The Takeover (Part 5)

So how was my first day under Sun Horizon? In a word; boring. Sure I must always speak of myself in the third person; there were times I had to kneel, had to serve, but all in all, it was a pretty normal day.

Problem was that I wasn’t an executive like Sylvia or Kylie, or even a secretary like Agnes. I was an office drone and after the takeover…I was still an office drone. I spent most of my day in my cubicle typing away like normal, with only my niqaab remaining me of my submission to my male co-workers. It just wasn’t enough.

So at the end of my day when I took off my uniform in the locker room, I did so with a lot of regrets. It wasn’t a bad day but I was missing something. Something that would take my joy of submission to the next level.

There was however nothing I could do about it. I didn’t even know what I was missing. Luckily, someone did. I walked out of the locker room into the carpark, and my answer was there.

I saw Salim walking in the other direction with a briefcase, no doubt walking to his car. I had been avoiding him since learning he was married with 2 wives but after all those dreams…I walked towards him. As expected, he stopped and greeted me.

“Emily!” He exclaimed. “How was your first day?”

“Very well sir.” I was careful to keep my voice low and submissive.

“You look good Emily. A messy bun like that is perfect for a lowly female.”

The neat hair bun I took pains to tie this morning was now messy due to the niqaab and head-covering. Salim clearly meant this as an insult but for someone looking for a further step into submission, I felt more happy than angry at the insult.

“Thank you sir. I live to serve.”

“You feel like serving further?”

I was surprised by Salim’s question. The day was over but I remind myself he was a man and I was a female. There could only be one answer.

“Yes sir.”

“Come with me then.”

            Salim turned and started walking, certain I was going to follow. I did. As I thought, he walked to his car. He went to the back and opened the boot. I thought he was going to tell me to carry something for him back to the office. I was wrong.

            I was very wrong.

“Get in.” He said.

            I looked at him in shock but Salim just stood there. He fully expect me to get into the boot of his car. If anything, he looked a little annoyed I was taking my time deciding whether to get in. With that thought, shame overcame me.

            I was making him wait. I, a lowly female, was making a man wait for me! I immediately crawled into the boot of the car. Salim didn’t wait for me to get comfortable; he just closed the boot. I saw that there were air-holes and after the intimal surprise, had to wonder if Salim made his wives travel in the same way. I got excited by the thought. He was treating me like one of his wives!

The journey was short. I’m sure given time I would have panicked, I was in the boot of a car after all, but before I could do so, the car stopped. I heard the car door being opened and closed. Then the boot was opened.

Salim was standing there with a smirk on his face. He ordered me to get out and I did so. He closed the boot and then locked the car. Salim walked off without a second glance at me. Left with little choice, I dutifully followed.

Walking behind him, I looked around and recognized the carpark we were in. We were in his building. I drove to Salim’s place several times while we were going out and even noticed my favorite parking lot. My heart jumped when I recognized the place; Salim drove me home!

We entered the lift and went up. I walked behind Salim looking at the ground and reminded myself to be quiet. We got to his door and he opened it with a key. Once the door opened, the incense smell hit me immediately and I saw 2 pieces of cloth on the ground.

I was unsurprised by them. In fact I kind of expected them. It seems only proper that his wives would greet Salim on their hands and knees with their head bowed to the ground. I only wished to be there with them.

Salim walked in and dropped his briefcase and jacket on the ground. Only then did I notice Salim was wearing a suit. As I half-wondered how a clotheshorse like me could missed something like that, Salim sat on a stool near the door. His wives got up and I was unsurprised to see both of them were in a burqa.

One of them picked up Salim’s jacket and briefcase while the other went to Salim and began to take out his socks from his feet. I watched all this in silence. Salim then got up and signaled me to follow. We walked into the living room while one of the wives closed the door.

He sat down on a sofa. Looking at him sitting down with his legs apart, he looked like a god to me. My knees felt weak and I didn’t fight my desire to kneel before him. Even then, looking at Salim while on my knees, it didn’t feel right. I looked down at the ground and bowed my head to the floor.

I kept my head to the ground as Salim spoke something to his wives in a different language. Minutes passes and then I felt my skirt being lifted. I fought the urge to move and stayed in my position. I wasn’t told to move, so I won’t.

Then I heard a sound and that was the only warning I had before pain wreaked my body. There was a primal instinct within me to move and to get away from whatever was hurting me but…Salim didn’t tell me to move. In fact, I was certain he wanted me to stay in my position and take my punishment. I knew then what this was.

Salim was punishing me. He was punishing me for all the things I had done to him in collage and in the office. I remembered all the things I said about him and the hurt I caused when I cheated on him. Of course, he wanted to punish me. It was only natural right?

And I totally deserved it!

I knew in my heart I totally deserved the punishment and once that got into my head, the urge to move dissipated. My face was filled with tears but I stoically took the hits and resolved not to move from my spot. With my head to the floor, I didn’t even know who was hitting me or what instruments was being used, but none of that mattered.

I was not moving till Salim told me I could.

In the end, my body gave up on me. I cursed my worthless weak female body as it fell to the ground, no longer able to hold the kneeling position. My mind was willing but the pain was just too much for my body. The beating stopped and the house was silent saved for my sobbing. Through my tears, I saw Salim standing up and he spoke to the wife who was beating me. They were speaking in the foreign language and I saw the wife was holding on to a bamboo cane.

She was also looking submissive at the ground while Salim was speaking. He sound pleased. Salim then looked at me. His face had a questioning look on it and I felt my heart jumped as I looked up at him. I was not a religious person but at that moment I gave a silent prayer to Allah. Why Him when I’m not even Muslim? Well, it just seemed appropriate. My answers were answered when Salim spoke, this time in English.

“Wives, you two had done well tonight. You may both eat dinner with your hands today. No utensils of course, but you may use a plate and glass instead of your normal dog bowls.” Salim then pointed at me. “Clean her up and dress her. I’m going out for a dinner. When I get back I expect to be greeted by 3 properly dressed wives.”

