughter and people talking about her right after she passed. She could never understand the words, of course, but by the way conversation abruptly broke off when people noticed her, she knew it was about her.
The worst was when she had to pass four young women, about her own age, all immaculately dressed in a way that showed they cared about fashion. They were wearing heels that made clacking noises on the pavement - until the moment Francesca crossed them, and she knew they had stopped and turned around to look at her. She thought she'd never forget the sound of their laughter.
And it could get worse still. Three boys, about 15 year old, were walking in the same direction, and they were now right behind her. They talked about her loudly, clearly not minding that she could hear them.
"I think she's going to climb the Himalaya!"
"Yeah, she must've taken a wrong turn on her way to Africa!"
That one's not passing any geography tests soon, Fran thought.
"Look at those boots!"
"Yeah it says Moon Boot on them. Maybe it's a spacesuit?"
One of them now danced to the front of her, and asked: "Hey are you going to the moon? Or the Himalaya?"
When she didn't reply he went back behind her and said to his friends: "She's got her hood tied almost shut! Like Kenny from South Park!"
Another one now came in front of her and asked: "Are you Kenny?"
He went back and reported: "She's not answering!"
"At least Kenny makes noises, this one's dumb!"
"Look! There's a lock on her zipper! She can't get out of that suit!"
This was going bad. She had to get rid of them. Francesca turned into a side street, hoping they wouldn't follow. It didn't work. The first boy showed up in front of her again. "Can't you talk?" he asked. He peered into her hood opening and deliberately blocked her path. She tried to go around him but he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. She tried to turn away again but then he grabbed the drawstrings of her hood, pulling it completely closed. She pulled her head away and grabbed at the drawstrings with her mitten, but he easily held on.
"Let me tie this for you," the boy said. He was starting to make a knot, which would seal her in the darkness of her hood, with no way to escape. Gagged and blind and unable to open the knot with her mittens, how would she ever get out? Panic gave her strength, and she roughly pulled the strings out of her hands and managed to open her hood a bit again. Then, before he could try again, she pushed herself between the boys and ran away as fast as she could.
Francesca ran until she was out of breath, which was soon because of her gag. She breathed heavily through her nose and turned to look behind her. They hadn't followed her. If they had, they would of course have outrun her with ease. Francesca was now even hotter than before, and completely exhausted. Her nostrils were wide, making snorting noises as she greedily sucked in air. She walked on for a bit but eventually she had to rest. The heat inside the suit completely drained her energy. Francesca entered a park, located a bench and fell down on it.
An old woman shuffled past and then sat down on the bench. "That's a fancy suit," the woman commented. "You must think it's really cold to wear a thing like that. Me, I don't think it's cold at all now. We used to have real winters. This is nothing. You young people have grown weak." Francesca of course remained silent during this monologue. "Yeah, ignore me, I'm just a babbling old fool. That's what my son seems to think too. Respect for your elders, that's another thing of the past it seems." Francesca stood up and walked away as fast as she could.
On and on she walked. She was humiliated, tired, and sweating so much it seemed her clothes must all be glued to her body by now. But eventually she got home, and went in through the back door. Raissa was waiting inside, sitting on the sofa. Francesca went down on her knees in front of her and hung her head in a mute apology.
"Francesca, I'm willing to forgive you for what you did to me, on one condition."
Francesca looked up at Raissa.
"From now on, you will wear your hood up whenever you are with me."
Francesca nodded.
It's been a while since my previous post...
Writing is not easy.
You need inspiration, time, and the willingness to spend that time writing. And unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of pay-off. My hope when starting this blog was to get in tocuh with people with similar fantasies, or who can in another way appreciate mine, but such contacts have been few. Getting comments on my stories really makes all the difference between writing and not bothering to.
That said, another problem has been the story "Alissa Razatski". It's not that I don't have ideas for how to continue - I do. The problem is, the plan I have for this story is rather big - it should become my longest story so far. But because of that, I can't get myself to actually write it. It's a lot of work, and I never find the energy to do it. I still intend to write it, eventually, but for now the best solution was to pause that story so I could at least allow myself to write others. Like a sequel to Raissa's Quest. I hope you will enjoy Raissa's Revenge.
Firestarter: What is your favorite story and why?
You need inspiration, time, and the willingness to spend that time writing. And unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of pay-off. My hope when starting this blog was to get in tocuh with people with similar fantasies, or who can in another way appreciate mine, but such contacts have been few. Getting comments on my stories really makes all the difference between writing and not bothering to.
That said, another problem has been the story "Alissa Razatski". It's not that I don't have ideas for how to continue - I do. The problem is, the plan I have for this story is rather big - it should become my longest story so far. But because of that, I can't get myself to actually write it. It's a lot of work, and I never find the energy to do it. I still intend to write it, eventually, but for now the best solution was to pause that story so I could at least allow myself to write others. Like a sequel to Raissa's Quest. I hope you will enjoy Raissa's Revenge.
Firestarter: What is your favorite story and why?
dinsdag 24 februari 2015
Endangered Blog
Hi all,
I just received an email from Blogger, saying they will further restrict blogs containing sexually explicit images or videos. My blog does not contain those specifically; there are only stories here. Still the fact that I got that email is a bad sign. It seems possible that this blog will be shut down. There new policy will be in effect on 23rd March 2015.
So I'm posting this here to
1) give you a fair warning that the blog might suddenly disappear a month from now. If so, it's not because I closed it.
2) ask if anyone has ideas for the best alternative place to post my stories. Preferably where they can be picked up by Google searches.
Meanwhile, enjoy part 3 of 'Alissa Razatski'.
Kuomu
I just received an email from Blogger, saying they will further restrict blogs containing sexually explicit images or videos. My blog does not contain those specifically; there are only stories here. Still the fact that I got that email is a bad sign. It seems possible that this blog will be shut down. There new policy will be in effect on 23rd March 2015.
So I'm posting this here to
1) give you a fair warning that the blog might suddenly disappear a month from now. If so, it's not because I closed it.
2) ask if anyone has ideas for the best alternative place to post my stories. Preferably where they can be picked up by Google searches.
Meanwhile, enjoy part 3 of 'Alissa Razatski'.
Kuomu
Alissa Razatski (part 3)
They drove for hours, through an increasingly desolate landscape. Evelyn had no idea how far they had to ride, but her discomfort grew every minute. She had tried in vain to open the hood of the suit, to at least allow some fresh air to reach her face, but it was impossible with the mittens on. With the hood tied over her mouth and nose, her own breath kept heating her up further. She had also struggled against the belts, but that only generated more heat. She could feel the nylon of the inner jacket cling to her sweaty body inside the suit and Anouchka's coat. She had managed to unzip the top of that coat, but only until the belt that ran below her breasts, which was too tight to allow her access. And the enormous Moonboots were like furnaces for her feet.
Shortly after dark, they reached a small village. It consisted of maybe ten houses. The SUV stopped in front of the largest of these shacks, and Tatjana stepped outside and opened Evelyn's door. The blast of cold air was very welcome to Evelyn. Tatjana undid the belt and helped Evelyn out of the car. Then she took off Anouchka's coat and handed it back to her so she could put it on. Evelyn was too exhausted by the trip to say anything and allowed them to escort her to the house, where a man, having heard them arrive, opened the door. There was some talk in Russian, after which Anouchka led the way upstairs. Apparently she knew the way here, and she opened a door to what turned out to be a fairly large bedroom. There was a bed for two persons, a small television, a table with two chairs, and a relaxing chair.
Anouchka and Tatjana took their coats off and threw them on the bed.
"Where are we?" Evelyn asked confused.
"Well, I don't know if this village even has a name," Anouchka said. "Anyway, we're staying here for the night. Driving around after dark is too dangerous in this area. We've rented this room before when travelling to the airport. It's not very luxurious, but there aren't many options around here. And the food's decent."
"Can you help me out of this suit?" Evelyn asked. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "my bag with my clothes is still in the car!"
"You can keep the suit on," Anouchka said, while she sat down on the bed. "It's not very warm in here."
"But I'd rather..."
"There's not much point in changing your clothes now. I hear footsteps on the chairs. Our food is coming."
Indeed, a moment later their host knocked and then entered, carrying their dinner. He showed no surprise at seeing one of his guests still in her red down suit, with the hood pulled tight around her eyes. He placed the food on the table, exchanged a few words in Russian, and left.
Anouchka opened Evelyn's hood so she could eat. It was still difficult, in her thick suit with the clunky mittens. And the hot food made her sweat again.
"Can't you take off my hood?" she asked.
"No, the zipper goes from top to bottom," Anouchka said. "So the hood can't be taken down."
"Can you just unzip the suit then? I could keep the pants on and take the top half off. That would be easier for eating, and I'm very warm."
Tatjana looked up from her food, looking annoyed. "Do you always complain so much?" she asked rather angrily. "Can you just shut up and eat?"
Evelyn was taken aback by Tatjana's temper and dared not ask again. She started to work on getting the food in her mouth.
After dinner Anouhcka said: "Well, let's go to bed then. We want to leave as early as possible tomorrow."
So early, Evelyn thought. Although she didn't actually know what time it was, it felt really early to sleep. But perhaps she was just a bit jetlagged. And there was something else. "There's only a bed for two persons," she pointed out.
"Yes, but we're prepared for that," Anouchka said, opening a suitcase she had taken with her and showing Evelyn a sleeping bag. She threw it to Tatjana who started taking it out of its bag. "We'll share the bed, you get the bag."
"Okay, but do you have something I can lie on?"
"You can sit in the relaxing chair, that's soft enough, and we can tilt it back so you're almost lying down."
"But it can't be put completely horizontal. I'll slide down."
"We've thought of that. You'll see," Anouchka said. Meanwhile Tatjana had unrolled the sleeping bag, which was a thick black down-filled mummy bag. They helped Evelyn out of her Moonboots and then she stepped in the bag.
