Maya entered her favorite stretch of the woods with a bounce to her gait that mirrored her good mood. Finally, after all the stresses of the week, she got some time to herself. The old-growth trees felt welcoming to her, their branches reaching high into the sky as if celebrating something. They were drinking in the sunlight and fresh air in a way that she longed to imitate. The rolling hills made her think of very slow waves, and briefly imagined them flowing back and forth in her mind’s eye. She’d made a point to dip her hand into every stream she’d crossed, and loved the fields and meadows for their softly flowing grasses and wildflowers. The time simply flew by as she floated from one location to the next. Hiking here was as close as she could usually manage to feeling one with nature, but today, she had some additional plans to let herself truly feel free.
She selected a good spot in the woods. She was about an hour’s hike from the trailhead, and didn’t believe that there was anybody who lived nearby. Plenty of solitude for her plans. Ancient trees nearby surrounded a comfortable clearing full of sunlight. The air felt light, but full of rich smells of moss and lichen. If kodama existed, they’d live here, she thought to herself, imagining that she could just feel the healthiness of the forest.
She set down her pack and stretched out her arms to loosen her shoulders and neck. After a quick snack, she felt ready to begin. She slowly stripped off her clothing, noticing that her nipples were already erect. Because of anticipation? she wondered. Or just because it’s a little chilly? A quick check elsewhere indicated to her that it wasn’t just because the air was cool. She giggled softly to herself, I guess it has been a while. Her underwear soon joined the pile, but she left her shoes on, as the ground here was not particularly nice to bare feet. She pulled out a large blanket for her to recline on and spread it out on a flat section that was free of sticks and rocks. She then reached into her pack and pulled out several coils of rope of varying lengths. Greeting these as old friends, she started arranging these in a manner that she had practiced well and often in her own apartment.
The first rope to be applied was a simple set of cuffs between her ankles. Her hiking socks protected them, so she wasn’t worried about chafing, and she left enough for mobility purposes, but she’d definitely know they were there if she had to move around at all. When fully tied, they basically forced her to walk nearly heel-to-toe, which was just her preference. A full ankle tie was also nice, but she always felt embarrassed if she had to hop anywhere after tying it. This had nearly the same effect and was much more useful if need be.
The second rope was used as a crotchrope. She tied it snugly around her waist, then ran it between her legs. She was already fairly aroused, so there was no issue getting it to settle in just the right place right in between her lips. She debated adding a little knot over her clit just for the extra sensation, but figured that she wouldn’t need it today. As per her usual favorite fantasy, she imagined that she was a warrior princess, captured and tied to a tree, while her captors put more and more devious methods of teasing on her. It was becoming very difficult not to squirm, but she forced herself to stay still until she had the last pieces tied. Then she could have her fun.
The final rope was the most complicated. She started off with a small loop, which she wrapped around her left bicep. Passing the rope behind her back, she looped it around her right bicep, and took the ends back around her left bicep again, completing the overall loop. Since there was a fair amount of slack in the system, she was able to reach behind her back and maneuver the ends of the rope near her spine, where she formed two quick loops with a practiced hand. The remaining slack was placed between her back and where her arms would be, so that she could control the overall tension.
She looked down again and could see that her nipples were definitely standing at attention. Even her areolae were fully engorged. For perhaps the millionth time, she quietly regretted having never found a partner who wanted to join in her play, as some fingers or a mouth would not be unwelcome currently. Her pussy twitched a little bit at the thought, and she mentally tried to calm herself. I haven’t even finished with the ropes yet!
She wiggled her arms back and forth, removing excess slack from the harness. She knew that when she put her hands in the wrist loops, she could pull downwards to tighten the rope across her arms, giving her the feeling of restraint that she sought. Once she was done, she could lift her hands back up and loosen the whole rope, which would let her get a hand out without too much difficulty. The inherent problem of any non-timed self-bondage was that you had to work at believing that it was secure/inescapable, when in reality she could escape at any time she chose, but the illusion was better than nothing.
