I went to my local hairdresser’s downtown. It was late and I was worried they had closed. As I got to the door, a young blonde was just about to flip the closed sign. Noticing my disappointment she hesitated and then smiling, opened the door for me. “I think I can fit you in!” she remarked.
“That’s a relief, thank you,” I replied.
As I stepped into the salon, she turned the sign, locked the door behind me and closed the blinds. “I’m definitely closed now,” she smiled, “What can I do for you?”
“Just a trim,” I answered.
“Right, just wait here a moment,” she said and off into the back she went. A moment later she returned carrying a black silk cape.
“Right, slip into this and we’ll then get started,” she instructed opening the cape. I slid my arms into the sleeves and she pulled it up over my body. She then went behind me and a moment later I heard a zipper being fastened as the cape closed around me. It was a snug fit and I thought a little strange, all other times I would be in the chair first and the cape then wrapped around me. I suddenly noticed that my arms were still in the sleeves; in fact the sleeves were several feet longer than my arms.
“What’s this?” I asked lifting up my arms for a closer look.
She took hold of them, “Oh something to stop clients fidgeting in the chair.” Before I could ask anymore she had crossed my arms in front of me and had taken the sleeves around the back. She crossed the ends and suddenly my arms were pulled tight around my chest.
“Hey!!” I protested.
“Nearly done,” she calmly replied as the sleeves were finished being tied together.
She then squatted down and grabbed a long piece of silk that I hadn’t noticed that was dangling from the front down. She passed it between my legs and then tied it to the back of the cape. “There, all done!” she smiled, turning to face me with satisfaction. The whole process had taken less than half a minute and I didn’t know what was going on. I tried to move my arms and found that I could hardly, the soft black silk restricting me. I looked at her in confusion. She smiled again, “Well, in case you haven’t realised, you’ve just been straitjacketed!”
“What!” I shouted as I struggled desperately to be free.
“I’ve designed and made this myself, I’ve been desperate to have someone try it out, it seems to work rather well,” she explained satisfied that my violent thrashing and pulling wasn’t achieving anything. “It may look delicate but silk is the strongest natural fibre there is and I’ve made sure the stitching is strong and not at any stress points so I’m afraid you’ll be my client for a little longer tonight,” she chuckled, “Please struggle away, it’s making for a good test, not to mention exciting for me to see you so helpless.”
I tried even harder to escape but it was useless, I was just getting hot not to mention entertaining her so I gave up and wondered what was next.
“Right, now I’ve got you under control, let’s have a look at your hair shall we?” and she guided me into the chair. She then took out some long pieces of black silk and tied my legs to the chair, starting at my ankles and then below and above my knees. Next she tied my body to the chair at the waist and shoulders. I was now tightly fixed to the chair and going nowhere fast. “Please don’t go anywhere,” she chuckled as she went in the back again.
She came back with another cape. “This I think is what you were expecting,” she stated as she wrapped a more conventional black silk cape around the chair. “No one would ever know the difference!” she clapped, as my restraints were no longer on show.
“Let me out!” I shouted.
“No, not yet!” she replied as she gagged me with another piece of silk scarf. Now silent as well as totally restrained, she examined my hair. “Right, think I’d better leave it for tomorrow, it needs some work.” I glanced up in fear thinking the worst. “Oh, I’d better make sure your hair doesn’t get further damaged tonight, this will protect it.” With that she slipped a black silk hood over my head and tied it tightly around my neck. I was now in total darkness and felt completely isolated, just my laboured breathing through the silk for company. “Goodnight, sweet dreams,” she whispered and kissed me through the silk. Then I heard her head for the door, turn the light out and leave me in my predicament for the night!