"Hey, won't you take off my suit first?"
"Just keep it on," Anouchka said while they lifted the sleeping bag over Evelyn's body. She helped Evelyn sit down on the relaxing chair.
"But... I need to go to the toilet first," Evelyn tried to stop them.
"You have a diaper on, don't you?" Anouchka said. "So that's not a problem." Meanwhile Tatjana had gone to the suitcase and now she returned holding a bunch of ropes.
"What's that for?" Evelyn asked nervously.
"As you said, you'd probably slide or roll off the chair. So we'll simply tie the sleeping bag to the chair," Anouchka said while she started looping the rope around the sleeping bag and the chair. Then she pulled them tight and started knotting them.
"That's tight! I can't move anymore," Evelyn complained.
"You don't need to move, you need to sleep," Tatjana countered. She'd taken another piece of rope which she was wrapping around her legs, while Anouchka continued on her upper body. They were doing a thorough job, Evelyn thought.
Once her complete body was lashed to the relaxing chair, Anouchka tilted it backwards so she was almost lying down. Evelyn could only look up at the ceiling. Then Tatjana's face appeared in front of her. "Lights out," she grinned, and pulled at the drawstring of the red suit's hood.
"No, don't!" Evelyn protested, but it was too late. The next moment Evelyn's hood was closed completely and she could see nothing.
"Please, open my hood," Evelyn begged, but Tatjana ignored her and was already closing the hood of the sleeping bag over the hood of the suit, muffling the sound of Evelyn's voice.
"Little girls have to go to bed early," Anouchka said in Russian to Tatjana, "but I'm not tired yet."
"Me neither. Let's watch some television," Tatjana agreed.
Anouchka took her coat from the bed, and put it on the bound sleeping bag, carefully putting the hood over where Evelyn's face was. "This way the sound of the television won't disturb her," she grinned.
"Good idea," Tatjana said, taking her own black down coat and putting it on top of Anouchka's white one.
They turned on the television and ignored the barely audible cries for help that came from the pile of down.
---
When Anouchka and Tatjana woke up, they went downstairs to have breakfast, leaving Evelyn to smother under the pile of down a while longer. They refreshed themselves, then they prepared to leave. Only when everything else was done, they removed their coats from the sleeping bag and started untying Evelyn.
“Good morning,” Anouchka beamed when she opened Evelyn’s hood, revealing her tired eyes blinking in the light. She only opened the hood slightly though, and quickly tied it again, not allowing the rest of her face access to fresh air. “Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t think I slept at all,” Evelyn retorted. “I was way too hot and I was nearly suffocating in that closed sleeping bag.” She had no idea she had been under two additional down coats, which were at least in part responsible for that.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anouchka said. “Maybe you can sleep some more in the car.”
“I’d rather have a shower first. I’m all sticky with sweat.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that. We want to arrive at Mappisi by noon. So we’ll leave immediately.”
By now, Evelyn was free of the ropes and the sleeping bag and shakily got to her feet. “How about some breakfast first?” she asked.
“Sorry, no time,” Anouchka said, sounding genuinely sorry. “But here’s a bottle of water. Sit down and have a drink, while I help you with your Moonboots.”
“Won’t you help me out of my suit first? I need to use the toilet.”
“That’s a waste of time, it would take too long and you’re wearing a diaper anyway. Here, have a drink and sit down.”
Soon Evelyn was ready to go again. Because of her tiredness, her limited vision and her gigantic Moonboots she nearly tripped and tumbled down the stairs, but Tatjana grabbed her by the hood before she could fall. “Take care,” she said curtly, sounding more angry than concerned.
They reached the car and Anouchka got out of her coat and behind the wheel again. Tatjana once more held out the coat for Evelyn.
“No, I really don’t need –“
“Can you stop being so stubborn already!” Tatjana exclaimed.
Evelyn was a bit scared of Tatjana, who didn’t seem so friendly. Too tired to argue, she stuck out her arm and allowed Tatjana to pull the sleeves of the coat over her down suit again. Once both arms were in, Tatjana hoisted the coat over her shoulders, from front to back.
“Hey, it’s backwards!” Evelyn said. Tatjana was already behind her, zipping it up. The large white hood was pulled closer to her face as the zip was closed.
“That’s so you can sleep some more while we drive,” Tatjana said, while she opened the door and pushed Evelyn into the seat. She lifted Evelyn’s legs and put them inside, then started doing up the special seat belt again. Once Evelyn was secured, she closed the suit’s hood completely, pulled up the thick white hood and tied it at her back, so she wouldn’t be able to take it off.
“Have some rest,” Evelyn heard Tatjana’s voice, as if from far away. “You’ll need every bit of rest you can get at Mappisi.”
Shortly after dark, they reached a small village. It consisted of maybe ten houses. The SUV stopped in front of the largest of these shacks, and Tatjana stepped outside and opened Evelyn's door. The blast of cold air was very welcome to Evelyn. Tatjana undid the belt and helped Evelyn out of the car. Then she took off Anouchka's coat and handed it back to her so she could put it on. Evelyn was too exhausted by the trip to say anything and allowed them to escort her to the house, where a man, having heard them arrive, opened the door. There was some talk in Russian, after which Anouchka led the way upstairs. Apparently she knew the way here, and she opened a door to what turned out to be a fairly large bedroom. There was a bed for two persons, a small television, a table with two chairs, and a relaxing chair.
Anouchka and Tatjana took their coats off and threw them on the bed.
"Where are we?" Evelyn asked confused.
"Well, I don't know if this village even has a name," Anouchka said. "Anyway, we're staying here for the night. Driving around after dark is too dangerous in this area. We've rented this room before when travelling to the airport. It's not very luxurious, but there aren't many options around here. And the food's decent."
"Can you help me out of this suit?" Evelyn asked. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "my bag with my clothes is still in the car!"
"You can keep the suit on," Anouchka said, while she sat down on the bed. "It's not very warm in here."
"But I'd rather..."
"There's not much point in changing your clothes now. I hear footsteps on the chairs. Our food is coming."
Indeed, a moment later their host knocked and then entered, carrying their dinner. He showed no surprise at seeing one of his guests still in her red down suit, with the hood pulled tight around her eyes. He placed the food on the table, exchanged a few words in Russian, and left.
Anouchka opened Evelyn's hood so she could eat. It was still difficult, in her thick suit with the clunky mittens. And the hot food made her sweat again.
"Can't you take off my hood?" she asked.
"No, the zipper goes from top to bottom," Anouchka said. "So the hood can't be taken down."
"Can you just unzip the suit then? I could keep the pants on and take the top half off. That would be easier for eating, and I'm very warm."
Tatjana looked up from her food, looking annoyed. "Do you always complain so much?" she asked rather angrily. "Can you just shut up and eat?"
Evelyn was taken aback by Tatjana's temper and dared not ask again. She started to work on getting the food in her mouth.
After dinner Anouhcka said: "Well, let's go to bed then. We want to leave as early as possible tomorrow."
So early, Evelyn thought. Although she didn't actually know what time it was, it felt really early to sleep. But perhaps she was just a bit jetlagged. And there was something else. "There's only a bed for two persons," she pointed out.
"Yes, but we're prepared for that," Anouchka said, opening a suitcase she had taken with her and showing Evelyn a sleeping bag. She threw it to Tatjana who started taking it out of its bag. "We'll share the bed, you get the bag."
"Okay, but do you have something I can lie on?"
"You can sit in the relaxing chair, that's soft enough, and we can tilt it back so you're almost lying down."
"But it can't be put completely horizontal. I'll slide down."
"We've thought of that. You'll see," Anouchka said. Meanwhile Tatjana had unrolled the sleeping bag, which was a thick black down-filled mummy bag. They helped Evelyn out of her Moonboots and then she stepped in the bag.
"Hey, won't you take off my suit first?"
"Just keep it on," Anouchka said while they lifted the sleeping bag over Evelyn's body. She helped Evelyn sit down on the relaxing chair.
"But... I need to go to the toilet first," Evelyn tried to stop them.
"You have a diaper on, don't you?" Anouchka said. "So that's not a problem." Meanwhile Tatjana had gone to the suitcase and now she returned holding a bunch of ropes.
"What's that for?" Evelyn asked nervously.
"As you said, you'd probably slide or roll off the chair. So we'll simply tie the sleeping bag to the chair," Anouchka said while she started looping the rope around the sleeping bag and the chair. Then she pulled them tight and started knotting them.
"That's tight! I can't move anymore," Evelyn complained.
"You don't need to move, you need to sleep," Tatjana countered. She'd taken another piece of rope which she was wrapping around her legs, while Anouchka continued on her upper body. They were doing a thorough job, Evelyn thought.
Once her complete body was lashed to the relaxing chair, Anouchka tilted it backwards so she was almost lying down. Evelyn could only look up at the ceiling. Then Tatjana's face appeared in front of her. "Lights out," she grinned, and pulled at the drawstring of the red suit's hood.
"No, don't!" Evelyn protested, but it was too late. The next moment Evelyn's hood was closed completely and she could see nothing.
"Please, open my hood," Evelyn begged, but Tatjana ignored her and was already closing the hood of the sleeping bag over the hood of the suit, muffling the sound of Evelyn's voice.
"Little girls have to go to bed early," Anouchka said in Russian to Tatjana, "but I'm not tired yet."
"Me neither. Let's watch some television," Tatjana agreed.
Anouchka took her coat from the bed, and put it on the bound sleeping bag, carefully putting the hood over where Evelyn's face was. "This way the sound of the television won't disturb her," she grinned.
"Good idea," Tatjana said, taking her own black down coat and putting it on top of Anouchka's white one.
They turned on the television and ignored the barely audible cries for help that came from the pile of down.