My heart leapt when I heard that and I forced myself to my knees. I ignored the pain wrecking my body as I got into position and bowed my head to the floor. One of the wives then spoke;

“My lord husband, what about our newest sister? May she have dinner with us tonight?”

“Yes, but she may only eat from the dog bowls like the bitch she is. You are a bitch, aren’t you Emily?”

            I looked up at Salim and did the first thing that came to mind. I barked. I barked like the bitch Salim thought I was. He smiled and walked to the door in laughter. His wives knelt and bowed their head to the ground as their lord and master left. I followed the actions of my new sisters and never felt happier in my life!  

The Takeover (Part 4)

Rituals are important; so say the Sun Horizon Female Employee handbook. Okay, so it didn’t actually say that but it might as well because the handbook was filled with them. As a girl at the company, I’m supposed to follow all of them and I, along with all the other girls in the company, intended to do just that.

On the first official day of the takeover, I woke up earlier than I ever did for work. I awaken at 5am to brush my teeth and took a morning bath. I took pains to tie my hair in a neat bun before taking a quick breakfast. After the breakfast, I walked to the bus pick-up point near my house.

Usually I don’t do that, I do have a car, but since only men were allowed to park their vehicles in the building carpark from now on, driving to work was no longer a viable option for girls. For us, the company had a company bus to pick up and drop us off from work.

Around 6.30am, the Sun Horizon company bus arrived. I entered it after thanking the bus-driver for picking me up. There were already several girls on the bus and most of them had their hair tied up. Some had even did what I did and tied their hair were in neat buns. The attire was uniformly casual and demure. Any accessories like earrings, necklaces or watches were absent. About the only exceptions were wedding rings and a small handbag here and there.

I saw Sylvia and took a seat beside her. We smiled at each other, both of us a little overwhelmed by the fact we were both going to work as second-class citizens, and also by the fact we were actually looking forward to it. All the girls were seated quietly with their hands on their laps and I took care to follow them. It was a strange ride.

I was seated beside a girl who was formerly my superior but from today onwards, we would be of the same rank in the company; which was at the bottom of the company totem pole. I knew from talk in the office that almost all the female executives in the company had joined Sun Horizon and many of the men had wondered why. As a girl, I knew the reason. However strange it was to see former executives, including a former VP, boarding the bus to go to work as assistants to men, the payoff at the end of the day would be worth it. It might just be the start of our first day, but this was just a feeling I had. A feeling I was sure of.

The bus stopped along the road outside the building and as the door opened, we stood up. Before alighting however, we had to thanked the bus driver for safely bringing us to work. Some of the girls bowed at the waist but others curtsy. I choose the curtsy.

We need to take a short walk from the bus to the entrance of the building and it was unexpectedly free of protestors. Even though the takeover by Sun Horizon was friendly, there had been fears of protestors due to the company’s infamous policy on gender roles. Guess all the public relations work the company did had worked.

The security guard at the door was male so as I passed, I did a curtsy. I could see he was trying to stop a smile coming to his face and had to silently laugh at that. If the guard was going to continue working here, he might as well get used to this and enjoyed it.   

We went down the stairs to the basement where it had been converted to the girls’ locker room. To get the locker room, the girls had to pass the carpark and it was another strange experience. In the past, I would be driving into this carpark, but now I was just walking to a room to put on my uniform. I admit; I felt nervous walking to the locker room but once I entered the room, I took a deep breath and…once the “Sun Horizon” air filled my body, my anxiety just went away.

The lockers were assigned via your name and I quickly found mine. I opened it and found the clothes given to me by Sun Horizon. Just the sight of them made my pulse quickened. I almost tore off my clothes to put them on.

First was the black dress. The length of the dress reached my ankles and the long sleeves on it totally covered my arms leaving only my hands uncovered. With my hair already in a bun, I decided to do my veil first. I wrapped a white cloth over my head, leaving my face uncovered. Thank god for Youtube or I would never have gotten it.

Next came the face veil. Called the niqaab, it was a veil I had to strap around my head just above my eyes. The veil dropped down in front of my face, covering it. I then pulled up the hood of the dress and pulled it tightly around my head using a drawstring. Tying the string into a knot, I left the knot dangling below my chin. With the face veil, you couldn’t see the knot from the front but from the side, you could. I had to wonder why Sun Horizon designed the uniform this way. It looked different from the uniform they had for the girls of other companies they had taken over.

Well, that was nothing I had to worry about. I was just glad to wear it.

I walked out and back to the staircase. Walking up to the ninth floor, I and the rest of the girls assigned to the floor began our work. We cleaned the tables, wiped the phones, watered the plants, placed sweets into the meeting bowls, and tried to make the office as pleasant to the men as possible.

Although there was no rule stating it, all of us were silent when cleaning. It just didn’t seem right to be speaking when we were working and unsupervised by any men. If someone had walked in on us, we would looked like black ghosts walking around the office. That would not be an unfair description.

Once everything was done, we looked over each other’s work and pointed out the minor mistakes each of us made. It was here that female cattiness began to show and a new hierarchy began to form.

Agnes Allen was just a secretary in the office but she was also a mother of 4 boys who did all her housework on her own. She has a lot of experience cleaning up after her boys and it showed in her work. Her area of the office was almost free of mistakes. Kylie Bentley however was a young executive who was on a trail up the corporate ladder when the Sun Horizon takeover happened. As a young twentysomething born to upper class parents, I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t done a day of cleaning in her life. Her area was terrible and Agnes called her out on it.

To her credit, Kylie tried to correct her mistakes but her inexperience showed. In exasperation, Agnes told her something that would shaped the relationship of the two from then on. “Stop. You’re just making it worse. I’ll do it, you just go kneel over there.”

Everyone stopped. Some of the girls looked at each other in uncertainty and while we were wondering if this was just a slip of the tongue from Agnes, Kylie stepped to the spot Agnes pointed out and did as she was “told”. Kylie knelt and put her hand on the hand as it was stated in the handbook.

Just like that, a new hierarchy between the girls began to form. It didn’t matter what job you used to hold or if you got a MBA or a high-school diploma; what mattered now was how well you can do your new job. What mattered now was how well you clean, how well you served, and how submissive you were. In the new order, Agnes was queen of the floor and Kylie was the dirt on the ground.