When she was convinced that she had the right amount of rope left in the system, she twisted her handcuff loops over a couple times. This would give her a slightly-enhanced feeling of completeness, as it behaved somewhat as if the ropes were cinched on her wrists. She slid her hands through the loops, tried feebly to calm her nerves one last time, and pulled downwards. The rope across her arms tightened up deliciously, holding her arms at her sides despite her efforts to move them. She felt her adrenaline spike as if she was truly trapped, and both her breathing and heart rate quickened. Her pussy spoke loudly of its need for attention, which she was happy to oblige. Carefully, so as not to lose her balance, she kneeled onto her blanket, rotated to sit down, and then laid down fully. This was always tricky, because the crotchrope was definitely letting her know that she was bending at the waist in different ways.
Once she was on the blanket, she began moving around in ways that she knew would stimulate her aching senses. She would briefly roll onto her stomach and slide her sensitive chest on the blanket, which generally just left her swollen nipples wanting more stimulating interaction. She wasn’t really able to answer this particular request, as she was not able to reach her breasts from where her arms were behind her. Instead, she rolled onto her side and would lift her knees up, which would tighten the crotchrope across her very sensitive lips, and repeating this motion would make it slide just a little bit, which was deliciously intense. She repeated this, in a number of different movements and directions, until she started to feel the flicker of an oncoming orgasm. She closed her eyes and imagined that those same enemy warriors were taking bets on how soon she’d finish, and whether they should stop her before she did. While the idea of being held captive and relentlessly teased was quite pleasant, it was also quite stimulating for her, and she rather quickly flashed into a wonderful orgasm. She was well-practiced at controlling her spasms so she didn’t hurt herself during, but did love tensing and relaxing muscles in order to feel her bondage throughout.
As she lay on her back afterwards, catching her breath, she looked up into the trees. Something about the combination of self-bondage, a lovely orgasm, and being in nature just made the whole escapade feel that much more pleasant. She let herself relax, and began to lightly doze.
She awoke to raindrops hitting her face. It wasn’t supposed to rain today! she thought to herself. Great, now I’ll have to hike out with wet clothes. But being the perpetual optimist that she was, she didn’t hold a grudge or express any anger towards the rain for being rain. She sat up, thinking about how she should handle this, and noticed it was beginning to rain harder. The trees gave her a little protection, but not enough to keep her dry. Best to get out of these ropes and change before it really gets going, she thought.
As she wiggled her hands to give a little bit of slack into the rope, she noticed that the wet ropes were a lot more difficult to work with than dry ones. It was like they didn’t slide over each other very well. She continued to work at it, but the more she did, the more it felt like she wasn’t making any progress at all. That shouldn’t be possible, she thought, even if it’s harder to move, there should still be enough slack in the ropes for me to get out. But as time progressed, she was becoming more and more sure that the ropes were actually feeling tighter on her skin. It was like her arm movements were pulling the slack out of the arm loops as the rope gradually shrunk. And soon, she knew that her fears were correct. Her wrists were no longer in the ‘low’ position that she used to initially tighten the ropes, but were stuck up in the ‘high’ position that she normally used to free herself, and her bondage was as tight as ever! In fact, it felt like it was still getting tighter!
She gingerly got to her feet, as her crotchrope seemed to be shrinking as well, and considered her options. I can’t pick my pack back up, I probably can’t even pick any of my clothes up. Do I just hike back towards town and hope I find somebody? Maybe I can stay out of the main storm? But even as she wondered this, she knew it wasn’t realistic. It had taken her over an hour to hike out here, and that was without her ankles being tied together. It was a cool enough day that if she continued to get rained on, she might stand a chance of getting hypothermic, too. She briefly scanned the treeline, hoping to spot any sign of civilization.
Wait, is that smoke? she thought. Could be a campfire or even a cabin. She figured she’d take her chances with a random stranger in the woods over potentially dying while performing some solo sex act. She began the long walk towards the smoke, trying desperately to not listen to the song that her pussy was starting to sing. She’d initially estimated the walk would take her about fifteen minutes, but this turned into a much longer endeavor with her feet tied together. Fortunately, that rope, being a shorter one, did not seem to have noticeably shrunk as much. She was still able to walk basically heel-to-toe, which is much easier in my flat than out here, she admitted.