---
When Anouchka and Tatjana woke up, they went downstairs to have breakfast, leaving Evelyn to smother under the pile of down a while longer. They refreshed themselves, then they prepared to leave. Only when everything else was done, they removed their coats from the sleeping bag and started untying Evelyn.
“Good morning,” Anouchka beamed when she opened Evelyn’s hood, revealing her tired eyes blinking in the light. She only opened the hood slightly though, and quickly tied it again, not allowing the rest of her face access to fresh air. “Did you sleep well?”
“I don’t think I slept at all,” Evelyn retorted. “I was way too hot and I was nearly suffocating in that closed sleeping bag.” She had no idea she had been under two additional down coats, which were at least in part responsible for that.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Anouchka said. “Maybe you can sleep some more in the car.”
“I’d rather have a shower first. I’m all sticky with sweat.”
“I’m afraid we don’t have time for that. We want to arrive at Mappisi by noon. So we’ll leave immediately.”
By now, Evelyn was free of the ropes and the sleeping bag and shakily got to her feet. “How about some breakfast first?” she asked.
“Sorry, no time,” Anouchka said, sounding genuinely sorry. “But here’s a bottle of water. Sit down and have a drink, while I help you with your Moonboots.”
“Won’t you help me out of my suit first? I need to use the toilet.”
“That’s a waste of time, it would take too long and you’re wearing a diaper anyway. Here, have a drink and sit down.”
Soon Evelyn was ready to go again. Because of her tiredness, her limited vision and her gigantic Moonboots she nearly tripped and tumbled down the stairs, but Tatjana grabbed her by the hood before she could fall. “Take care,” she said curtly, sounding more angry than concerned.
They reached the car and Anouchka got out of her coat and behind the wheel again. Tatjana once more held out the coat for Evelyn.
“No, I really don’t need –“
“Can you stop being so stubborn already!” Tatjana exclaimed.
Evelyn was a bit scared of Tatjana, who didn’t seem so friendly. Too tired to argue, she stuck out her arm and allowed Tatjana to pull the sleeves of the coat over her down suit again. Once both arms were in, Tatjana hoisted the coat over her shoulders, from front to back.
“Hey, it’s backwards!” Evelyn said. Tatjana was already behind her, zipping it up. The large white hood was pulled closer to her face as the zip was closed.
“That’s so you can sleep some more while we drive,” Tatjana said, while she opened the door and pushed Evelyn into the seat. She lifted Evelyn’s legs and put them inside, then started doing up the special seat belt again. Once Evelyn was secured, she closed the suit’s hood completely, pulled up the thick white hood and tied it at her back, so she wouldn’t be able to take it off.
“Have some rest,” Evelyn heard Tatjana’s voice, as if from far away. “You’ll need every bit of rest you can get at Mappisi.”
woensdag 11 februari 2015
Alissa Razatski (part 2)
Three weeks after Alissa Razatski's visit, an Aeroflot plane from Moscow Sheremetyevo landed at its destination, Yakutsk Airport. On board was Evelyn, who still could not believe how fast everything had gone. She had assumed that getting a work visa for Russia would take months, but apparently the rules were different if you had Alissa Razatski's money and influence. Evelyn had ended the rent of her appartment and stored her possessions in a container. Everything else - flight, papers, visa, money - was taken care of by Anouchka, the HR Manager of Mappisi, the company Evelyn would work at. And so she arrived at Yakutsk Airport with only a small suitcase, nervous but eager for this adventure.
She'd had doubts when she heard her new company was located in Siberia. She had no idea how she had to prepare for a stay in one of the coldest regions on Earth. But Anouchka had assured her everything would be taken care of. They'd even bring fitting clothes to the airport, where they would pick her up. So there was no need to bring anything at all - the company provided it all. They were, after all, used to the conditions.
And indeed, when Evelyn entered the arrival hall, she quickly spotted the two women, one of them holding up a sign with her name.
"Evelyn?" the blonde one asked when Evelyn approached them.
"Yes," Evelyn confirmed.
"Great to meet you. I'm Anouchka, and this is my colleague Tatjana."
Anouchka was an attractive woman, with a friendly face and a broad smile that made you feel at ease. Evelyn was surprised how young she looked. Not even 30, she'd guess, and already HR manager. Tatjana looked about the same age; she was brown-haired and looked more reserved. Both were wearing long, very thick down coats with large fur-trimmed hoods. Anouchka's was white, Tatjana's black. They had left them unzipped inside the terminal. At the sight of those heavy coats, Evelyn immediately inquired if they had something for her to wear as well, since she had been told she needn't bring anything.
"Yes, of course," Anouchka said, pointing at a bag at Tatjana's feet. "There are your clothes. Come with us, please."
They walked through the airport while Anouchka explained: "Miss Razatski rents a small room in this airport for private use. It's excellent for occasions like this. It's also a relaxing space whenever someone from the company needs to take a flight."
They came to a door which Anouchka unlocked. After they entered the room, she locked it again.
"Okay, we're in a private area now. I'll ask you to undress completely. It will be easier," Anouchka said.
"Completely?" Evelyn asked uncertainly.
"Yes. You'll see why in a minute."
Evelyn had no idea what was happening but she complied. Soon she was completely naked, and Anouchka showed her a large diaper.
"You'll have to wear this," she said. "We have a long way to travel, through mostly deserted places. So there won't be any toilets on the way. Trust me, if you have to pick between peeing with your naked arse in the icy wind, and a diaper, you'll love the diaper."
Although she was reluctant to be put in a diaper, Evelyn saw the logic of that, and Anouchka helped her put it on. Next was a pair of black plastic pants to go over the diaper.
Then Tatjana pulled a short black nylon down jacket from the bag and handed it to Evelyn.
"Do I need to wear this on my bare skin? Shouldn't there be something underneath?" Evelyn asked.
"No, it's a down sweater," Anouchka explained. "It's supposed to be worn like that."
Indeed the garment turned out to have only a short zip, and Evelyn pulled it over her head. It was comfortable enough, although it was odd to feel the nylon on her bare skin. She let the sweater's hood fall behind her and zipped it up slightly, so that her cleavage was at least covered.
"Now this," Anouchka said, and the thing she was holding was enormous. It was a down suit, with attached feet and mittens, incredibly thick and in bright red. Evelyn looked apprehensive.
"Don't you have anything else?" she asked. The down coats the two women wore looked much nicer. She had hoped for something similar.
"No, sorry, this is all we brought. But really, it's for the best. You're not used to a Siberian winter. You'll be glad to have this on once we're outside."
That was true, so Evelyn took the suit and started pushing her legs in. Oddly, the opening was at the back. After she had one foot in the attached down bootie, she tried to put her other leg in, but standing on the smooth and thick nylon turned out to be hard. Anouchka held her while she put her second leg in. Then she stood somewhat unsteadily on her two down booties while holding the rest of the suit in front of her.
"Now the arms," Anouchka instructed, and Evelyn slid her arms all the way into the sleeves, reaching the attached mittens. These were so thick she wouldn't be able to do anything with her hands. Meanwhile, Tatjana was pulling a drawstring tighter around each of her ankles, knotting them off once they were tightened. Then she repeated this with drawstrings at the wrists. "So the suit stays properly in place," she explained.
"Okay, before you put your head into the hood, we'll put the hood of your down sweatshirt up," Anouchka said. She pulled the hood up, zipped the collar, and pulled the drawstrings tighter until only Evelyn's eyes and nose were showing.
"Now put your head in the hood of the suit."
Evelyn did this, and Anouchka helped pulled the rest of the suit over her shoulders. Tatjana started zipping it up immediately.
"I can't put the hood down," Evelyn said, noticing the opening at the front was too small for that.
"No," Anouchka laughed, "in Siberia that's not necessary. I'll pull it a bit tighter. Once we're outside you'll want as little exposed skin as possible."
She pulled the drawstrings until even Evelyn's nose was covered, leaving just a small hole for her eyes. Then she knotted this drawstring as well.
Finally, they produced a pair of red Moonboots. These were incredibly oversized, to fit over the thick down booties and the legs of the suit. They truly looked like the boots of a giant. In addition to being made to fit over the suit, they were abnormally thick. The polyurethane layer was 5 cm thick all around. At their widest, the boots were close to 30 cm, making them almost round. The shafts were high enough to reach her knees, which combined with the thick rubber soles to make them very high as well. But clearly there was no alternative. She couldn't walk around on the slippery booties of the suit. So with Anouchka's help, she stepped into the giant boots, and Tatjana fastened the drawstrings.
Evelyn took some tentative steps while Tatjana gathered her clothes and put them in the bag. Then Anouchka unlocked the door and they left. Evelyn stomped after them awkwardly. It was like having your feet in concrete blocks, she thought - not as heavy, perhaps, but just as clunky. She was also very aware that nobody was dressed remotely like her, and that's she stood out like a lighthouse in her bright red suit. Not to mention the hood that left just enough space to see through and the gigantic Moonboots. At least they would be outside soon, she thought. Then she would probably be glad to wear these things. After all, people here were used to this weather, but she certainly wasn't. And once they arrived at Mappisi, she'd get her own clothes, and be able to pick what she wore. She'd be able to wear something at least a bit more fashionable.
Of course, she was completely, absurdly wrong about that.
Meanwhile they reached the exit doors and Anouchka and Tatjana zipped up their coats, pulled up their hoods, and put gloves on. Once outside, in the freezing wind, Evelyn was indeed comfortable in the heavy down suit. They walked towards the car, a sturdy SUV. Once they got there, Anouchka quickly slipped out of her coat and sat behind the wheel. Tatjana handed Anouchka's coat to Evelyn. "Here, you should put this on for extra warmth," she said. Evelyn looked doubtful. "I don't know if..." she began. "Come on, hurry up please," Tatjana interrupted her. "We really need to get going. We don't want to be driving at night if we can avoid it."
