“Wow! Just Wow!”
After several months of (often not very) patient waiting I had just finished binge watching the entire new series of Stranger Things (my current favorite show) and my mind was still struggling to process everything I’d witnessed over the course of the last nine hours.
This already felt like a defining moment in my young life, comparable say, to the Moon landings, or the last episode of Cheers.
My mind reeling and my delicate ecosystem overloaded with a heady mix of concentrated sugar and an industrial sized drum of cinema popcorn, I already knew that I was far too elated to sleep tonight.
Maybe ever.
And then there was the plot twists,..
The Upside Down.
I needed to find someone to discuss it with, and quickly, for fear that I might actually burst.
Which posed a very particular problem for me as I had previously given a pinky promise (the most sacred and profane of all blood oaths) that I wouldn't spoil the plot of the show for my very best friend Emily.
But that was before I’d seen the final episode.
Before THAT ending.
Truthfully, I was no longer sure I was up to the task.
After all, keeping secrets had never been my particular forte.
I was, in short, something of a blabbermouth.
Rushing round to Emily’s house, the sound of Duran Duran filing my head, I wrapped loudly on the glass and waited
“Em’ YouWon’tbeeeelievewhathappenstoEleven,..” I stammered, the words spilling out of my mouth like a broken faucet only to discover it wasn’t Emily who answered the door, but her Mother.
Something of a fitness fanatic, Jane Turner was a tall, Amazonian Goddess with jet black hair and an all over tan that suggested that somewhere a beach was missing a lifeguard.
I was a tiny bit in love with her.
“Hi Sam” She said with a smile “You look nice today”
I blushed coquettishly.
I was dressed in a dark blue, high necked pussy bow blouse and a knee length skirt.
In truth I looked probably looked like a bank manager, or possibly a regional newsreader from the 1980’s.
Nonetheless I enjoyed the compliment.
“Hey Mrs Turner, is Emily home?”
“She’s still at work (Emily had recently taken an after school job as the worlds surliest barista) but she said you could wait in her room,.. Wait, before you go. She asked me to give you this”
I was handed a large manila envelope with the words “For the attention of Samantha” written in large, friendly letters. It was unmistakably Emily's handwriting (I’d recognize that Gothic scrawl anywhere)
“Thanks Mrs T” I said happily taking the parcel and bouncing up the stairs to my best friends room.
Once firmly ensconced in her den and with my curiosity piqued, I tore open the package to discover a pair of silver die cast metal handcuffs, a number of bandanna’s and two short lengths of cotton clothesline.
I was initially baffled by this disparate collection of items, but then I remember Emily's ominous warning not to share spoilers.
“Of course not” I replied solemnly “You can rely on me!”
Emily harrumphed in response.
“Sam, you’re my very best friend, but the only way you could be trusted not to blab the ending was if you were bound and gagged”
My goodness! I thought to herself, was she actually being serious?
These restraints would certainly seem to suggest so.
The answer came in the form of another, far smaller envelope that I discovered hidden at the back of the pouch.
With shaking hands I opened the letter and began to read,..
“Hey bestie (it began) I’m afraid I couldn't, in all good conscience, take the risk that you would be able to maintain your vow of silence without help so I decided to 'kidnap' you for the rest of the day,.. (my face broke into a smile)
Contained in this package you should find an assortment of ropes, gags and blindfolds, in short everything you need to take yourself hostage.
This letter will self-destruct shortly after use (please dispose of it safely using a sand-bucket)
My (in)sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this abduction may cause, but I think we both know that this is the only way to guarantee your silence.
Thank you for your consideration,
PS. Hope you enjoyed the show
PPS. Don’t have too much fun without me
Em x”
Just thinking about being bound and gagged again sent shivers down my spine and my heart was beating so fast I feared it might actually burst.
Although it had been almost a month since we had last played together, it appeared that my best friend hadn't forgotten about our tie-up games, or indeed how much I liked to play hostage,..
As I began to bind each of my ankles to a separate leg of her make-up chair with rope, it was all to easy to lose myself in the fantasy that I was a royal princess locked up in a tower awaiting rescue (or execution) Indeed, despite being under no obligation to do so I tied a red scarf, as tight as I dared, between my teeth. (after all, I reasoned to myself, The Sheriff of Nottingham Imperial was unlikely to show any mercy when restraining me,..)
Bound, gagged and almost helpless, the only thing that remained were the manacles.
“Unhand me you brute!”
With a slow, resigned action that suggested reluctance (the truth was anything but) I threaded my shirt covered arms around the back of the chair and locked the handcuffs tightly in place around my wrists.
All at once I was the fair Maid Marion bound in cold irons, locked in the castle dungeon and in urgent need of rescue,..
Suddenly my private revelry was rudely interrupted by a knock at the door.
‘That’s strange’, I thought to myself ‘why would Emily knock on her own door’?
“Sam?” It was Mrs Turner.
I desperately tried to reach the key to my cuffs as I hoped and preyed to every deity I could think of God, Allah, Buddha, the Rock,.. that I wouldn’t be discovered.
Gripped with a deep and terrible panic, I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole,..
“Emily just called to say she’d be late, but she said you’re welcome to stay and have some dinner with us”
“Thhngf.” I mumbled incoherently through my gag.
Dammit! Why did I have to tie it so tight.
“Sam. Are you okay?” She asked, sounding concerned.
“Hm’m fnnm!” I spluttered as I struggled to get free.
With her hand on the door handle I finally clicked open the mechanism on the handcuffs and pulled the gag down from my mouth so it hung around my neck like a scarf.
“Wait! Don’t come in just yet Mrs T” I pleaded desperately, “I’m not decent”
“I’m sorry?” She said, sounding (understandably) confused but staying, for the moment at least, on the other side of the door.
“Yes” I spluttered, desperately thinking on my feet and improvising like Eddie Izzard on Ritalin,..
“It’s just I wanted to try on my Halloween costume, see if it fits before Emily gets home,..”
“Oh,.. I won’t disturb you then,..”
“I’ll be down in a minute” I added hopefully.
“Okay. I’ll leave this cup of tea outside the door”
“Thanks” I called out happily.
And with that she was gone, leaving me breathless and exhausted.
That, was too close.
However, as I waited for my heart-rate to return to something approaching that of a normal human being (as opposed to a Formula 1 driver) I was able to reflect that, terrifying though the incident had been, it was not entirely lacking in excitement,..