When the cabin finally came into sight, it seemed a great relief. It was picturesque, like might be found on a fantasy book cover or a calendar of modern remote cottages. Tufts of white smoke were coming out of a natural stone chimney, and happy little gardens surrounded the house on all sides. It didn’t look like an evil witch’s house, she thought. Nor a hunting shack. More like somebody actually lives here?
As she approached the front door, she was cognizant that she had no effective way to knock on the door, so she called out instead “Hello, the house! Is there anybody home?” With no initial response, she walked to the front door, and was preparing to try to hit her head or shoulder against the door when it opened quietly.
“Hello dear,” said a lady of indeterminate age, wearing overalls with flowers stitched into them. “Do come in, you look like you’ve been caught by the storm.”
Maya figured that she looked a mess, with wet bedraggled hair hanging in her face, wearing nothing but hiking boots and her self-bondage ropes. The woman didn’t seem to directly notice any of this, though, and merely contented herself with maneuvering Maya to a chair by the fire.
“Warm yourself, dearie, and then we’ll talk.”
Maya considered this interaction fairly odd, but was grateful for the warmth and dryness of the cabin. She looked around and saw many signs of self-sufficiency in the cabin. There were stores of vegetables and spices of so many kinds that she couldn’t even begin to identify, a kitchen that looked clean and very well-used, and several of what appeared to be handmade chairs and other furniture.
As she was sitting there, recovering some of her wits, the door opened, and another woman walked in, wearing a cloak and tall boots, carrying an armful of firewood. “Plenty in our stash that’s still dry, Uriel,” she said, “but I wanted to be sure we had enough for the storm.” And then, upon noticing Maya, still naked and bound, exclaimed “Another one? You seem to have a habit of catching strays, dear Urie.”
The woman that Maya now knew as Uriel just smiled and said “I haven’t caught anyone, she just walked up and needed the warmth of our hearth, which you know I will always share, Thea.” She had a slight tone of reproach in her voice, as if this was an old argument between the two of them that had not changed in ages.
Maya felt a little bit dumbfounded, as these two women were talking past her as if she was not in the middle of the room, much less naked and bound! It was like neither of them had even noticed the ropes or the lack of clothes! “Uh, hello,” she said, “I’m Maya, and I was out hiking and got caught in the rain…” She thought maybe if she didn’t mention what she’d been doing when the storm rolled in, maybe it wouldn’t be brought up?
Uriel smiled. “Of course, dearie. That happens quite often in these hills. You youngsters never seem to pay attention to the signs.”
Maya thought again, and realized she was having an immense amount of difficulty telling how old either of these women were. Her estimates seemed to waver wildly between thirty and eighty, but their wrinkles seemed to be more from work and sun than from age. Both had a self-assuredness about them that did not indicate anybody without decades of life experience.
“So, do you live out here?” Maya asked, aware that she was failing to make convincing small talk rather spectacularly.
“Of course, this is our house,” said Thea, as if talking to a small child. “Built it here ourselves, right on the intersection of the leylines.”
Maya did not know what this meant, and resolved to not ask, as she was already feeling seriously out of her depth.
“Are you hungry, dear?” asked Uriel. “I doubt you intend to stay for supper, but we do have a bit of food available for guests.”
“No, thank you,” answered Maya. “I was just hoping for some help to get out of these ropes, and then I’ll be on my way and out of your hair. I do appreciate the fire, though.” She tried to be overtly grateful, as she knew she was impinging on these women’s time and home.
“Nonsense,” interjected Thea, though Maya was unsure if she was talking about the food or the ropes. “You’re a guest, and will be treated as such.”
“Thank you, Thea,” Uriel breathed a bit of relief at the acquiescence of their disagreement. “No, Maya, Thea is quite right: you’ll have to stay as you are.”
Maya blinked, confused that the women were apparently refusing to help her out of her bondage. This was decidedly not any of the scenarios that she had imagined might happen. “Do you have a knife or something I could borrow? I’ll do it myself, if that’s the problem.”
“It’s not that, child,” said Uriel. “Changing the energy could have far-reaching consequences that even we can’t see. Our oaths keep us from interfering except when help is needed.”