The rest of us continued our cleaning, ignoring the kneeling Kylie. When the clock reached 7.30am, Agnes clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. All of us including Kylie went to the entrance of the office. There was a corridor where you had to pass to enter the office. It was here where we placed ourselves.

We girls divided into two rows and dropped to our knees. Then we waited. Strangely, while waiting there for the men, I felt a joy I could not describe. It just felt right. Logically I know it wasn’t right but…it just did. It just felt natural and correct.

It soon began. The bell of the lift stopping on our floor rang and I put my hands on the ground in front of me. Looking down at the floor, I couldn’t see the men but I could hear them walking in. Then I heard the signal from the two girls in the front of the rows. As soon as I heard the sound of their foreheads slamming to the ground, I too lowered my head to the floor. The submissive sound it made was music to my ears. I shouted out the morning greeting.

“Welcome Sir! This girl wishes you a good day at the office!”

The Takeover (Part 3)

The day after the conference, I marched into the office and informed our HR manager I was going to take the deal from Sun Horizon. Sylvia, my HR manager, was a very bemused person by the end of the day because I was not alone. Not even close.

By the end of the day, most of the girls in the company joined me in signing on to Sun Horizon. By the end of the week, over 80% of the girls had agreed to join Sun Horizon. To say this was surprising was an understatement. At a meeting of all the girls who were willing to join, Sylvia openly admitted that she thought Sun Horizon would be lucky to get 50% of the girls. She then uncharacteristically joked that this shows how little a girl like her knows. We all laughed at the joke.

According to Sylvia, the takeover was a done deal and Sun Horizon would make a public announcement in two weeks’ time. During this period, Sun Horizon would implant some changes in the office and any girl who changed her mind could approach her. I would admit to being anxious at these proposed changes but to their credit, Sun Horizon tried to make the transition as smooth as possible.

First they install air filters in the building that gave off the same smell as what they had in the auditorium. Then they announced that from then on, all girls must address all males as “sir”. They also encouraged the men to address all females as “girls”, no matter what position the girl currently held.

At first, it was weird as hell. We had junior male clerks addressed female executives as “girls” while female managers like Sylvia were addressing men working for them as “sirs”. It was a soft launch of the new regime and I guess this was Sun Horizon’s way to get everyone used to the fact that gender was more important than positions or capabilities.

However soft it was, the underlining idea of male superiority was unmistakable. What was an order for the girls was framed only as a suggestion for the men, but if you thought people would be questioning and complaining about the unfairness of it all, then you would be wrong.

Such questions just seem unimportant. Every time I tried to seriously think about why I agreed to sign on to Sun Horizon, the problem just goes away. Breathing in the air of the office and a wave of contentment would come over me. Things were going just as well at home.

At night, my sleep was dominated by dreams of me being in a burka or wearing a niqaab. I would be alone and I would be wearing a burka or niqaab. I could be walking in the streets, in the countryside, or even on a beach but I would be walking alone and looking for something. Most of the time, I would wake up without finding this something but sometimes, I would find what I was looking for; a man.

A man would show up in my dreams and I would have this urge to kneel before him and bow my head to the ground. I would show the man my submission and he would accept me as his slave. The men that showed up in my dreams came from all shapes, sizes, age and ethnicity and I do not know any of them save one; Salim.

In these rare occurrences, Salim would appear with his 2 wives standing behind him. I would knelt and bow but unlike the other men, he would not accept my submission immediately. Instead, one of his wives would walk to my back, a cane would appear in her hand and she would use it on my body. If I stood up, ran or even moved, Salim would reject me and I would wake up in frustration. If I took the punishment till he was pleased, I would awake feeling refreshed, satisfied and happy. 

In some ways, the strange dreams helped me at work. Even though there were two weeks to go before the takeover, the work culture in the office had changed drastically. On paper, the changes by Sun Horizon had been slight but as people put them into practice, things became different. In simple terms, although no one said we had to do it, once the changes became practice; girls in the office became more submissive to the men.

Girls began to adopt a “speak only when spoken to” rule with the men. If the men asked for something, we reply. If they didn’t, we kept our mouths shut in their presence. Girls began to move around the office with their head down and when a man and a girl crossed each other in the corridor, the girl would move to the side, leaving the center to the man. At least, that’s what happened at first.

I don’t know who started it, but a few days after the practice began, girls started to stop and turned to face the wall. Only when the men passed them did the girl began to move off. If the men didn’t move, the girl would crabwalk along the wall pass the men. Only after passing them would she turned and walked normally.

It also became normal for the girls to get coffee for the men. The man, usually seated at his cubicle, would turn to the girl nearest to him, and ordered the coffee. No matter what the girl was doing, she would drop it and go get the coffee for him. This quickly became the norm in the office and before the first week was out, girls would be handling everything the men needed from coffee to photocopying of documents.

Not everything was to the disadvantage of the girls however. As the day of the takeover came nearer and nearer, the company slowly but surely shifted more work to the men. Some men grumbled of course but having a girl at their beck and call largely muted any disagreement they had.

Within the two weeks transition period, this arrangement, work for men and service for girls, became accepted practice within the office. Men stayed in their cubicle and do the work while the girls would handle any miscellaneous tasks given to them. More than one person in the office mentioned that it was as if every 3-4 men in the office were sharing a secretary between them.

Personally, I thought it was a lot more going on than that. I was serving 3 men in the office during this transition period and felt a joy whenever one of them told me to do something. This sense of joy did seem strange to me but at the same time, I didn’t really care about it. I mean why mess with a good thing? 

The girls who refused to sign on with Sun Horizon were of course horrified at the developments in the office and they protested with management. However since they were less than 20% of the female workforce and they were all leaving within two weeks, their complains were ignored.

As the days passed and the day of the official takeover came near and near, I became more and more excited. I couldn’t wait for the day when I could only wear the niqaab and greet my male co-workers on my hands and knees. To my slight surprise, I wasn’t the only one.