I now struggled against the straitjacket with all my might but I quickly found it was useless. Despite being made of soft fine silk, it was as she said extremely strong and more than a match for me. I thought it would be possible to pull the sleeves over my head like I’d seen Houdini do, but I was no Houdini, as I quickly discovered. Nor could I move in the chair, I was tightly bound to it. All my struggles resulted in was getting hot and breathless, especially as the hood hampered my breathing. Hours seemed to pass before I heard a noise – she had returned. Thank goodness, this is over, I thought. I heard the click of heels on the vinyl floor and then a hand gently rub over my caped body.
“Are we still okay?” she asked. I moaned into the gag and struggled violently indicating I’d had more than enough now. “Oh, that’s not nice!” she commented stepped back. “I’ve come back to see how you are and this is the thanks I get!” I decided to calm down, I needed out of my silken prison. “That’s better, let’s take another look at that hair of yours now.” She removed the hood and I squinted to see, it was only seven thirty in the evening but now pitch black outside. She gave my hair another close examination. “Well I don’t want to work on it here,” she said, “my home is better.” The last thing I wanted was to spend more time with this crazy girl but I wanted my freedom so I complied with a nod. “Okay, just wait here,” she laughed knowing I had no choice.
She returned shortly. “Right, time to go,” she remarked. Excited I smiled and prepared to be freed. “Oh no! You’re staying in that straitjacket tonight, we’re going out the back way into my 4x4. But first you need prepping so you don’t decide to do anything silly and I can control you properly.” My heart sank and I looked at her unknowingly.
“First before I untie you from the chair I have a little something special for you.” She held out another black silk cape but this one looked different from the rest, more firm and a different sheen to it. “You’re about to go into complete darkness again now, I’m going to place this cape over your head and tie it loosely in place. Now this cape is different from the one around you. That’s used only for hair cutting, this one is for dyeing and shampooing. Now normal silk wouldn’t be much protection so this one is rubber coated. The difference apart from being heavier is that it’s completely waterproof which you might be interested to know will also make it airtight.” She smiled as a look of horror came on my face. “If you behave you’ll have nothing to worry about, if you don’t…well...I’d suggest you behave,” she chuckled. “I’m going to use this silk ribbon to tie it around your head but only loosely so you can breathe okay. However, it will be fastened with a special slipknot which is easy to pull tighter but very difficult to loosen again. So you know since you won’t be able to see in a minute, I will be holding on to the end of the ribbon so don’t think once I release you from the chair you can make a break for freedom. Want to hazard a guess how far you’d get in total darkness when your lungs are burning for air?” I shook my head in absolute fear, not wanting to find out.
“Okay, I think we understand one another,” she smiled, knowing she had the upper hand completely, “let’s get started.” She placed the cape over the adjacent chair and removed the haircutting cape from around me exposing once more all the straps which bound me firmly to the chair. I looked down at all the silken bands which had done such a good job in holding me to the chair. “Don’t worry, you’ll soon be free of those, but first…” And with that she stepped over to the chair and picked up the cape giving it a good shake causing it to shimmer and rustle loudly as she approached.
“Please, don’t...I won’t try anything,” I pleaded with real anxiety trying to shuffle in the chair, not to escape, but in a futile effort to prevent the cape being placed over my head.
She just smiled and looked into my terrified eyes as she lifted the cape up in front of me, ignoring my plea and leaning forward. The world slowly darkened as the shiny black interior of the cape approached my face and the terrified look on it was hidden. The rubber coating was cold when it touched my skin but also surprisingly soft and extremely smooth, nothing like what I was expecting. She now gently dropped the cape over my head and I was enveloped in the rustling shroud. The cape appeared a lot more flexible and perhaps thinner than I had expected, its folds gently caressed and moulded the contours of my face without much resistance or assistance from her.
“Okay under there are we?” she asked, and I grunted, not that I thought she cared or would remove the cape if I’d said no. “Very well, just keep calm now, and don’t panic, else it will get rather unpleasant if you start to hyperventilate under there.”