“But I do need help!” said Maya. “I can’t get loose, and I need to get untied and go get my stuff and get back to my car and get home so…” she trailed off as she realized that she was babbling. “I would have been fine except for the rain,” she muttered, as if embarrassed to even be asking for help.
“The rain was here for you, child,” said Thea. “Surely, you heard it calling for you today? It’s been singing about you all week!”
Maya sat, dumbfounded, not understanding at least half of the conversation that they were having.
“Yes, all the forest loves you, my dear,” said Uriel. “The trees crow about it every time you visit, the meadows brag when you touch their grasses, the streams burble happily – well, they always burble, but it’s more enthusiastic – whenever you touch them. ‘Her very own hand!’ they say. The rain has been jealous, and wanted to share in your devotion.”
“If you were anybody else, I’d have thought it was purely ignorance,” added Thea, “but I know you can hear them too. Have you been intentionally vexing the rain with your attentions?”
Maya sat, tears that she didn’t really understand in her eyes, entirely unsure what to do with this conversation, this newfound knowledge. “I… don’t understand,” she finally stumbled out. “What do you mean, I can hear the forest? What do you mean you can hear the forest?”
Uriel and Thea exchanged a look that Maya could not parse. After a pregnant pause, Thea finally spoke. “Are we too early?” she whispered. “Have we broken the cycle?”
Uriel’s more motherly expression slid back into place on her face, displacing the open unease that had been there a moment before. “It can’t be this one’s fault,” she said. “If it’s not yet time, then it’s just an incredibly unlikely coincidence. After all,” she smiled again, “she’s our guest.”
Maya was rather positive that this seemingly innocent last statement had a much heavier meaning than she was currently capable of grasping.
“You’re right, dear Urie,” Thea’s mask was back in place, too. Maya found that she preferred their previously open expressions, even if she didn’t understand what was being talked about. This made her feel like a child again. She also suddenly became aware again that she was still naked and tied up, which oddly still had not factored into any of the conversation or even been mentioned by anybody except her.
“Ah, the rain has stopped,” Thea pointed out. “It’s probably best that you be on your way.”
“A gift from each of us then, as is tradition,” said Uriel. “Thea, dear, what would you see her bear from you?” As she asked this, she was wrapping a small cluster of plants with a piece of ribbon the color of the sky after a storm. “I believe this will help her on the rest of the walk.”
Thea grinned. “You’re always so beneficent, sister mine. I believe I’ll grant her something to remember us by.”
Uriel briefly glared at her. “Be careful with your oaths. You know the risk.”
“I believe that your gift should counter mine nicely, will it not? I did notice what you put in there,” responded Thea with a smirk. “We each do what we can.”
Uriel looked away, as if unwilling to acknowledge her point. “Maya, dear, would you be able to hold on to this, or would you rather I put it in your hair for safekeeping?” while holding the small bundle of herbs and other plants that Maya didn’t recognize.
“Maybe my hair?” answered Maya questioningly. “I’ll need my hands to untie myself… when I get back…”
“Very well,” answered Uriel seriously, as if the question again had more meaning than Maya understood. She tied about half of Maya’s hair into a small bun on the back of her head, and used that to hold the bundle in place. For a brief second, Maya could have sworn that Uriel’s fingertips were simultaneously cold as winter and also sun-hot, but before she could even process the feeling, it was gone. The smell of the herbs was pleasant yet unfamiliar; Maya was not sure she could identify any of the plants in it.
Once this was done, she turned to Thea, who was waiting patiently with a small container made of clay. Maya saw Uriel sigh exasperatedly out of the corner of her eye, but she didn’t say anything. “Are you ready, child?” asked Thea.
As Maya was rather unsure of what she might be admitting to being ready or not for, she hesitated before acquiescing. She still had to get out at some point, and stopping this strange conversation mid-stream wasn’t going to make that happen anytime sooner.
Thea dipped a small brush into the jar, and began to paint small amounts of whatever the material was onto Maya. First, the sides of her neck received some stripes, then her hairline. Maya didn’t react, frozen in confusion. Thea continued with some on Maya’s lips, then collarbones. Maya finally began to wake up when Thea added more of this strange mixture directly to her nipples.