Evelyn put her arms in the sleeves of the white coat and tried to push her mittened hands through them. Tatjana helped her pull the coat over her arms. She zipped it up completely and did up the button flap. Then she opened the back door of the car and gestured for Evelyn to get in. When Evelyn sat down, Tatjana reached for the seat belt. This was an unusual design. It consisted of two belts that started above her shoulders and were clicked in place next to her hips. The two vertical belts went over her shoulders, holding them tight against the back of her seat. In addition, they were connected by two horizontal straps; one at the end of the belts, going over her hips and crotch area, and one higher up, just below her breasts. As soon as the seat belts were clicked in, the belts pulled tight, and unlike normal seat belts, they would stay tight with no way to pull them loose except by using the unlocking mechanism. Which, as Evelyn would soon find out, was impossible when your hands were in thick mittens.
The effect of this remarkable seat belt was that Evelyn was forced to sit rigidly in her seat. Her arms and legs were technically free, but due to the combination of her thick, movement hindering clothes and the way her body was fixed in place, there was really not much she could do. The hood of the white coat had gotten bunched up behind her head, and Tatjana pulled it out and put it properly over her head. Then she closed the car door.
Evelyn was only just finding out how tight the seat belt was, and how helpless she was. The hood of her red suit was also still tied to leave only her eyes showing, and with the white hood even loosely pulled over her head, she would heat up quickly. She wanted to ask one of the women to at least open the red hood, but then she noticed there was safety glass between the front seats and the back seats of the car. She heard nothing of the front compartment, and they couldn't hear her. She struggled to reach the drawstring of her hood and tried to unknot it, but with those mittens on she stood no chance. She wanted to knock on the safety glass to attract attention, but the belts over her shoulders gave her no room to move at all, so she couldn't even reach it. Gradually it began to dawn on her that she really was stuck for however long the drive would take.
Meanwhile Tatjana sat down in the passenger seat. "Bloody cold out there," she said to Anouchka. "Better turn the heating up."
"Full blast," Anouchka agreed.
She'd had doubts when she heard her new company was located in Siberia. She had no idea how she had to prepare for a stay in one of the coldest regions on Earth. But Anouchka had assured her everything would be taken care of. They'd even bring fitting clothes to the airport, where they would pick her up. So there was no need to bring anything at all - the company provided it all. They were, after all, used to the conditions.
And indeed, when Evelyn entered the arrival hall, she quickly spotted the two women, one of them holding up a sign with her name.
"Evelyn?" the blonde one asked when Evelyn approached them.
"Yes," Evelyn confirmed.
"Great to meet you. I'm Anouchka, and this is my colleague Tatjana."
Anouchka was an attractive woman, with a friendly face and a broad smile that made you feel at ease. Evelyn was surprised how young she looked. Not even 30, she'd guess, and already HR manager. Tatjana looked about the same age; she was brown-haired and looked more reserved. Both were wearing long, very thick down coats with large fur-trimmed hoods. Anouchka's was white, Tatjana's black. They had left them unzipped inside the terminal. At the sight of those heavy coats, Evelyn immediately inquired if they had something for her to wear as well, since she had been told she needn't bring anything.
"Yes, of course," Anouchka said, pointing at a bag at Tatjana's feet. "There are your clothes. Come with us, please."
They walked through the airport while Anouchka explained: "Miss Razatski rents a small room in this airport for private use. It's excellent for occasions like this. It's also a relaxing space whenever someone from the company needs to take a flight."
They came to a door which Anouchka unlocked. After they entered the room, she locked it again.
"Okay, we're in a private area now. I'll ask you to undress completely. It will be easier," Anouchka said.
"Completely?" Evelyn asked uncertainly.
"Yes. You'll see why in a minute."
Evelyn had no idea what was happening but she complied. Soon she was completely naked, and Anouchka showed her a large diaper.
"You'll have to wear this," she said. "We have a long way to travel, through mostly deserted places. So there won't be any toilets on the way. Trust me, if you have to pick between peeing with your naked arse in the icy wind, and a diaper, you'll love the diaper."
Although she was reluctant to be put in a diaper, Evelyn saw the logic of that, and Anouchka helped her put it on. Next was a pair of black plastic pants to go over the diaper.
Then Tatjana pulled a short black nylon down jacket from the bag and handed it to Evelyn.
"Do I need to wear this on my bare skin? Shouldn't there be something underneath?" Evelyn asked.
"No, it's a down sweater," Anouchka explained. "It's supposed to be worn like that."
Indeed the garment turned out to have only a short zip, and Evelyn pulled it over her head. It was comfortable enough, although it was odd to feel the nylon on her bare skin. She let the sweater's hood fall behind her and zipped it up slightly, so that her cleavage was at least covered.
"Now this," Anouchka said, and the thing she was holding was enormous. It was a down suit, with attached feet and mittens, incredibly thick and in bright red. Evelyn looked apprehensive.
"Don't you have anything else?" she asked. The down coats the two women wore looked much nicer. She had hoped for something similar.
"No, sorry, this is all we brought. But really, it's for the best. You're not used to a Siberian winter. You'll be glad to have this on once we're outside."
That was true, so Evelyn took the suit and started pushing her legs in. Oddly, the opening was at the back. After she had one foot in the attached down bootie, she tried to put her other leg in, but standing on the smooth and thick nylon turned out to be hard. Anouchka held her while she put her second leg in. Then she stood somewhat unsteadily on her two down booties while holding the rest of the suit in front of her.
"Now the arms," Anouchka instructed, and Evelyn slid her arms all the way into the sleeves, reaching the attached mittens. These were so thick she wouldn't be able to do anything with her hands. Meanwhile, Tatjana was pulling a drawstring tighter around each of her ankles, knotting them off once they were tightened. Then she repeated this with drawstrings at the wrists. "So the suit stays properly in place," she explained.
"Okay, before you put your head into the hood, we'll put the hood of your down sweatshirt up," Anouchka said. She pulled the hood up, zipped the collar, and pulled the drawstrings tighter until only Evelyn's eyes and nose were showing.
"Now put your head in the hood of the suit."
Evelyn did this, and Anouchka helped pulled the rest of the suit over her shoulders. Tatjana started zipping it up immediately.
"I can't put the hood down," Evelyn said, noticing the opening at the front was too small for that.
"No," Anouchka laughed, "in Siberia that's not necessary. I'll pull it a bit tighter. Once we're outside you'll want as little exposed skin as possible."
She pulled the drawstrings until even Evelyn's nose was covered, leaving just a small hole for her eyes. Then she knotted this drawstring as well.
Finally, they produced a pair of red Moonboots. These were incredibly oversized, to fit over the thick down booties and the legs of the suit. They truly looked like the boots of a giant. In addition to being made to fit over the suit, they were abnormally thick. The polyurethane layer was 5 cm thick all around. At their widest, the boots were close to 30 cm, making them almost round. The shafts were high enough to reach her knees, which combined with the thick rubber soles to make them very high as well. But clearly there was no alternative. She couldn't walk around on the slippery booties of the suit. So with Anouchka's help, she stepped into the giant boots, and Tatjana fastened the drawstrings.
Evelyn took some tentative steps while Tatjana gathered her clothes and put them in the bag. Then Anouchka unlocked the door and they left. Evelyn stomped after them awkwardly. It was like having your feet in concrete blocks, she thought - not as heavy, perhaps, but just as clunky. She was also very aware that nobody was dressed remotely like her, and that's she stood out like a lighthouse in her bright red suit. Not to mention the hood that left just enough space to see through and the gigantic Moonboots. At least they would be outside soon, she thought. Then she would probably be glad to wear these things. After all, people here were used to this weather, but she certainly wasn't. And once they arrived at Mappisi, she'd get her own clothes, and be able to pick what she wore. She'd be able to wear something at least a bit more fashionable.
Of course, she was completely, absurdly wrong about that.
Meanwhile they reached the exit doors and Anouchka and Tatjana zipped up their coats, pulled up their hoods, and put gloves on. Once outside, in the freezing wind, Evelyn was indeed comfortable in the heavy down suit. They walked towards the car, a sturdy SUV. Once they got there, Anouchka quickly slipped out of her coat and sat behind the wheel. Tatjana handed Anouchka's coat to Evelyn. "Here, you should put this on for extra warmth," she said. Evelyn looked doubtful. "I don't know if..." she began. "Come on, hurry up please," Tatjana interrupted her. "We really need to get going. We don't want to be driving at night if we can avoid it."
Evelyn put her arms in the sleeves of the white coat and tried to push her mittened hands through them. Tatjana helped her pull the coat over her arms. She zipped it up completely and did up the button flap. Then she opened the back door of the car and gestured for Evelyn to get in. When Evelyn sat down, Tatjana reached for the seat belt. This was an unusual design. It consisted of two belts that started above her shoulders and were clicked in place next to her hips. The two vertical belts went over her shoulders, holding them tight against the back of her seat. In addition, they were connected by two horizontal straps; one at the end of the belts, going over her hips and crotch area, and one higher up, just below her breasts. As soon as the seat belts were clicked in, the belts pulled tight, and unlike normal seat belts, they would stay tight with no way to pull them loose except by using the unlocking mechanism. Which, as Evelyn would soon find out, was impossible when your hands were in thick mittens.
The effect of this remarkable seat belt was that Evelyn was forced to sit rigidly in her seat. Her arms and legs were technically free, but due to the combination of her thick, movement hindering clothes and the way her body was fixed in place, there was really not much she could do. The hood of the white coat had gotten bunched up behind her head, and Tatjana pulled it out and put it properly over her head. Then she closed the car door.