Every other weekend, we girls would frequent a bar where we would unwind with drinks, dance and music. That weekend, after a few tequilas, one of the girls spoke about the dream she had been having. In the dream, she was walking in a grass field and it was windy. She was wearing a thin transparent veil when a strong gust of wind came and blew her veil away.

Her veil was gone and she felt as if a part of her soul was too. She frantically ran after the veil but the wind would always keep it just out of her reach. After a long chase, she would knelt and cry in frustration. The wind would die down and the veil would fall to the ground. If she stood, the wind would pick up again. To get the veil, she would have to crawl to it. Sometimes she did it on her hands and knees; other times, she would crawl on her belly. She would crawl to the veil and grabbed it. With her veil in hand, she would put it on and only then would she felt whole. Only then, when it was safely over her head, would she feel complete.

I was alarmed when I heard her story. It was different but at the same time eerily similar to my own. Then another girl started to talk about her dreams, and it was as if a dam had burst. Soon everyone was exchanging stories about their dreams and the veils they were wearing in them. It was scary that we all had similar dreams but at the same time, strangely comforting. I was not alone and I was not the only looking forward to the day when I would be wearing the niqaab. All the girls were now openly admitting that that they were also looking forward to the day. I found that I was not a strange weirdo. I was part of a group of women who had the same dreams and aspirations.

It was a very comforting thought to have.

I was even happier a few days later when Sylvia announced that Sun Horizon had sent over our uniforms and we girls would be sent for the fitting. It was less than a week before Sun Horizon would publicly announce the takeover and our company acceptance of their bid. The day of the takeover was coming and I couldn’t wait for it to arrive.   

The Takeover (Part 2)

After what happened at his place, I spent the rest of the week avoiding Salim. It wasn’t difficult. The asshole didn’t even tried to call me. I still saw him a few times in the office but even then, he treated me as if I didn’t exist. I was yesterday’s news.

It suited me just fine.

It also meant that when my co-workers began to ask questions, I didn’t have to hold back. I hadn’t announced the fact that we were going out but word gets around and almost everyone knew we had been seeing each other. When they saw the sudden coldness between us, people started to ask questions. So I did the only thing I could; I told the truth. 

I told everyone Salim was an ass who had played me along even though he already had 2 wives at home. I didn’t tell them about me cheating on him in college of course but then I also didn’t tell them he made his wives help him seduce me so in my mind, it was about even. By the end of the week everyone knew about how badly he had treated me. Most of the female employees were going to resign anyway but after word spread about me and Salim, almost every female in the company, including me, got their resignation letters ready.

When the new week came around, we were told there would be an engagement conference for all the female employees of the company by New Horizon. They were going to try to pitch the company to us but it was a waste of time. Most of us had already made up our minds. At least that was the thinking everyone had when we entered the auditorium.

Auditorium D was on the fourth floor of our building and it was relatively big. It could hold up to 80 people but for some reason, we were told each conference was given to only about 30 girls. I didn’t know why because you would think it would had been easier and faster for New Horizon to have more girls at each conference. It would also be less expensive.

When I went through the entrance, the first thing I noticed was the food at the back of the auditorium. Coffee, tea, and various finger-foods were available for us and 4 veiled women were standing there, asking us to relax before the start of the conference. They were clearly female employees of New Horizon and they got us curious.

They were wearing a black long-sleeved robe that covered them from the neck down to their feet. It was wide and totally in line with the Islamic thinking that female clothes should not be figure hugging. The robes also had a hood that the women pulled up to cover their heads. Their face were covered with a niqab and with their hands covered by black gloves, I couldn’t see any part of their face or body.

A thought came to my mind and I wondered how it felt to be totally covered like that. It must be so mysterious and exotic. I stopped the thought right there. Where the hell did that came from? The thought was so funny I had to mentally laugh at myself. I decided to take my mind off the women.  

There was free food and drinks available so that was easy. Most of the girls joined me while a few tried to speak to the 4 veiled women. However outside some polite small talk, they refused to say anything of substance and asked the girls to try the food and drinks while we wait for the conference to start. It was during this waiting time that I smell the strange air inside the auditorium.

I had been inside the auditorium before and the air was different from usual. However it also smelled somewhat familiar. After a short while, I realized the smell was similar to what I smelled at Salim’s home. I guess the guys at New Horizon must really like their incense.

After about 30mins, a man walked up to the stage at the front of the auditorium. He was short, fat, and looked like he had never exercised for a day in his life. I looked at him as he walked up the stage and the first thought that came was that he was a fat bearded nerd. He stopped when he reached the center of the stage and looked at us. If you asked me why, I couldn’t tell you but at that moment, he looked like he owned the stage. A moment ago he looked like a joke, now he just looked imposing. I fought an urge to look at the ground and instead looked straight at him.

It was a mistake.

On top of the stage, he looked down on us with a sneer. With a condensing voice, he spoke into the microphone and told all the girls to put down our food and sit down as the conference is going to start.

Instead of getting mad, I was embarrassed. We were here for an engagement conference but instead, I was stuffing myself full of food and drinks. I quickly put down my drink and rushed to the front of the auditorium. My only out was the fact that everyone beside me looked just as embarrassed as I was.

As the man started speaking, I found myself sitting quietly in my seat with my hands on my lap and my head was bowed low. I didn’t even realized what I was doing till I heard the man say in passing the sight in front of him was what Sun Horizon was looking for. Women with their heads hung low in respect to men.

A fire was lit inside me and my head shot up. All around me, the rest of the girls did the same. It was as if we were in a daze and had all suddenly awoken. The man smiled on the stage and I found him infuriating. It was as if he was playing with us. He then said that there was a video he wanted us to see and left the stage.

The auditorium had a huge screen and as the video started, I found myself falling into a daze again. Honestly, I didn’t remember what was on the video, it was that boring. All I remember was that the video had a lot of bright lights and some soothing music in the background. Yet although I don’t know the details of the video, I strangely know what was shown. The video showcased New Horizon’s deal to us girls.

Anyone still under contract would have the option of resigning from the company while those who stayed would keep drawing their current salary but would be “reassigned” to roles more in keeping with the New Horizon culture. The video was very upfront with the fact that no girl would be employed in any executive position after the takeover and being a secretary was the highest position a girl could hope for in the company. Also, anyone who stayed till the end of their contract will also be offered a contract extension but with a new salary more in keeping with their job scope.