I was now unable to see what she was doing, but aware of what was impending, the seconds not knowing were unbearable as they ticked by. A hand suddenly slid slowly down the outside of the silken cape and across my face, causing the rubber lining to press against my lips. I felt the first tentative attempts of it to suffocate me, as the cape was drawn slightly into my mouth as I inhaled. Thankfully I was still able to draw copious amounts of fresh air in from under the cape, but I knew that avenue was about to be addressed. Suddenly there was a loud rustling noise and I felt the silken folds of the cape being gathered around my neck. I could still breathe fairly okay but now my breath was starting to condense on the rubber; it began to feel rather claustrophobic and stuffy as the cape began to feel cold and damp. She held the cape closed loosely around my head with her left hand as she reached over for another silk ribbon. Quickly she placed it around my neck and pulled it under my chin to hold the cape in place. This was it then, the moment of truth, would she really suffocate me?
“Okay, before I tie the knot I really do feel that you need to fully understand what will happen to you if you try and make a break for freedom. The only way for this is to actually experience what it will be like to suffocate.”
I shook and turned my head towards the side and cried, “Please, no…I won’t try anything, I promise!”
“So you keep saying.” She smiled, relishing the power over me she possessed, “But I’m not sure I believe you. But after you’ve had a ‘little’ taster, I’m sure you’ll be as good as gold for me.”
I cried out again, pleading for her not to do it.
“I’m just going to hold the ribbon tight, not cross it behind your neck, so it can be released easily at any moment,” she explained, ignoring my cries; hoping this explanation would calm me, but it was little comfort. “Shouting and fighting will only serve to use up what little air you will have, I suggest you calm down and take a deep breath as I count from five.”
Knowing that further protests were futile at this moment and the advice was actually rather sensible, I concentrated on calming down and taking a few precious breaths. “Five…four…three…two.” I drew as much air into my lungs now as I could in anticipation. “One…” With that she pulled the ribbon tight and the cape sealed around my neck trapping me within its airtight cocoon.
I held my breath for as long as I could but it was rather uncomfortable with my arms being bound tightly around my chest. I finally exhaled and the cape expanded outwards to its fullest extent creating a shimmering ball of taut black silk as the pressure inside crushed my eardrums. The demand for oxygen grew and I took my first attempted breath. The cape sucked in and I was helpless to thwart it as it contoured to the features of my face. I tried desperately to expand my lungs as much as possible, to see whether I could draw in some fresh air, but the silk by now had clamped tightly down around my open mouth. All my effort served to do was to cause the impermeable silk to slightly contour inwards towards my mouth, but not the slightest hint of fresh air, which was so abundant the tiniest fraction of an inch away, was permitted from passing into my lungs. The cape was also strong and tough despite its deceptively delicate appearance, this was no simple plastic bag which I could attempt to bite a hole through.
With the next couple of controlled breaths the air began to go stale and the carbon dioxide level was starting to build. My self-control was slipping and I began to start to panic, desperately trying to free myself and get this asphyxiating contraption off my head. I thrashed uselessly in the chair for a few seconds, straining against the straps and pulled with renewed vigour against the sleeves of the straitjacket but it was to no avail. I was helplessly bound firmly and securely, so much so that she hardly needed to concentrate to keep the ribbon tight around me. The cape ballooned out once more before being sucked back extra tight. I knew I had to fight against the sensation of panic and conserve my air supply; expecting that at any moment the ordeal would soon be over and my lesson learnt to her satisfaction. Surely she wasn’t so sadistic as to cause me to suffer any longer?
My heart was racing as it struggled to pump much needed oxygen around my body, demanding the air of which I was so cruelly deprived, causing me to breathe faster. The pain of the air-pressure as I exhaled was replaced with a constant heavy pounding sound in my ears as the now steamy interior of the bag clamped to my skin, adding to the suffocating effect. The world outside was becoming a blurry and surreal memory as I tried holding my breath between the ballooning bursts. I managed, somehow, to slow my heart rate a little by pausing each time I breathed out, but the air was quickly becoming hot and thin. I arched my chin down, trying pathetically to get a furtive breath from beneath the cape but it was no use as she held the seal complete. Oh, if only I could have moved my upper body, I might have caused her to loosen her tight grip for a split second and got a gulp of fresh air as a reward, but for the silk straps holding me firm to the chair.