Evelyn was only just finding out how tight the seat belt was, and how helpless she was. The hood of her red suit was also still tied to leave only her eyes showing, and with the white hood even loosely pulled over her head, she would heat up quickly. She wanted to ask one of the women to at least open the red hood, but then she noticed there was safety glass between the front seats and the back seats of the car. She heard nothing of the front compartment, and they couldn't hear her. She struggled to reach the drawstring of her hood and tried to unknot it, but with those mittens on she stood no chance. She wanted to knock on the safety glass to attract attention, but the belts over her shoulders gave her no room to move at all, so she couldn't even reach it. Gradually it began to dawn on her that she really was stuck for however long the drive would take.
Meanwhile Tatjana sat down in the passenger seat. "Bloody cold out there," she said to Anouchka. "Better turn the heating up."
"Full blast," Anouchka agreed.
vrijdag 30 januari 2015
Alissa Razatski (part 1)
It all began when Evelyn’s boss, Mr. Rogers, called her and asked her to come to his office. Evelyn was nervous. She worked at the company for a year and a half now, and she’d only been in Mr. Rogers’ office once. Her job was a simple desk job that required no special skills. The work was boring but she was glad with what she’d been able to get. These were hard times for the economy, and there were always rumors about closing factories or moving product lines to China. Her company was part of a very large multinational, so she knew such decisions were made far above her head, and even her own boss might not have much to say about it. And she was realistic enough to know that, if jobs were on the chopping block, hers was one of the first in line. With these uncomfortable thoughts, she went to Mr. Rogers’ office.
“Hello, Evelyn. Please take a seat.” Mr. Rogers said politely, but his face was very serious, even grave. Evelyn feared that she had been right about the reason for this visit. But then Mr. Rogers said something she didn’t expect.
"You know who Alissa Razatski is?" Evelyn nodded. Of course she knew the name of Alissa Razatski. One of the richest people on earth, most people would have at least heard of her. But people in this company, especially, should know the name. She was after all the CEO of the multinational it belonged to.
"Miss Razatski will be visiting our company on the 16th of December - two weeks from now. She will be given a detailed tour of the whole facility, with technical descriptions of all the processes."
Mr. Rogers was silent for a moment, seeming to think how he should go on. Evelyn thought she maybe needed to say something, but she had no idea what he expected of her. It was clear she had nothing to do with this tour. She only knew a bit about sales, she had no idea how any of the processes in their factory worked.
"Miss Razatski has the habit of choosing a person at random from the staff list to guide her. And she has picked you, Evelyn. That means you'll have to learn everything about the company - or at least enough to have all the information you'll need - in the next two weeks. Now, don't panic. We'll help you as much as we can. You'll have no other tasks during this time. You'll get sessions with the heads of operations who will do their best to explain everything to you. The rest of the time you'll study and memorize this. I'll make sure to make some time for you as well. We'll get you up to date on everything. Do you take you can handle it?"
"Um... I don't know... I hope so..."
"I'm sure it will work out, if you do your best. You'll need to work hard during the next two weeks, but see it as an opportunity. With the knowledge you'll have then, you'll definitely be in consideration for better jobs. And you'll get a very nice one-time bonus as a reward. I do have to stress how important this is. Miss Razatski could close our whole company with a stroke of her pen if she felt like it. I'm exaggerating a bit of course, I'm sure it won't come to that. But if decisions about allocating new product lines need to be made, it would be better to be on good terms with Alissa Razatski."
As Mr. Rogers had said, the next two weeks were hard for Evelyn. She had to cram so much information into her head that she had time for nothing else. Even her dreams were all about the processes in the factory. Except for those in which she was guiding Alissa Razatski through the company, and the most horrible things happened. In one she tripped and fell head-first into a furnace. In another she found herself unable to talk, and Miss Razatski kept looking at her expectantly while she stuttered but didn't manage to utter a single word.
Despite those dreams, she advanced much better than she had expected. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. It she didn't understand something, they patiently explained it again and again. The more she learned, the more her confidence grew that she might actually pull this off successfully. The two weeks rushed by, and before she knew it, it was the 15th - the day before the visit. Mr. Rogers had designated this as the practice day. He took the role of Alissa Razatski himself, and Evelyn would guide him through the company. Evelyn felt she was ready for it. She was mentally going over some parts of her tour when Mr. Rogers said: "Your clothes for tomorrow have arrived, so you can put them on for the rehearsal."
"My clothes?"
"Yes. Miss Razatski picks them herself, and sends them the day before her visit. They arrived earlier today, they're in that box. You will find that they are... unusual. Not quite what you'd expect. Miss Razatski has the reputation of being very eccentric and it seems she's living up to that name."
Curious, Evelyn opened the box. Her mouth dropped open. She'd had no idea what to expect after Mr. Rogers introduction, but this might well be the last thing she'd expected. She pulled out down pants and a down jacket, both in shiny, black nylon, and extremely well filled. Still in the box were a pair of mittens of the same material, and black Moonboots.
She looked up at Mr. Rogers. "Isn't this... some kind of mistake?"
"I'm afraid not. There were instructions that all these items need to be worn, the jacket zipped up, the hood up and tied slightly. I know it's not what one would expect, but if that's Miss Razatski's wish, we have no choice really. We want to do everything to please her."
And so Evelyn went through the rehearsal with Mr. Rogers, dressed for a polar expedition. It went bad at first. She kept forgetting what she was saying as she was too aware of how ridiculous she must look. She could see the bemused looks of her colleagues everywhere. Mr. Rogers told her to focus her attention on him, and ignore everything else. It went better then, and gradually she managed to forget how she was dressed and talk freely. At the end, Mr. Rogers said he was very pleased and that he was sure she would do a great job tomorrow. Evelyn was relieved to get out of those clothes. She was exhausted and sweaty, but a long shower helped her get over that.
---
Evelyn entered Mr. Rogers' office, once again dressed in her completely black, warm and thick outfit. The tall woman who stood inside turned around to look at her - Alissa Razatski. She was a striking figure, not at all how Evelyn had imagined a rich businesswoman. Her feet were in knee-high, black leather boots with high heels - even though she would've been taller than Mr. Rogers even without those. Then there were skin-tight, shiny black pants - latex? A shirt of a similar material, but not as tight around her body. And the most striking, an enormous, heavy-looking black coat. It was open at the front, and went from halfway her boots all the way up to a standing collar behind her neck. Out of the wide sleeves came black leather gloves.
The skin of her face and neck was pale, almost white, and the contrast with her black clothes made her neck seem longer and her features even sharper. Alissa Razatski's black hair was pulled back in a long, tight braid. She had large, expressive eyes, and her mouth's full lips were pressed together in a stark, unsmiling line.
This imposing person now looked down at the much shorter Evelyn, dressed in her heavy clothes with her hood up. Her cool gaze went over the down-clad girl, but she didn't speak. Evelyn felt blood rush to her head and she suddenly got unbearably hot. At that moment she was sure it was somehow all a mistake, or a prank at her expense. Her hands, in their padded nylon mittens, nervously brushed against her down pants. The squishing sound of nylon on nylon seemed very loud in the silence of the room. A drop of sweat escaped the confines of her hood and rolled down her cheek. The moment seemed to stretch forever. All Evelyn felt like doing was turn around and flee, but her Moonboots seemed glued to the floor.
Suddenly, Alissa Razatski's face broke into a smile, and it made her look radiant. "Hello, Evelyn," she said, in a surprisingly soft and kind voice. She stepped forward and offered her hand. Evelyn shook it, her thick and soft mitten in Alissa Razatski's strong leather glove. "I hear you'll show me around here. Shall we go then?" she asked, still in the melodious voice that seemed at odds with her strange and powerful appearance. Mr. Rogers said: "I hope you'll enjoy the tour, Miss Razatski. I'll be here when you come back." Alissa Razatski took her handbag, and then they were off.
At first, all went well. Evelyn rattled off everything she had prepared, and for the first ten minutes or so, Miss Razatski appeared interested. But her interest waned quickly, and soon Evelyn noticed the woman wasn't looking when she pointed something out, didn't react to what she said at all; in short, she didn't appear to be listening at all. And suddenly Alissa Razatski interrupted Evelyn mid-sentence. "I'm bored," she simply said, her voice still soft but somehow clearly audible through Evelyn's words. Evelyn shut up immediately, then didn't know what to say.
"I... um... Maybe we can visit the laboratory..."
"No, I have a better idea," Miss Razatski said. She opened her handbag and started rummaging in it. "I know how we can make this more fun. Where is it... ah, here!" Her hand emerged from the bag and she showed Evelyn a black rubber ball with two straps dangling from it. A gag!
Evelyn was speechless. She could only stare up in confusion and disbelief at this billionaire, this CEO of a multinational, holding up a ball gag in front of her face.
"With this in your mouth, you'll still be able to speak - more or less. It will be quite hard to be comprehensible though. So you'll have to try a bit harder. But that should make it more entertaining, no?"
Alissa Razatski spoke as though this was a perfectly normal request. "I... I..." Evelyn stuttered. Do everything to please her, Mr. Rogers had said. We want to be on good terms with Alissa Razatski. The words echoed through her head. "Okay," she said.
Without wasting time, Miss Razatski opened the collar of Evelyn's down jacket and pushed her hood back. She ran a leather-clad finger across the girl's forehead and looked at the wetness on her glove thoughtfully. "You seem to be warm enough," she remarked, "that's good. I like my girls to be warm." After that cryptic comment she gently pushed the black ball against Evelyn's lips. Evelyn obediently opened her mouth and the ball slid in. Alissa Razatski moved behind her and fastened the strap tightly, securing the gag in her mouth. The ball was not large, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. With some effort she could even barely close her mouth over it. But it would still impede her speech.
Miss Razatski put Evelyn's hood up again, closed the collar and then she started pulling the hood tighter, until her gagged mouth was covered completely and only a hole for her eyes and nose remained. "There," Miss Razatski said, "that will cover the gag, and as an added benefit, it will keep you warmer as well. Now, please continue where you left off."