“What are you doing?” she half-screeched. “What is this?”
“You’ll find out soon enough, dear,” Thea smiled pleasantly, not stopping. “It’s nothing that will harm you, in any case. In fact, I’m not sure that’s possible at this point.” She gave each nipple a thorough covering of the mysterious substance, before moving on to Maya’s sides, where she drew a long line connecting her lower ribs directly to her pussy lips. She gave each side of her pussy a thorough covering as well. Maya could feel it settling into the gap held open by the crotchrope that was still there. Finally, Thea painted some down the inside of Maya’s thighs before finishing in the backs of her knees. She then walked around Maya, briefly touched the ropes holding her arms together, and said “Hmm, I think… Ten.”
“Thea!” interrupted Uriel. “That’s not allowed and you know it!”
“This is a special case and you also know it, sister,” Thea responded more hotly than Maya had seen from her yet. “It’s just a bit of help. Nothing without cost, still, as promised.”
Maya had stayed mute for the last bit, not knowing how she should be responding to their conversation. “T-thank you for your help?” she timorously said. Trying to remember the early conversation, “I appreciate your sharing of hearth and roof.”
“Think nothing of it, my dear,” said Uriel. “Guests are always welcome. But I believe now you must go.”
Maya slowly left the cabin, feeling a great deal more confused than she had when she got there. And she was still tied up! It was going to be a long walk back to town. Maybe then she’d be able to find somebody who would help her? As she left the clearing where the cabin was, she felt that spring in her step returning. There are worse places to spend an afternoon than here, she thought. And while today has been extremely strange, nothing bad has happened.
She stopped briefly to rest, as walking with such a short stride is tiring, and leaned against a tree for support. As she did, she felt a low warmth spread throughout her body. That’s odd, she thought, but couldn’t place it and resolved to continue on. The further she progressed, the more she noticed this heat building. It seemed to build in leaps whenever she’d touch a tree, or allow long grasses to brush against her legs. It seemed to be focusing on… no, that wasn’t possible.
As she came to her first stream crossing, she surveyed it briefly. Normally, she’d be able to hop from one rock to another and stay completely dry, but with her feet tied together, she didn’t think this was going to be possible, and with her arms tied behind her, there was much more risk of falling. Slowly through the water, she thought. But upon putting her first foot into the water, it felt like an electric shock went through her. It was somehow like a combination of a live electric wire, warmth radiating from the sun, and the smell of the best food she’d ever eaten, yet simultaneously like none of those things. She was confident, however, that she was feeling some instance of an inexplicable joy. At the same time, the warmth that had been spreading throughout her body whenever she touched plants grew immensely, and she could no longer deny that it was definitely focused on all of the spots where Thea had painted her mystery concoction. It was like the stream itself was simultaneously stroking her neck, kissing her collarbones, gently licking her nipples, and teasing her pussy with gentle fingers. She almost fell over into the river in surprise.
Each step through the river felt like it took whole minutes to make, as she was struggling hard to stay focused. Her earlier arousal from her ropes, which had gone to sleep during her cabin visit, had come roaring back. She was reminded, with every step, that she truly was in inescapable bondage, and that, in conjunction with the stream’s affections, was enough to push her over the edge. Despite her efforts, she fell into the stream, orgasming wildly, and the resulting splash did nothing at all to dampen her arousal. If anything, it was increased even more! She rode the waves, crying out in pleasure.
When she returned to her senses, she was still in the stream. It wasn’t particularly deep, but her perpetual risk-awareness yelled at her for falling over in water, as she could have drowned! She noticed that she was floating strangely, on her back but nearly halfway out of the water. None of her was touching the soil under the water, even though it was only about ankle-deep. After sitting up, this nebulous hold relaxed and allowed her to move under her own power. She was confused, as it seemed like the water itself had been holding her up? Surely that’s impossible.