As I sucked the rubberised material tight again, I wondered what was going through her mind. Was she concentrating on keeping the ribbon tight? Was she monitoring me closely to ensure I didn’t pass out? Or worryingly, had she murderous intent in her mind? If only I could have gazed into her eyes I would know, and she likewise would see the terror and anguish in mine and surely release me. I had by now taken around eight breaths, goodness knows how much air was in the cape to begin with but it was like breathing poison now; my lungs were starting to burn with every intake and I knew I was coming close to succumbing. I was now in a desperate fight against the overwhelming desire to breathe, faster and faster. The cape hardly had a chance to expand fully before I was resisting, causing its collapse with another gasp. She was watching the evidence outside of the increased rate the silk was inflating and deflating and knew I was close to losing the fight. I struggled once more but I couldn't hold my breath any longer and the cape bellowed out again. A mist appeared in my vision and a ringing began in my ears as I strove desperately to control my breathing. My lungs demanded that I suck rapidly, yet I knew that if I did that I would soon fall to the hopeless reflex oscillations that would doom me.
The silk tightened over my face once more. The possibility of thrashing against my bonds has passed, I was in a haze and could no longer control my limbs, even if I had wanted to. My only hope now was the next breath would be fresh air. I tried to take smaller, rapid breaths, but I was now unsure how my lungs were functioning, all I could gauge my breathing by was the clamping of tight rubber against my face. The end was surely coming soon. The ringing in my ears grew louder and the feeling of trapped suffocation from my chest grew immense. I focused on the breathing but I couldn't help but quiver on the verge of spasm. The ballooning of the cape was now completely uncontrolled and frantic, expanding out more quickly than I had intended. Reactively I drew breath and the envelope was upon me instantly. I was panicking but I knew I mustn't give way...
She must release me now, I knew it, wouldn’t she? I had to keep trying to hold on, although I could now feel the edge, the point where you surrender to the body's overwhelming reflex urgency, the point where you just give in. Rustle and shimmer, rustle and shimmer went the cape as I breathed in and out. I must fight it…
Drowsiness overtook me as I sucked my spent breath with the ringing like a chorus of crickets in my ears. My breathing was shallow and careless despite the desperate feeling in my chest. My hands were trembling and everything started to turn white as I lost connection with my dark surroundings. I faded fast as the ringing became a roar, then it became a sensation and finally I was sucked into a whirlpool of noise as started to lose contact with my desperate body and my head dropped low.
Suddenly through the noise I heard a voice shout “BREATHE!” The grip had been loosened and fresh air was allowed to enter under the cape helped by her pulling the damp material away from my face. It strangely now took all my effort but straining for what I thought would be my last breath, I took a shallow inhale. Suddenly the sheer panic and pain in my burning lungs returned and I gulped for air again. This time my efforts were rewarded with plentiful cool life-giving oxygen which raced around my wretched body. My senses returned and I gasped and gasped, sucking in heavily as the pain slowly subsided, leaving my trembling uncontrollable and soaking in sweat.
On the outside she stood in front of me now, clearly aroused by the entire ordeal. “I do so love this. I will never think of a shampoo cape in the same way again,” she whispered running the back of her hand across the silken expanse of my left cheek, “It’s so smooth, so soft. I love the way it rustles and its gentle folds glisten in the light as you take each breath. Anyway, I think you have learnt your lesson well, I’m sure you will be nothing but totally co-operative from now on.” Being on the outside of the cape was an envious position to be in; I would have given the world for right then.
Continues in part two