They went on, and Evelyn did her best to get intelligible words past her gag and hood, but she didn't think she was succeeding. Alissa Razatski didn't seem to mind, she appeared more lively than before the interruption. At one point she stopped Evelyn and said she was thirsty, so Evelyn brought her to the cafeteria. Miss Razatski took a bottle of soda from a fridge and sat down at a table. Evelyn ignored the curious glances and took a seat opposite her.
Alissa Razatski sipped thoughtfully from her soda for a while, and Evelyn quietly waited.
"Well Evelyn, I think you're doing really well so far," Miss Razatski said, and gave her that dazzling smile again.
"Ang ooo," Evelyn said, happy that the powerful woman was pleased, even though she didn't think Miss Razatski had understood anything she had said since she'd been gagged.
"I hope you like the clothes I've chosen for you. I'm from Russia, where it's very cold, so I care a lot about warm clothes. I hope you appreciate them as much as I do."
"Yeff, Miff Mamaffi. Ihw wewy wamm and nife," Evelyn said politely.
"So how are you doing in the company, Evelyn? Have you made any promotion yet?"
"No, Miff. I onny wohg ee siss a yea and a haff."
"That's a shame. You seem very talented to me. I wonder..."
Alissa Razatski was silent for a while, seeming to ponder something. Then she said: "I have a small company back in Russia that I personally take care of. You know, more as a hobby project, to escape the stress of a leading the whole multinational. Anyway, I have an opening for a junior employee, and I think you'd fit the job really well. The salary is very nice, if I may say so. In fact it's multiple times your current pay. It's a pet project of mine, so I don't mind losing money on it, as long as I can enjoy my time there. All the employees there have been specially invited by me. And now I want to invite you to join us there. Of course, that means you'd have to move to Russia. I completely understand if you have a family here that holds you back. But if you don't mind moving to Russia, I'd urge you to at least consider my offer." She took her handbag and opened it, while she continued: "You wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to stay, we take care of everything. Here is my business card. You don't have to say anything right now, just send me an email if you're interested. Then I'll send you more details, and we'll see if we can work out an arrangement."
Even discounting the gag in her mouth, Evelyn was dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events. She was single, and there was really nothing holding her here. There was really no reason not to accept the offer.
Evelyn never suspected that was exactly why she had been chosen by Alissa Razatski.
“Hello, Evelyn. Please take a seat.” Mr. Rogers said politely, but his face was very serious, even grave. Evelyn feared that she had been right about the reason for this visit. But then Mr. Rogers said something she didn’t expect.
"You know who Alissa Razatski is?" Evelyn nodded. Of course she knew the name of Alissa Razatski. One of the richest people on earth, most people would have at least heard of her. But people in this company, especially, should know the name. She was after all the CEO of the multinational it belonged to.
"Miss Razatski will be visiting our company on the 16th of December - two weeks from now. She will be given a detailed tour of the whole facility, with technical descriptions of all the processes."
Mr. Rogers was silent for a moment, seeming to think how he should go on. Evelyn thought she maybe needed to say something, but she had no idea what he expected of her. It was clear she had nothing to do with this tour. She only knew a bit about sales, she had no idea how any of the processes in their factory worked.
"Miss Razatski has the habit of choosing a person at random from the staff list to guide her. And she has picked you, Evelyn. That means you'll have to learn everything about the company - or at least enough to have all the information you'll need - in the next two weeks. Now, don't panic. We'll help you as much as we can. You'll have no other tasks during this time. You'll get sessions with the heads of operations who will do their best to explain everything to you. The rest of the time you'll study and memorize this. I'll make sure to make some time for you as well. We'll get you up to date on everything. Do you take you can handle it?"
"Um... I don't know... I hope so..."
"I'm sure it will work out, if you do your best. You'll need to work hard during the next two weeks, but see it as an opportunity. With the knowledge you'll have then, you'll definitely be in consideration for better jobs. And you'll get a very nice one-time bonus as a reward. I do have to stress how important this is. Miss Razatski could close our whole company with a stroke of her pen if she felt like it. I'm exaggerating a bit of course, I'm sure it won't come to that. But if decisions about allocating new product lines need to be made, it would be better to be on good terms with Alissa Razatski."
As Mr. Rogers had said, the next two weeks were hard for Evelyn. She had to cram so much information into her head that she had time for nothing else. Even her dreams were all about the processes in the factory. Except for those in which she was guiding Alissa Razatski through the company, and the most horrible things happened. In one she tripped and fell head-first into a furnace. In another she found herself unable to talk, and Miss Razatski kept looking at her expectantly while she stuttered but didn't manage to utter a single word.
Despite those dreams, she advanced much better than she had expected. Everyone was very helpful and friendly. It she didn't understand something, they patiently explained it again and again. The more she learned, the more her confidence grew that she might actually pull this off successfully. The two weeks rushed by, and before she knew it, it was the 15th - the day before the visit. Mr. Rogers had designated this as the practice day. He took the role of Alissa Razatski himself, and Evelyn would guide him through the company. Evelyn felt she was ready for it. She was mentally going over some parts of her tour when Mr. Rogers said: "Your clothes for tomorrow have arrived, so you can put them on for the rehearsal."
"My clothes?"
"Yes. Miss Razatski picks them herself, and sends them the day before her visit. They arrived earlier today, they're in that box. You will find that they are... unusual. Not quite what you'd expect. Miss Razatski has the reputation of being very eccentric and it seems she's living up to that name."
Curious, Evelyn opened the box. Her mouth dropped open. She'd had no idea what to expect after Mr. Rogers introduction, but this might well be the last thing she'd expected. She pulled out down pants and a down jacket, both in shiny, black nylon, and extremely well filled. Still in the box were a pair of mittens of the same material, and black Moonboots.
She looked up at Mr. Rogers. "Isn't this... some kind of mistake?"
"I'm afraid not. There were instructions that all these items need to be worn, the jacket zipped up, the hood up and tied slightly. I know it's not what one would expect, but if that's Miss Razatski's wish, we have no choice really. We want to do everything to please her."
And so Evelyn went through the rehearsal with Mr. Rogers, dressed for a polar expedition. It went bad at first. She kept forgetting what she was saying as she was too aware of how ridiculous she must look. She could see the bemused looks of her colleagues everywhere. Mr. Rogers told her to focus her attention on him, and ignore everything else. It went better then, and gradually she managed to forget how she was dressed and talk freely. At the end, Mr. Rogers said he was very pleased and that he was sure she would do a great job tomorrow. Evelyn was relieved to get out of those clothes. She was exhausted and sweaty, but a long shower helped her get over that.
---
Evelyn entered Mr. Rogers' office, once again dressed in her completely black, warm and thick outfit. The tall woman who stood inside turned around to look at her - Alissa Razatski. She was a striking figure, not at all how Evelyn had imagined a rich businesswoman. Her feet were in knee-high, black leather boots with high heels - even though she would've been taller than Mr. Rogers even without those. Then there were skin-tight, shiny black pants - latex? A shirt of a similar material, but not as tight around her body. And the most striking, an enormous, heavy-looking black coat. It was open at the front, and went from halfway her boots all the way up to a standing collar behind her neck. Out of the wide sleeves came black leather gloves.
The skin of her face and neck was pale, almost white, and the contrast with her black clothes made her neck seem longer and her features even sharper. Alissa Razatski's black hair was pulled back in a long, tight braid. She had large, expressive eyes, and her mouth's full lips were pressed together in a stark, unsmiling line.
This imposing person now looked down at the much shorter Evelyn, dressed in her heavy clothes with her hood up. Her cool gaze went over the down-clad girl, but she didn't speak. Evelyn felt blood rush to her head and she suddenly got unbearably hot. At that moment she was sure it was somehow all a mistake, or a prank at her expense. Her hands, in their padded nylon mittens, nervously brushed against her down pants. The squishing sound of nylon on nylon seemed very loud in the silence of the room. A drop of sweat escaped the confines of her hood and rolled down her cheek. The moment seemed to stretch forever. All Evelyn felt like doing was turn around and flee, but her Moonboots seemed glued to the floor.
Suddenly, Alissa Razatski's face broke into a smile, and it made her look radiant. "Hello, Evelyn," she said, in a surprisingly soft and kind voice. She stepped forward and offered her hand. Evelyn shook it, her thick and soft mitten in Alissa Razatski's strong leather glove. "I hear you'll show me around here. Shall we go then?" she asked, still in the melodious voice that seemed at odds with her strange and powerful appearance. Mr. Rogers said: "I hope you'll enjoy the tour, Miss Razatski. I'll be here when you come back." Alissa Razatski took her handbag, and then they were off.
At first, all went well. Evelyn rattled off everything she had prepared, and for the first ten minutes or so, Miss Razatski appeared interested. But her interest waned quickly, and soon Evelyn noticed the woman wasn't looking when she pointed something out, didn't react to what she said at all; in short, she didn't appear to be listening at all. And suddenly Alissa Razatski interrupted Evelyn mid-sentence. "I'm bored," she simply said, her voice still soft but somehow clearly audible through Evelyn's words. Evelyn shut up immediately, then didn't know what to say.
"I... um... Maybe we can visit the laboratory..."
"No, I have a better idea," Miss Razatski said. She opened her handbag and started rummaging in it. "I know how we can make this more fun. Where is it... ah, here!" Her hand emerged from the bag and she showed Evelyn a black rubber ball with two straps dangling from it. A gag!
Evelyn was speechless. She could only stare up in confusion and disbelief at this billionaire, this CEO of a multinational, holding up a ball gag in front of her face.
"With this in your mouth, you'll still be able to speak - more or less. It will be quite hard to be comprehensible though. So you'll have to try a bit harder. But that should make it more entertaining, no?"
Alissa Razatski spoke as though this was a perfectly normal request. "I... I..." Evelyn stuttered. Do everything to please her, Mr. Rogers had said. We want to be on good terms with Alissa Razatski. The words echoed through her head. "Okay," she said.