When the video was done, the man came up to the stage again and I was once again struck by how bad he looked. You would think New Horizon would have sent someone with more PR and HR skills to sell their company to their future employees. It was then that the thought struck me that New Horizon might not be aiming to keep us. As the man droned on, the thought played in my head and began to make more and more sense.

My suspicion then became confirmation when the man told the 4 Sun Horizon female employees to come up to the stage. The girls in the crowd began to murmur among themselves but my eyes were struck to the women. The camera displayed the women on the video screen as they stepped up to the stage with their head bowed.

The man said this was standard walking position prescript in the Sun Horizon Girl Employee Handbook. Girls were only allowed to walk with their head bowed. The 4 girls stopped behind the man and stood facing the crowd in a straight row.

The man told the crowd to remember the position the girls were holding. While waiting from orders from men, their feet must be shoulder length apart, with their hands clasped at the small of their back, and their eyes must be downcast to the ground between their feet. They must maintain this position to mark themselves as respectful, submissive women. The man then turned to the women behind him and ordered them to kneel.

They did so immediately. It was surreal and the auditorium fell silent. The women on stage fell to their knees with a grace I would have never thought possible. It looked to me as if their upper body didn’t move an inch but they fell to their knees in slow motion. When it was done, their basic position still hasn’t changed. Their hands were clasped at the small of their back, and their eyes were cast to the ground between their feet. Only now, it looked as if their knees and not their feet were shoulder length apart.

How did they do that? I wondered to myself and the next question that immediately came to my mind was whether I could be able to do something like that. Wait, what? I opened my mouth in shock. I was going to resign. What was I doing even thinking about something like that?

Hoping to put my mind out of that line of thought, I focused on the only thing I could; the speech of the man on the stage. He was now talking about the demerit system Sun Horizon had on female employees. Anyone who got 25 demerits in a month would have her pay cut but anyone who got less than 15 in a month would get a bonus of at least 10% of her monthly pay. The girl with the least amount of demerits for the month would get a bonus of up to 50% of her monthly pay. A few of the girls started murmuring again at this stage. The potential pay increase could be very important to some of them.

The man continued without a thought to his audience. He mentioned that the girls would be assigned a daily supervising officer, or a DSO. This would be a male working on the same floor and the DSO would be the girls’ superior for the day. This duty was to be served on a rotating schedule among the men and he made no bones about the fact this was to ensure that every man in the office would be superior to every women in the same office.

Then came the coup de grace. The man told us about the “morning greeting”.

The 4 women stood and spilt up to stand around the man, 2 to his left and 2 to his right. Together they turned to face him, dropped to their hand and knees and shouted.

“Welcome Sir! This girl wishes you a good day at the office!”

The man explained that this was the position and greeting all girls of the company must make every morning. We would arrive earlier than the men and as the men arrived for work, we would be in this position and greet the men a good day at the office.

You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium. We were all stunned. They expected us to be in this humiliating position every morning for our male co-workers. Are they crazy? This confirmed my thought that Sun Horizon didn’t want us. They wanted all the girls gone; why else would they have a presentation like this?

The conference ended soon after. I remembered there was another video we had to sit through but don’t ask me what it was about. By then, all of us girls were like mindless drones, we just wanted out of there.

The rest of the day also passed in a fog. I’m sure I ordered takeout and drove home as usual but again, don’t ask me how I did any of those stuff. I don’t remember anything. The only thing I do remember was what happened that night. That night I slept and when I woke, I opened my eyes…and I couldn’t see.

My sight was blurred like there was something in front of me. I stood up and there was a weight on my head. Strangely, I felt great. It just felt right. I felt like I was different and I didn’t know why.

I saw someone in front of me and I started to walk slowly towards him. As I got closer, I got used to the blur in front of me. I could make out the small details my vision provided and the person in front of me was wearing a blue outfit. We stood before each other for what felt like hours before I felt the need to reach out. I needed to see the person in front of me. For some reason, I raised my hands and my vision cleared.

I was standing in front of a giant mirror and the person I saw was me. I was wearing a burqa and I had just flipped it over my head. Below the burqa, I was totally naked. Not only that, I looked happy. I looked contented. I flipped the burqa back over my head and felt a peace I had never felt before.

It just felt right. 

I woke up then. My breathing was hard and I knew what I wanted. My hands went between my legs and I masturbated. As usual, I formed a mental image of what I was doing. I thought of myself in the burqa and of the conference I had earlier in the day. I imagined myself bowing, kneeling and serving the men and my hands was soon filled with my juices. I came and had to put my pillow over my mouth as I screamed.

I never did that. I never screamed. In fact, usually I wasn’t even all that loud when I came but today was different. This was something else. This was something beyond my control. As my body was wrecked by joy, I thought of something I never imagined.

I was going to enjoy working in Sun Horizon. 

The Takeover

The moment my life changed, I wasn’t skydiving or climbing Everest or even doing charity work, changing the lives of the less fortunate. I was in my cubicle. It’s a fair reflection of my less than exciting life but I don’t regret it.

If I wasn’t at my cubicle, I wouldn’t have met Him again.

Him was Rick Brunt. As I was looking at my files, I sensed a presence behind me. I looked back and there he was; the former boyfriend that I cheated on. First thing that struck me was how different he looked.

Gone were the athletic body and clean-shaven face. In their place was a slightly plumb bearded man with a look of surprise on his face. I didn’t know how to greet him. After all, he broke up with me the moment he found out I was cheating on him with a player on our college’s basketball team, but he had no such problem.

He shouted “Emily” loud enough that the whole floor could hear and offered me his hand to shake. We talked and, okay, flirted. It was amazing, as if we never broke up in bad circumstances. He offered me dinner and I agreed.

The next night, we had dinner at The Veil. I thought it was a weird choice at first but agreed because I had wanted to visit the restaurant. A Middle-Eastern restaurant that had sprung up recently, it had the hook that all the waitresses wore veils. According to the web, their waitress changed their attire almost everyday. One day, they could be serving customers in niqabs and the next in Hello Genie costumes. Seeing their waiting list, it was a hook that worked.