Getting out of the stream and up the following bank was somewhat tricky, as it was steeper than was easily managed. She had to leverage herself against several trees in order to get her footing, and felt that familiar jolt every time she did so. She spied the edge of a clearing, and focused her mind away from the distracting sensations and on getting to that point. Upon entering the sunlight, she revelled in its feeling of warmth. She even forgot that she was still in her trial for a few seconds, but remembered when she opened her eyes. As she began to walk through the meadow before her, she realized almost immediately that the trees had been the easy part. She could avoid them if she wanted to! The grasses were everywhere, and with the smallest of breezes, they danced erratically in her path. And every one that touched her felt like a shock! She steadied herself to make it across the meadow, but was seriously doubting her own fortitude mere steps into it. Before she was even halfway across, she succumbed to the teasing feathers caressing her most sensitive parts. Again, she fell to the ground, which was surprisingly softer than expected, and writhed through another seemingly endless orgasm.
As she came to her senses, she realized that the grasses were still dancing, as if blown by the wind, but they were all being pushed towards her. It was like being simultaneously pampered by a thousand whispers that all seemed to know just where to touch her. I could just stay here, right? she wondered. I could die happy in this meadow. As if hearing her thoughts, many of the grasses stopped stroking her and stood more passively than they had before. Guess I have to move on, then, she thought, smiling to herself. She got to her feet, and continued on her slow hike.
She found herself resting more frequently than seemed necessary against some trees. The older, larger ones especially seemed to draw her in, and she was finding it hard to resist. On one particular giant, she stared admiringly up its long trunk, mentally congratulating it for doing so well in life, before resting against it for a moment. This tree was different than some of the others she’d touched. It was like, she thought, comparing a fine whiskey to a beer. There was a… depth of flavor, of experience, of… wisdom to the heat that it shared that was unexpected. She revelled in the sensation, and found that more quickly than she’d have thought possible, she was riding into another orgasm. This one was strong and deep, radiating from her core outwards into her limbs and head. She somehow didn’t fall over, but stood strongly with her tree. She felt as if the earth itself was providing her support, as if she had immensely deep roots.
Afterwards, she was starting to notice that she wasn’t feeling tired or sore or hungry or really any negative emotion that she could think of. I should be exhausted, she thought. An hour hike in, maybe thirty minutes or so for the first time on the blanket, I’ve been tied up tightly ever since, and have had several other fantastic orgasms too! How am I still on my feet after all this? Unbeknownst to her, the little packet of herbs in her hair was doing a great deal to buoy up her mood and feelings, and also kept her from worrying too much about the implications of what was happening. She was free to just enjoy it.
As she continued her hike out, she experienced similar encounters several times. A perfect little copse of pines seemed to conspire to give her the sleekest, smoothest orgasm that she’d had yet, leaving her feeling like her skin had been grazed with needles not quite sharp enough to hurt. A faster-flowing river made her feel like she was receiving the best oral sex of her life, as it swept strongly and continuously across all her most sensitive points. She orgasmed continuously from this for more than a minute, before finally relaxing and letting its now-soothing caress bring her back to her senses.
Her legs were feeling more than a bit wobbly at this point, and she sat down on a rock in a field to rest. She couldn’t help but notice that all around the rock were some of the most beautiful wildflowers she’d seen, and for a moment, forgot all of her current plight. She just drank in the sight of their colors and variety. She then came to the startling realization that all of the flowers were directly facing her, not the sun as they normally would be. She tentatively reached out to touch one, and was astounded by the response. It was sort-of the opposite of the ancient tree, she realized. Simple, hot, eager, full of spark and joy and love and so many other emotions she couldn’t even come up with names for. She realized that she could experience the fullest life imaginable, love as deeply as she was capable, give her everything into every task she encountered, and she would still never be as relentlessly, unremittingly, tirelessly exuberant as this simple flower. Yet this caused her no distress or desire to give up, but instead redoubled her intent to chase this unattainable target with everything she had. She reached out and touched as many wildflowers as she could, and received many subtly-different instances of the same exhilaration, and before she knew it, she was being carried over that crest by their pure collective bliss. Her orgasm was quiet and brilliant and full of sparks that seemed to light up her vision. As she lay there, she knew that she’d somehow been careful to not flail or roll over on any of the precious flowers, and could almost hear them all singing to her in shared excitement.
