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.