Now there were a few things no dinner date could do without. The food of course, but another thing no good dinner date could do without was laughter. Without laughter…well, it was just incomplete.

On that note, the date between us was a great success. We hadn’t met each other for years but were soon engaged in the same witty banter we had when we were together. I was glad. I didn’t want to end things the way they did but Brunt said he was grateful it did.

As we talked, he told me what he had been doing since we broke up. Brunt had travelled after college and while in the UAE, he converted to Islam. He was known as    Salim Al’Tusk now and worked for the Sun Horizon Company, a company infamous in the country for imposing a strict dress-code on female employees and for not having any women employed in any position above clerical level.

As shocking as that was, I was glad to see that Salim was the same person as Rick Brunt. His name might had changed, but Salim Al’Tusk was the same jovial guy who cracked silly sci-fi jokes and quoted TV catchphrases.

At the end of the dinner, he paid the bill and I was shocked to discover the amount. When he said that his place was nearby and offered me a visit, I couldn’t say no. I wouldn’t say it was pity or an obligation, but he had spent so much money I couldn’t turn him down.

His place really was nearby and 20 mins after we left The Veil, I was in his living room. I felt like I was in another world. There was a strong smell of incense in the air and the room was dominated by a huge soft Persian carpet. There were also no tables or chairs in the living room. Several pillows of various sizes were placed at one side of the carpet and though strange, I found lounging on the carpet while hugging the pillows to be very relaxing and comfortable.

Salim bought out a tea set and as we drunk the tea, we began to talk once again. Laughter filled the room and one thing led to another. Soon we were kissing and cuddling. I half-thought we were going to do it there but Salim lifted me up and carried me to the bedroom. He may not look like an athlete anymore but he still had the power of one.

Once inside the bedroom, I discovered that his bedroom also had Middle Eastern décor. There was a king-sized bed with 2 red Middle Eastern rugs on either side of it. The walls were purple and the floor had the look of dark hardwood. There was even a Middle Eastern looking trunk place at the end of the bed.

My look at his bedroom ended there as Salim placed me gently on the bed. Kisses followed before we began to take our clothes off. He quickly slipped on protection and we began in earnest.

I have to admit it was easily the best fuck I ever had. Salim always had size, but now it also came with skill. His thrusts were hard and brutal, and I was wonderfully helpless beneath him. I had my orgasm the same time he did and after that, we just laid there in bed. Salim had definitely improved on his technique since college.

The next morning I said goodbye, silently hoping to see him again. After an afternoon of fitful waiting, he finally called and we arranged to meet that night. A movie and a dinner later, we were back at his place again. You can guess what happened next.

Before I knew it, we were in a relationship again. We met almost everyday for dinner and then sex at his place. More than a few times, Salim made dinner which was a huge surprise. In college, his cooking was terrible but nowadays he could open a restaurant. On days when dinner was at his place, a low table would be brought out and placed on the carpet of the living room. Food would be served on it. We would sit on the carpet, have our dinner and talked. After dinner and washing up, which we would do together, we would watch TV while resting on the beanbags. Salim laughed when I asked about the pillows and corrected me on what they were called. After TV, it would be a night of mind-blowing sex.

This went on for about 2 months and in that time, I began to know Salim again. In many ways, he was the same person but in others, I could see the change in him. He was a Muslim and followed a sect called the Tibyss. I never heard of them but then I knew little about the religion. All I knew was what was on the news but Salim assured me he followed their religious doctrine closely. However he didn’t try to impose his views on me and I honestly didn’t much cared about his religion.

What I was really interested in was the sex and his home.

Salim’s flat was a 3 room apartment with a small kitchen, a living room and 2 bedrooms, one of which was always locked. The whole place had Middle Eastern décor and was amazingly clean. I thought all those years travelling the world had made Salim domestic but I was wrong.

I was very wrong.

Remember where I was when I first met Salim at the beginning of this story? I was in my office and he was there because he was helping to finalize a takeover of my company by Sun Horizon. It was a surprise because no one knew the owners were looking to sell but as time went on, everyone in the office knew the deal was going through. We would soon be part of the infamous Sun Horizon Holdings.

The joke in the office soon became one where women had nothing to do but be covered up in veils and serving coffee. More than a few of the women started to prepare their resignation letters, but I was not one of them. I had known Salim for a long time and he seems to be still an okay guy so I thought it was likely other guys in Sun Horizon would be similar to him.

As the takeover deal began to come about, one night while we were lounging on the carpet watching Netflix, I found myself asking Salim about the changes and work conditions that would be placed on female employees of the company. He thought about the matter for a second before saying he was the wrong person to ask. He was a finance guy and it would be better if I asked a woman that was currently working for Sun Horizon. When I asked if he could introduce me to someone, he said he would be more than happy to.

I could ask his wives about what it’s like to be working in Sun Horizon.

It was a bolt out of the blue. Salim never said he was married and while I never asked, I couldn’t help but feel betrayed. I stood up and screamed at him but all I got was a smile. That was when I understood this was revenge. He had wanted to hurt me for what happened in college and when I accursed him of this, he happily admitted as much.

He said that at first that was the plan but as time went on, he found that he really liked having me around. It was fun talking to me like when we were both younger. He was a piece of work and I told him I felt sorry for his wife for marrying someone who would betrayed her just for a stupid revenge.

That was when he surprised me again. Salim said he had 2 wives and both of them knew about me. I didn’t believe him and when I told him as much, he offered to prove it to me. That was when he asked if I wanted to meet them.

I stood in shock as he then stood up and walked to the room that was always locked. Salim dug up a key from his pants and knocked on the door 3 times. He said he was coming in and unlocked the door. He opened it and with a wave of his arm, invited me to enter.

I looked inside and saw that the room was very plain. Unlike the rest of the flat that was tastefully decorated with Middle Eastern furniture, this room had almost nothing. There were a few books on the floor, a rundown wooden cupboard and an exercise bike in one corner, but outside these there was nothing. No carpets, no tables, no chairs; not even a window.  