Without wasting time, Miss Razatski opened the collar of Evelyn's down jacket and pushed her hood back. She ran a leather-clad finger across the girl's forehead and looked at the wetness on her glove thoughtfully. "You seem to be warm enough," she remarked, "that's good. I like my girls to be warm." After that cryptic comment she gently pushed the black ball against Evelyn's lips. Evelyn obediently opened her mouth and the ball slid in. Alissa Razatski moved behind her and fastened the strap tightly, securing the gag in her mouth. The ball was not large, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. With some effort she could even barely close her mouth over it. But it would still impede her speech.
Miss Razatski put Evelyn's hood up again, closed the collar and then she started pulling the hood tighter, until her gagged mouth was covered completely and only a hole for her eyes and nose remained. "There," Miss Razatski said, "that will cover the gag, and as an added benefit, it will keep you warmer as well. Now, please continue where you left off."
They went on, and Evelyn did her best to get intelligible words past her gag and hood, but she didn't think she was succeeding. Alissa Razatski didn't seem to mind, she appeared more lively than before the interruption. At one point she stopped Evelyn and said she was thirsty, so Evelyn brought her to the cafeteria. Miss Razatski took a bottle of soda from a fridge and sat down at a table. Evelyn ignored the curious glances and took a seat opposite her.
Alissa Razatski sipped thoughtfully from her soda for a while, and Evelyn quietly waited.
"Well Evelyn, I think you're doing really well so far," Miss Razatski said, and gave her that dazzling smile again.
"Ang ooo," Evelyn said, happy that the powerful woman was pleased, even though she didn't think Miss Razatski had understood anything she had said since she'd been gagged.
"I hope you like the clothes I've chosen for you. I'm from Russia, where it's very cold, so I care a lot about warm clothes. I hope you appreciate them as much as I do."
"Yeff, Miff Mamaffi. Ihw wewy wamm and nife," Evelyn said politely.
"So how are you doing in the company, Evelyn? Have you made any promotion yet?"
"No, Miff. I onny wohg ee siss a yea and a haff."
"That's a shame. You seem very talented to me. I wonder..."
Alissa Razatski was silent for a while, seeming to ponder something. Then she said: "I have a small company back in Russia that I personally take care of. You know, more as a hobby project, to escape the stress of a leading the whole multinational. Anyway, I have an opening for a junior employee, and I think you'd fit the job really well. The salary is very nice, if I may say so. In fact it's multiple times your current pay. It's a pet project of mine, so I don't mind losing money on it, as long as I can enjoy my time there. All the employees there have been specially invited by me. And now I want to invite you to join us there. Of course, that means you'd have to move to Russia. I completely understand if you have a family here that holds you back. But if you don't mind moving to Russia, I'd urge you to at least consider my offer." She took her handbag and opened it, while she continued: "You wouldn't have to worry about finding a place to stay, we take care of everything. Here is my business card. You don't have to say anything right now, just send me an email if you're interested. Then I'll send you more details, and we'll see if we can work out an arrangement."
Even discounting the gag in her mouth, Evelyn was dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events. She was single, and there was really nothing holding her here. There was really no reason not to accept the offer.
Evelyn never suspected that was exactly why she had been chosen by Alissa Razatski.
donderdag 15 januari 2015
Kelly's New Coat
“Kelly, put your hood up,” Rose urged.
“It’s really not that cold,” Kelly protested weakly, but she did what Rose said anyway, and pulled the thick hood of her white down jacket over her brown hair.
Rose glanced at her friend. “Here, let me do this properly,” she said, turning towards her. She zipped the collar, which Kelly had left open, all the way to the top, then pulled the drawstrings of the hood tighter until the collar covered Kelly’s mouth and the hood came to just above her eyebrows. Then she carefully knotted the drawstrings.
Kelly simply stood still while Rose did this, allowing her friend to wrap her up, even though she was really overdressed. It always went like this. Why Rose insisted that she always wore her hood, and why Kelly let her decide that, she didn’t know. It was simply easier than arguing about it.
“And where is your scarf? Didn’t I tell you to wear your scarf?”
Kelly mumbled something about “forgot” and Rose went to the cupboard to fetch Kelly’s scarf. A moment later she wrapped the red scarf around Kelly’s face, on top of the collar covering her mouth. She pulled it very tight, then started knotting it at the back of Kelly’s head.
“Mmf!” Kelly protested, while tugging at the scarf, indicating that it was too tight. She couldn’t even speak like that.
“It’ll stay like that,” Rose said sternly, “ that’ll teach you not to ‘forget’ it again. Here, I brought your mittens too.”
A bit dejected, Kelly allowed Rose to put her hands into the thick red mittens. It really wasn’t that cold, she thought. The weather forecast had predicted a temperature of 9°C, cloudy but dry all afternoon. There really was no need to be wrapped up like that. But to Rose that clearly didn’t matter. Although she almost never wore a hood herself, she insisted that Kelly be wrapped up warmly all winter.
Kelly thought back to how this had begun. She had moved in with Rose last year. Rose was a high school friend of her, although they hadn’t been in touch very much afterwards. At some point Rose’s previous housemate moved out at the same time Kelly was looking for a place, and they were both happy to get this arrangement.
She had discovered the white down jacket, which she was wearing now, almost exactly a year ago, in December. It was somewhat hidden in the back of a cupboard. She was a bit surprised to see such a nice jacket that Rose apparently never wore, and she had asked Rose about it. Rose had said that, although she thought it looked really nice, she just didn’t like wearing it. “Try it on,” she had said, “perhaps it’s something for you.”
That was how it started. Soon she was wearing the white jacket every day. And then Rose began obsessing over her clothes, insisting that she wear her hood all the time.
Kelly remembered the first time Rose had made her wear her hood. They had been shopping together, and Kelly had made a remark about the cold. “Are you cold? You should put your hood up,” Rose had said immediately. Kelly had refused, saying she would be fine. But Rose stopped her. “I’ll do it for you then,” she’d said, and she had put Kelly’s hood up and tied it. Looking back on it, that had been the decision point, Kelly reflected. She could have taken the hood off then. But she had said nothing, and kept the hood up. From that point on, Rose had been telling her to put her hood up every time she went outside. And, as she hadn’t argued it about the first time, she found it increasingly harder to object every next time, and simply did what Rose told her.
Only once Kelly had objected. They’d had a drink with some friends, and the moment they stepped outside, Rose had said: “Kelly, put your hood up.” “No, I don’t need it,” she had replied, but Rose had just brushed that aside, as though she had said something silly. “Yes you do, put your hood up,” Rose had said, and then to their friends: “Kelly is cold all the time, and she’s being stubborn about wearing her hood.” Turning back towards Kelly, who still hadn’t put her hood up, she had said: “Well, what about it? Are you going to do it or should I do it for you?” Kelly had been a bit ashamed about the scene in front of their friends, and she had put her hood up to end it. That was the last of her resistance. From then on she had simply obeyed Rose, and it came naturally to her.
And now she was stuck with it, Kelly mused while they stepped out of the front door. This was where it had gotten her: wrapped up like an Eskimo even when the weather was unseasonably mild.
To Kelly’s surprise, Rose went to the car and unlocked it. Why did she have to dress like this if they were going by car? Kelly didn’t know where they were going, Rose had said it was “a surprise”. She went to the passenger’s side and got in the car as well. She tugged at the scarf that was tied tightly over her mouth.
“Leave that alone,” Rose said sharply. “Just put your hands in your lap and be a good girl.”
Now Rose was going a bit far, Kelly thought. She didn’t have to tell her everything she could and couldn’t do. She considered ignoring Rose and taking off the scarf anyway, but in the end she simply couldn’t get herself to directly oppose Rose’s order. And since she couldn’t argue with the scarf tied over her face, she just put her mittened hands in her lap as Rose had told her to do.
Half an hour later they arrived at a large house outside the town. Rose rang at the door. There was a plate attached next to the door, but before Kelly could look what was written on it, Rose had grabbed her arm and pulled her away. The door was opened by a middle-aged woman with a friendly smile.
"Hi, we're here to collect our order," Rose said.
"Yes, of course, the special order. Please, come in."
They went into a hallway and Kelly pulled at the scarf that was still covering her lower face and forcing her tied hood to stay up. She tried to unknot it, but the knot was behind her and turned out to be multiple very tight knots, which she didn’t manage to undo right away.
"I suppose it's meant for this young lady," the woman said. "Well, I'll go fetch it, if you'd wait here for a moment. Please make yourself comfortable." She gestured at a sofa that stood next to the wall, then she went through a door.
Rose took off her jacket and sat down, while Kelly had taken off her mittens but was still struggling with the knot in the scarf. “Mmf! Mmf!” she grunted, trying to attract Rose’s attention. Rose looked up at her, looking mildly interested in her friend's attempts. Then she stood up and finally helped Kelly out of her scarf and jacket.
"Rose, what's going on? Where are we? Who is this woman? Why are we here?"
Rose smiled. "We are at miss Elwin's place, and she's a seamstress. I made an order a while ago and we're here to collect it. Just in time for your birthday!"
At this point miss Elwin returned, and she was carrying a huge black down coat.
"Here it is, the special order. Exactly according to the measurements you provided. Let's try it on straight away, shall we?"
Too surprised to think about much at all, Kelly went to the woman, who stepped behind her, took one arm and carefully started pulling the sleeve over it. There was something odd about the way she did this - her arm was kept more behind her during this than should be needed, so she didn't actually see the coat. But before Kelly realized something was wrong, miss Elwin had already started on the other arm, and she was pulling the coat over Kelly's shoulders by the time Kelly understood that her arms weren't in normal sleeves at all. They were in a sort of internal sleeves at the sides of the coat, kept to her sides in tight pockets.
