15 year old Velma sat, curled up and all alone, on the cold concrete floor in the corner of an otherwise empty room. She was dressed in a red, long-sleeved, velvet leotard with white trim along all the openings, red pantyhose, a red Santa Hat, also with white trim and a white ball on the end, and green leather boots. Why she was dressed that way? Because it was Christmas Day, and she and a boy whom she’d never met, were about to play the part of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause; but there was a significant change to her part, thus there had been some major alterations made to her costume.
Well, not so much alterations as additions, really. On one of the wrists a D-ring had been sown in, and on the other a clasp. The leotard itself was reinforced with thick leather (which unfortunately made it fairly rigid and uncomfortable), and there were D-rings and clasps sown in on both sides at waist-height. She had her hands slightly raised above her head and clasped together and to a chain hanging from the ceiling.
How long she had been sitting there, she didn’t know. All she knew was that a man had come to her house asking for her. He had told her she was about to play the role of a lifetime. He had brought her to this house and told her to put on the costume. Then, he had brought her to this room and, despite her desperate protests and pleas, cuffed her. He had told her what was going to happen, and what the role was: she was to play Mrs. Santa alongside a boy called Rex, and all she had to do was to sometimes walk around the stage, and sometimes stand still. She would have no lines to say, and therefore a gag had already been put on her, to get her used to it. It was a skin-coloured roll of tightly packed leather, with a leather plate attached to it, which was painted to look like her real mouth. He showed it to her, and it really did look like a real, broadly smiling mouth, with pearly-white teeth behind semi-closed lips.
The door to the room suddenly swung open, and the man, who had brought her to this place, appeared in the doorway. Behind and slightly to the right of him, another man stood. They walked towards Velma, with very determined steps. They unclasped her wrists, instead clasping them together in front of her. They grabbed one arm each, and almost dragged the poor girl outside, where she found out why the leotard had been reinforced with leather.
They clasped two poles to the sides of her, one on the right and one on the left. She looked behind her, to see what was on the other side of the poles. It was a two-wheeled cart, almost overflowing with boxes of all shapes and sizes.
Despite seemingly heavy load, she found she could very easily get it to move, and the poles weren’t so long she couldn’t turn around tight corners.
A boy about her age, whom she assumed was Rex, dressed in a long red coat with white trim, saggy red trousers and black boots, came and grabbed her arm, and led her into a room filled with people, mostly grown-ups, but there were quite a few children present as well. She was led to the front of the group, and positioned so she faced the wall, and he started handing out the gifts.
The ceremony seemed to go on forever, and her legs were beginning to tremble, when he finally grabbed her arm again, and guided her around the room. All the grown-ups commented on her costume and how well-behaved she seemed to be, not saying a word in their presence.
He thanked them for their kind words, but said it wasn’t his doing, but that her parents had worked hard all her life.
She was led back outside the room, and the now empty cart was removed.
Velma’s hands were cuffed behind her back, and Rex asked:
“Did you enjoy that?” She shook her head, and growled through the gag.
He gave her a sarcastic look. “I guess that mean you didn’t. Well, too bad! You seem to have made quite an impression on the people in there! I’m guessing they’ll be tripping over themselves next year, in their effort to get this equipment, before anyone else has it. There will hardly be a girl in this kingdom not being used as, what shall I call it, a “cart-puller”. I will be able to sell the cart and outfit for twice or maybe even three times, what it cost to make them! I’ll be rich! RICH! You hear me? Maybe I could even make a summer edition, so the girls can use the cart when the family wants to go on a picnic? And maybe I’ll throw in a small tube of sun-block? Only a small one, though. Just to be nice. I could sell larger ones for a ridiculously high sum. Have to think of the profit, you know. Well, what do you think?”
The sarcasm in his eyes had gradually turned into something, which looked very much like full-grown madness, and he even started chuckling like a madman.
“This boy is a complete basket-case!” Velma thought.” Does he really think he can get away with such a stupid idea? There is no WAY people are going to want their daughters dragging around carts! Not on Christmas, and certainly not in summer!
He might be able to get stores to sell the “Mrs. Santa” costume, though. With or without the clasps and D-rings, depending on what kind of store it is.”
Fearing his reaction if she disagreed, she nodded. He took the gag out and she told him she totally agreed with him; his idea would make him very rich. Maybe he could even try to sell it to foreign investors?
He looked at her for a long time, and she suddenly feared he would do something to harm her. But he only said that it would have to wait, until they had a solid client-base in this country.
He took her back to the room, where she had all of her clothes, told her to get changed and let her chauffeur drive her back.
As soon as she had closed the door, she called the cops and told them she had been kidnapped, by whom, what had been done to her, and where they could find this individual. The following week, she read in the newspaper that Rex and his gang had been apprehended.
A few days ago, a now 35 year old Velma saw an advertisement for a cart that could be draw by a kid, and could be used for delivering present on Christmas Eve, or to go to the beach in summer. The picture showed a girl dressed in a red, long-sleeved leotard with white trim, red pantyhose, and green boots. There seemed to be D-rings attached to the body of the leotard, and clasps on the arms. She held the poles to a two-wheeled cart in her hands.
“God help us all!” she thought. “God help us all!”