Only two things caught my eye; 2 pieces of clothes that were on the floor.

It took my mind a moment to process and Salim took this second to shout out a command. The moment I heard him said “Stand”, the 2 pieces of clothes began to rise. As they stood up, I understood that they were burqas. 2 women wearing shuttlecock blue burqas were standing in front of me.  

My shock must have been written on my face because Salim began to explain. The 2 women standing in front of me were his wives and they had always known about me. Every time we came back here to have sex, they had been staying in this room. In fact, they were the ones who cleaned the flat and made dinner for us. They could even hear us if we were loud.

I didn’t know how to react and as I stood there like a fool, Salim told his wives I had questions about what it was like to be looking in Sun Horizon. He told them to answer every question I had. I began with one not about work.

I asked them why they didn’t stop us. I then asked them why they allowed Salim to treat them this way. One of them answered me. She told me as wives, they were there to serve their husband and to do whatever they could to make him happy. If that meant helping him seduce a whore, then it would be their duty, desire and honor to do so. I reeled from being called a whore but could not find a way to defend myself. Salim did it for me.

Salim calmly admonished his wife for being so disrespectful to a guest and ordered her to apologize to me. His wife immediately melted to the floor and I realized she was kneeling. She was kneeling and bowing her head to the ground in front of me and had been doing that when Salim and I first entered the room. Not for the first time, I didn’t know how to react and Salim took the lead.

He ordered his wife to stand and told me to ask away. My mind was a blank. The situation was so surreal I just didn’t know what to say. Salim then decided to “help”. He told his wives I must be uncomfortable speaking to two people wearing burqas. He ordered them to take them off.

Both his wives did so immediately. They flipped their burqas over their heads and I saw their faces for the first time. Neither of them was wearing any clothes beneath their burqa. No shirt, no blouse, no skirt, and no pants, but they weren’t naked. Both of them were wearing white adult-sized diapers and around their necks was a black collar with a ring attached to it. However what really stuck me was their faces.

On each cheek of their face was a tattoo. On their right cheek was a tattoo of the Venus symbol, while on the left was a tattoo of the name Salim Al’Tusk. My head spun at the sight and I did the only thing I could.

I turned and fled out of the house.  

The Eternal Servant

“Koharu, come here!”

Kei Kimitaka’s shout echoed through the house and Naiki immediately heard a pair of feet running towards them. Correction; running was the wrong word to use in this instance. It sounded more like a pair of feet quickly shuffling across the ground.

Naiki Kimitaka knew this was the case even before his mother shuffled into the room where his father was waiting for her. His mother, Koharu, was wearing a plain brown kimono that prevented her from taking a full stride. As usual, she was wearing a hoodveil which covered her head leaving only her eyes visible to him. Seeing him in the room, his mother gave him a quick bow before kneeling before his father and bowing her head at his feet.

“Koharu, can you explain this?” his father asked. His mother raised her head slightly and was immediately cut down. “Put your head on the ground woman!”

At his father’s shout, his mother lowered her head even more. This time her face and not just her forehead was touching the ground. Seemingly satisfied, his father continued. “I gave you a weekly budget for household expenses. Why did you go over the budget last week?”   

Naiki knew the reason but kept quiet. His father wasn’t asking him, but his mother. Telling the truth now might even make things worse for his mother.

“My lord, this woman was foolish and did not plan her expenses properly.” His mother pleaded. “Please punish your servant so that she will never make the mistake again.”

Like any good Vipponese mother, Naiki’s mother did not give him up. Naiki felt a lump in his throat as his father took out his belt and stood behind the kneeling form of his wife. Raising his belt above his head, he smacked it across the back of his wife. The room echoed with the sound.

10 times the belt went up and down before his father finally stopped.  Throughout the punishment period, his mother curled up on her hands and knees, took her punishment without moving. Later, Naiki would learn how rare his mother was. Most women would at least fidget but back then, Naiki only heard a whimper and nothing more from his mother. A whimper that almost broke him but Naiki controlled himself. Even at that young age, he knew the dishonor he would be bringing to his mother if he tried to comfort her at that moment.

“Take this as a lesson woman. Now get out of my sight!” At his father’s command, his mother started to crawl out of the room on her hands and knees. Naiki could clearly see that she was in pain but like a good Vipponese woman, she thank her lord and husband for her punishment. After she had left the room, his father turned and looked at Naiki. One look at his father’s face and Naiki knew his father knew.

“You know I was the one who spent the money, don’t you father?” His father nodded and Naiki felt his temper rising. “Then why did you punish mother and not me?”

“Because I gave the money to your mother Naiki,” his father said as he started to put his belt back around his pants. “She was the one responsible for the money, not you.”

“As a woman, she cannot keep the money from me the moment I asked for it.” Now he was getting angry. “You know that and still you punished her?”

“Yes,” his father said. “Your mother is a good woman and a great slave. She properly never even thought of saying no to you when you asked for the money.”

“Then why…it’s not her fault! It was mine and you know that!”

“Because your mother is a good woman.” His confusion must have shown because his father calmly explained. “Your mother gave you the money even though she knew she would be punished for it when I find out. Your mother would never hide her expenses from me. She expected a punishment and I would not be doing my duty as her husband if I didn’t give it to her. Do you understand?”

He did not, at least not then, and Naiki shook his head to indicate the fact. A smile came to his father’s face and he explained further. “We all have our roles to play Naiki. Our roles as men are to provide for our family, to ensure that they are fed and that they are kept safe. A woman’s role is to be a good servant to her husband and a good slave to her family. Your mother did her role as expected of her. She obeyed a command from you, a man, but in doing so disobeyed an order from me, also a man.”

“That’s a no-win situation for her.”

“True and she was put in that position because of you.” His father said. “I am angry with you but the money was given to her and your mother was to control the expenses. She did not managed to do so because of you but what do you expect me to do?”

“Punish me!”

“Even though the money was never yours to control?” His father asked.  

“She is the servant and slave.” Naiki said. “Mother can’t say no to a male of House Kimitaka and I’m a male. So…why does she get the punishment?”