Now miss Elwin started zipping up the coat and a second thing became clear. The coat was much tighter than normal. It wasn't really clear from the outside, because of how extremely bulky the thick down coat was, but as soon as the zipper started closing from her knees upwards, she could feel its pressure on her upper legs. As the zipper was closed further, her arms were pressed tighter to her sides, keeping them straight in their sleeves. And the coat was zipped up further still, ending in a very high, puffy collar that went straight up to her nose and stretched tightly over her mouth.
"I can't move my armf in thiff!" Kelly complained, with some difficulty through the thick down barrier pressing on her lips.
"Ah yes, I almost forgot the belt," miss Elwin said. She started tightening a wide belt just above Kelly's waist. The belt was on the outside of the coat, right over her wrists, which meant her hands were now really pressed against her body. She felt like she was being tied up!
"Pleafe, tha'ff too tighf," Kelly begged.
"Nonsense, it's just right," Rose said. "You look beautiful like this, Kelly. Walk around a bit, so you get used to it."
Kelly made some tentative steps back and forth. Her knees were kept almost together, restricting her steps, but she could get around. However it was very strange to walk with her arms rigidly pressed against her sides.
"See, it's going really well, and it looks fantastic," Rose commented. Kelly had her doubts about that, but Rose immediately went on: "Let's put her hood up now. Kelly will be wearing the hood all the time," she explained to miss Elwin.
"Very sensible," the older woman commented. "That's what it's there for after all." She lifted the hood from Kelly's back over her head. It had two large flaps to cover the lower half of her face, on top of the collar. This were connected with press buttons. But what a hood it was! Kelly had never seen anything like it. With the flaps fastened, the opening was extremely small, leaving just enough space for her eyes and the bridge of her nose, even without tying the hood. The hood was so thick that the edge was quite far in front of her face, so she had to look through a tunnel. And this was the only part of the hood she could see. If she'd had a mirror, or if her hands would have been free to feel the top of her hood, she would have noticed that she seemed almost 10 cm bigger with the hood up. The upper part of the hood was perfectly round and smooth, like a shiny black bowling ball. But despite how big the hood was, the down-filled nylon pressed on her head at all sides.
"I'm glad you'll be wearing the hood so often, dear," miss Elvin said, but her voice seemed to come from far away now. "I put a lot of work in it. I had to layer several down chambers on top of each other to get to the required thickness. But it's worth the effort."
Kelly slowly turned around, trying to locate Rose in her small line of sight. She peered at her desperately, silently begging her to reconsider. Surely she couldn't be wearing this coat in public! It all felt so unreal. But any effect her silent appeal might have had was mostly lost because her eyes were hardly even visible in the deep hood.
Rose and miss Elwin talked for a few more minutes, but most of it was lost on Kelly, who was now struggling against the coat, trying to free her arms. It was completely hopeless though. With the narrow sleeves sewn into the inside of the tightly fitting coat, and her hands pinned to her hips, she barely move her arms at all. The only difference it made was that she built up heat under the coat. And with both the collar and the belt stretching the coat tightly against her body, and no other openings, there was no way for the heat to escape. Her head, too, was getting very hot in the abnormally thick hood, and soon she could feel sweat dripping down the side of her nose. But of course she couldn't even wipe it away.
Meanwhile, Rose had said goodbye to miss Elwin, and she guided Kelly towards the door. With an arm around her shoulders, she lead Kelly towards the car and opened the door for her. Kelly tried to step in, but she was brought up short by the hem of the coat, which was too tight around her knees. Rose turned her around, so that Kelly's back faced the car, then pushed her down. Kelly let out a muffled scream, as she suddenly lost her balance and fell backwards, which was scary with her arms tied up, but she landed safely in the car seat. Rose helped her put her legs inside the car with a quarter-turn to the left. Then she fastened Kelly's seat belt and closed the door.
"So, are you happy with your birthday present?" Rose asked when she sat next to Kelly.
"I... yeff, buf... oo I weally aff oo weaw diff aww the fime?"
"You'll have to try and speak a bit louder and articulate clearly, Kelly, so you get through the collar and the flaps of the hood. And yes, you'll have to wear the coat all the time. It's a bit too expensive to leave it hanging in the closet. But you look really nice in it. And it will keep you warm."
"Can oo take the hood off pleafe?" Kelly asked, speaking slowly and carefully and raising her voice to make herself understood.
"Better if you keep it up for now," Rose judged. "It's quite a bit thicker than a normal hood, so it will take some getting used to. The sooner you're used to it, the more comfortable you'll be."
With that she started the engine, and they set off. Kelly was silent during the drive. Speaking was too hard, and it was awkward that she couldn't look at Rose. All she could do was sit straight up in her seat and look through her small tunnel, seeing only what was directly in front. After a while she noticed that they were in the city center, and Rose headed towards a parking lot. Kelly sighed inwardly. She'd hoped they were going home now, so she could get out of the coat, but apparently Rose had other plans.
"Where awe we going?" she asked, still having trouble speaking through the layers of down over her mouth.
"You'll see. We're not done yet for today," Rose replied cryptically.
Rose got out, went to Kelly's side of the car, and helped her out of it.
"I've been thinking about the best way to walk," Rose said. "If you walk next to me, you'll probably bump into me all the time, because you can't see me. And I can't hold your hand or your arm. So I think it will be easiest if I just walk ahead, and you follow me. This way you also won't bump into other people as much, because I'll have 'cleared the path', so to speak. If we have to cross a road I'll wait for you and put an arm around you, because it wouldn't be safe for you to cross on your own. Okay?"
"Um, yeff..." Kelly mumbled, too bewildered to argue. Already she was painfully aware of how outrageous she must look in this coat.
Without further ado, Rose set off at a brisk pace. Kelly, who was still learning her limitations, struggled to keep up. With quick short steps she tried to make up for the longer strides Rose could take. The coat restricted her more than she had thought. It turned out that trying to follow Rose through the pedestrian zone wasn't the same as taking a few short steps at miss Elwin's. Soon she was panting in the heavy down layer over her face and sweating more than ever. She tried to stay close to Rose, but sometimes her knee caught inside her coat as he tried to take a larger step, and then she had to stop and catch her balance. When the distance got larger, she desperately focussed on keeping Rose in sight. She had no eye for other people, who just stared at her in confusion when they were brushed aside by what appeared to be a walking sleeping bag.
Finally they reached their destination, a large outdoor store. Rose waited briefly for Kelly to catch up, then headed inside. Kelly had no choice but to follow her through the shop. She really wanted to get out of her hood now. Not only was the heat generated by her fast walk more unbearable inside the warm store, it was also embarrassing to wear that enormous hood indoors. But she could only ask Rose after following her through the entire shop.
"Wofe, can oo fake off my hood now?" she asked, exhausted and breathless.
"I told you, you'll really need to articulate a bit better when you're wearing that hood, Kelly. Come on, try again."
Kelly had to take a few deep breaths - in so far as that was possible - before she could do this. Meanwhile, the sweat was pouring down her face.
"Rose, can you take off my hood?" she repeated as loud and clear as she could.
"And the magic word?" Rose insisted.
"Pleafe!" Kelly exclaimed desperately.
Rose smiled. "Of course." She opened the flaps and pushed Kelly's hood down. She felt Kelly's hair, which was completely wet.
"See, I told you this hood would keep you warm," she said proudly.
"Yef, it'f vewy warm," Kelly said quietly. Way too warm, she thought, but at the moment she was just glad to be out of it, and feel some relatively cool air on her hair and forehead. Unfortunately the collar was still closed, covering everything up to her nose and ears, too tight to allow air to reach the lower half of her face and sticky with sweat.
"Now we need just one more piece to complete your outfit," Rose said. "A nice pair of Moonboots. I'd pick the shiny white ones, Kelly. They'll contrast beautifully with the black coat."
"Moonbooff? Why do I need thofe?"
"As I said, they'll match your coat perfectly. Your normal shoes sticking out of the bottom of this nice thick coat, that just doesn't look so nice. With the Moonboots under this coat, you'll look fantastic!"
"Buf... I can'f wear Moonbooff all the fime..."
"Sure you can. If I say so. Now stop arguing and sit down."
Moments later Rose had taken off Kelly's shoes and replaced them with the Moonboots. They were white vinyl with black letters.
"They fit perfectly," Rose announced. "Oh, and I have another idea. Come."
With some difficulty, Rose managed to stand up again and shuffled after Rose. The Moonboots further hindered her steps in combination with her shortened stride, as she now had to watch out she didn't trip over her own large boots. At least with the hood down she could easily locate Rose now.
By the time Kelly reached her, Rose had selected a bunch of balaclavas. "This should help to soak up your sweat," she explained. "I'll buy seven of them, because you'll probably need a new one every day."
They went to the counter, where Rose helped Kelly out of the Moonboots so she could pay them. Then Kelly sat down again and Rose took one of the Moonboots.
"No," Kelly protested, pulling her foot away and trying to speak as clearly as possible, "it's really quite warm outside, Rose. I can't go out in Moonbooff in this weaffer."
"Kelly, I'll decide about that," Rose said sternly. "And I say you're going to wear Moonboots every day during the winter, starting now. They're very nice together with your new coat, which you'll also be wearing every day. In fact I'll throw your old shoes in the first garbage bin I see. You won't need them anymore. Now stop being silly and give me your foot. Or I'll just leave you here."
Intimidated by Rose's decisiveness, Kelly stuck out her foot and allowed Rose to put the Moonboots on. Then Rose briefly opened Kelly's large down collar and pulled one of the balaclavas over her head. The opening left her eyes and nose free but covered her mouth. Then Rose put Kelly's hood up. Her head was once again enveloped in its warm cocoon and she was back to looking through a narrow tunnel.
They left the store and Kelly once again hurried after Rose, dressed in the enormous black coat and white Moonboots.
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