As she stretched out her tired body after the field of wildflowers, she absentmindedly wondered how far away her goal was. She felt like she must be nearly there. Seemingly as if the forest heard her inner thoughts, there was a subtle rumble of thunder. Somehow not worried about repeating the same experience that caused this whole debacle, she continued walking towards her goal. When the first raindrop hit her, it was nothing like the previous experience. This wasn’t cold or shocking or even unpleasant. It was like sliding into a hot bath after a day outside, or waking up refreshed after a night of excellent sleep, or the first kiss from a lover after having been apart for too long. It was like coming home, and she realized that she’d never truly experienced the rain before this. As more drops hit her, the feeling grew and grew, seemingly without limit. Without even realizing it, she was shouting and luxuriating in the embrace of this newfound beloved. Each new drop compounded this, and was like a small hot lightning bolt to her fragile nerves. Before she even felt it coming, her orgasm smashed what remained of her focus to bits. She drowned in its sensations, thrashing and contorting with the intensity. And the rain continued to fall on her, further fragmenting her mind. Just when she thought the orgasm was finally ending, a second one started. This one was not quite as intense, but long and smooth and delicious. She felt like she had just crawled in from the desert and was having her thirst sated for the first time in her life. And as she drank in the experience, the rainclouds slowly pulled away, leaving her with only a few parting raindrops, as if for a reminder.
She lay there for minutes, entirely overwhelmed by the experience of her day. As her mind gradually returned, she could have sworn she heard a whispered “ten…” from somewhere nearby, and as if by some miracle, the ropes holding her arms together seemed to loosen. She slipped out of the released restraints and looked fondly at the ropes that had caused her so much unexpected trouble and gratification today. She slowly removed the other ropes from her body, and coiled them all back up rather reverently. As she stretched out her limbs from their enforced immobility of the day, she spotted her pack and clothes sitting only a few paces away. That’s impossible, she thought. I’ve been walking towards town for the last couple hours? Yet upon closer inspection, it seemed that she was indeed back to where she started. Somehow, her clothes were dry, and the copse she had initially left them in seemed quiet, as if waiting. She methodically put her clothes back on, and put her ropes and blanket back in her pack. She stood for several minutes, simply gazing into the quiet forest, but it gave no answer to her unformed questions. Eventually, she turned and began the hike back to town. By the time she reached the trailhead, she was whistling merrily, seemingly lost in some pleasant daydream. What a nice day for a hike, she thought to herself.
Uriel and Thea sat at their kitchen table, as if lost in thought.
“You know, if I didn’t know her so well, I’d have sworn she summoned that rainstorm intentionally,” said Uriel.
“We don’t know her well,” corrected Thea. “We hardly know her at all. We just met her today, after all.”
“Technically true, now” Uriel responded. “But that fiction was for her benefit, not ours.”
“It seems your herbs have worked, sister. She’ll have no memory of this day soon enough.”
“Again, for now. Eventually, she’ll remember, and she’ll return when she’s ready.”
“I hope it’s soon. Even if it was her choice, I always ache when one of us is away.”
After Maya arrived back at her apartment, she felt tired after a day of hiking, but still surprisingly invigorated. She thought a long shower might do her well. As she was stripping down to get in it, she found the cluster of herbs still stuck in her hair. She stared blankly at these for a few seconds, wondering how they had gotten there. She had no memory of putting them in her hair, and it wasn’t something that she’d usually do. She sniffed at the bundle, inhaling its pleasant but unidentifiable scent. Something tantalizingly familiar about it? She couldn’t place it.
But then, as she unwrapped the sky blue ribbon from around it, a bright golden thread appeared on it, spelling out some words: You can hear it if you listen. When you’re ready, come find us.
And as her memories of the day came flooding back like a tidal wave, she gave a rather more penetrating smile than the guileless Maya usually would have. Why Uriel, you tricky little conniver, you! And here I thought Thea was the dissident. I wonder what she’d do if she found out you included this… Of course, I also owe Thea for that trick with the ropes. I think my holiday has been just about long enough. I’ll see you both very soon. I’m coming home, my sisters.