Mona woke up one day feeling lousy. When she reached over to get the key to unlock the cuffs around her wrists, she became so dizzy she almost fell over. “Mom! Can you help me, please.†she called out. When her mother came to see what her daughter wanted. When she saw her, she immediately said “Oh, baby! Are you all right?†She put a hand on her daughter’s forehead and noticed that it was warm. “You’re NOT going to school today! I’ll call Anna and let her tell your teacher you’re ill.†Before she did that, she un-cuffed her daughter, so she could use the bathroom and then change into a nightgown, which would be a lot cooler. When the footy pyjamas were taken off they both could see small red dots all over the body. “I thought as much. That’s it! No one is coming close to you except for me or your father, for the next week or so. And you will stay in bed, at least for the next couple of days, even if I have to tie you to it. Now hop in bed, this instant!â€
Mona did as she was told, but couldn’t resist telling her mother a small grey lie (that is half truth, half lie) “I do feel a bit light-headed, you know. It must be the fever, I guess. I think you’d better put the cuffs on me and tie me to the bed. Just in case?†she said in a pitiful voice, trying to look as poorly as she could. This wasn’t all that hard, as she actually did feel pretty bad, to start with. Her gleaming eyes gave her away, though. Her mother sighed deeply but played along and said: “Oh well! If you are THAT ill, I guess I’ll just have to do that right now.†She wasted no time on further talking, but slapped the cuff on Mona’s right wrist. Then she instructed Mona to lie down on the bed and stretch out as far as she could. This meant that she could thread the other cuff through the slats of Mona’s bed and fasten it to her left wrist.
When that was done she took a pair of thick, knitted socks and put them on her feet. Then she put the one of the ankle-cuffs on her daughter’s left foot and threaded it through the bars at the foot-end to the right foot and snapped it on, thus making Mona unable to move so much as a millimetre. She then took a piece of rope, tied it to the left side of the bed, threaded it under the small of Mona’s back and up and across the stomach tying it off on the right side of the bed. This ensured that she could move about some in bed, but she couldn’t get out of it easily. “I’ll feed you breakfast now, but then I suggest you try to get some more sleep. I’ll put your sleeping mask on before I go.†She let the action follow the words and then she left. As Mona couldn’t see anything, she had all but drifted off to sleep again, when someone gently tickled her sides. “Don’t!†she said, half giggling and half growling. “Good! You’re awake.†He mother said. “Open up, there’s a good girl!â€
“Oh, mom! I’m not a little child anymore. Aren’t you going to free me, so I can eat by my self?†Mona complained.
“Nope, I’ll feed you. The only times you will be set free, are when you need to go to the bathroom. You’re very ill. Remember? You can watch TV as much as you want, but only in the afternoon and night. I can tie you to a chair or a stool for that, if you want to.â€
And that’s how Mona spent the better part of one week mostly in bed, taken care of by her mother.