“Because the money was given to her.”

“That’s not fair father.” Naiki finally said.

“True,” his father nodded again. “But such is life and not just to your mother. You think I wanted to punish her even when I know she’s not at fault?”

Naiki knew the answer but he still had to ask. “So if I asked for money again in the future from mother…”

“If she gives it to you, and she would, I would have to punish her again. What does that tell you my boy?”

“Don’t ask for extra money in the future.”

“Why?”

“Because she would give it to me and mother would be punish for my mistake.” 

“Don’t put her in that position again Naiki. In Vippon, a woman’s place is directly tied to the men of her family. What you do affects not just you but your family as well. The men, we can handle ourselves, but women? Weak females which required our constant care and protection? They will suffer for your actions.”

Understanding suddenly dawned on the young Naiki. “And my role as a man is to protect the women of the family and to keep them safe. Safe from…you?”

Kei Kimitaka’s smile got wider as he realized his son was beginning to understand his role as a man. “In this case, yes. You want to protect your mother don’t you?”

“Of course.” Naiki silently vowed not to do anything that would harm his mother ever again. “That’s why I’m here right? To see the results of my…silly actions.”

“Then don’t do this ever again.” His father said. “Not just now but in the future as well. When you have your own wives, daughters and granddaughters, think of them when you want to do something. Think of the women you are protecting.”

Naiki nodded. “Is there anything else father?”

“You got that guitar with the money right?”

“…Yes”

“Make sure you practice. Don’t make your mother suffer for nothing.” Naiki nodded in agreement and his father continued. “Now go and apologized to your mother. She’s a good servant and slave to the house of Kimitaka.”

That was, is, his mother. A good woman, a good servant, a good slave, and a great mother. Naiki couldn’t help but think so as he sat beside the hospital bed of his mother. It’s strange what you would think of when you realized someone would soon not be with you ever again.

Over 40 years had passed since that day when Naiki realized the responsibility that came with being a man and though his father was the one who explained everything, his real teacher was his mother. His mother lying in front of him, dressed in a white hospital kimono, her head covered in a black hoodveil. His mother, who was dying in front of him.

“My lord? My lord, is that you? My lord?”

Naiki reached out to hold the hand of his mother and spoke softly, “No, mother. It’s me, Naiki. Your son.”

His mother’s eye shone with recognition. “Oh, Naiki. I…I thought I saw your father just now. I…I really wanted to see him again.” There were no words for him to speak. His father has been dead for over 10 years. “My boy, do you think I will see your father again? Do you think they will let me in? Do you think they will let me serve?”

“Yes, they will mother. For over 50 years, Koharu Kimitaka has been a great slave to the House of Kimitaka. Since her marriage, Koharu Kimitaka has been a great servant to her lord and master, Kei Kimitake. When you are gone, you will be received in heaven by our ancestors. They will welcome you into the Heavenly House of Kimitaka where you, and all the other good women in the history of our House, will serve for all eternally. Father will be there and when you arrive, he will be there to greet you. You will be his eternal servant, serving him for all eternity.”

The words broke his heart but nothing he said was untrue. Since her marriage, her mother has been a great servant to his father. Naiki knew for a fact there was no way his ancestors would deny his mother a place in heaven. Like his father said all those years ago; she was a good woman.

“My boy…my good boy.” His mother said. “My good boy.”

With that, his mother closed her eyes for the final time and was gone. Naiki felt tears coming out of his eyes and wiped them away. He took a moment to gather himself before standing up. His legs shook with emotions but he knew he shouldn’t wait. He walked out of the room into the corridor and went to the hospital shrine where his family was waiting.

He entered the shrine quietly. His sons and grandsons were all sitting on the benches at the back of the shrine and they all stood up when they saw him. His wives, daughter-in-laws and granddaughters were on their knees, praying at the front of the shrine. Naiki cleared his throat loudly and the women turned around on their knees.

“She is gone. Mother is now with our ancestors.” His sons and grandsons bowed their head in respect and some of his women started to sob. As women, they were allowed such show of public weakness. Naiki continued. “Go now and pay your last respects to her.”

Slowly, his family walked out of the shrine. When the last of them left, Naiki went and sat down on the bench. He put his head in his hands and cried. Now, alone in his grief, he can mourn.  

Silhouette Sunday

Part 1

“Whores”

“What are you?”

“Whores”

“What are you?”

“WHORES”

I screamed out the word with all the other women. Kneeling on the hard concrete ground shoulder to shoulder, all of our eyes were fixed on the priest in front of us. For the past hour the old priest has been lecturing us on a woman’s role in the Church of Shadow, and as a relative newcomer to the church, I was lapping up very word.

“Bow and lay yourself out like the whore you are. Remember your body of sin and lay down in the dirt where you belong. LAY DOWN IN THE DIRT WHERE YOU BELONG!”

At the thundering words from the old priest, all the women threw themselves to the ground. Face down on the ground; I lay there on the floor as I heard the footsteps of the priest walking out of the room. Only after hearing the door closed did I dared moved.

One by one, all of us women slowly got up from the ground. We kept an eye on the door where the priest exited. Occasionally, the priest in charge of the sermon would re-enter the room to continue the sermon. If that happen, all the women would throw themselves to the ground immediately as the priest continue the sermon. After 9 years, even I knew that a woman should never stand in the holy presence of a priest of Shadow. Of course after kneeling for an hour, we couldn’t be quick even if we wanted to.

Like most Church of Shadow, our local church was spilt in 2. Men and women had their own chambers and priests delivered different sermons to their flock. Once through the door, men and women would separate in the lobby. Men would then enter through another set of doors into the main chamber, whereas the women would go down a flight of stairs into the basement chamber where their sermons would be held. Slowly, we made out way back up the stairs.

Once in the lobby, I saw that the men were missing. As usual, the men’s sermons were longer than the women and I waited patiently with all the other women. After the first few times this happened, I asked Roy why the men were always late. His reply was that after the sermon, the men would usually loiter around inside the chamber having small talk and enjoying the refreshments made available that day. I was pissed at this at first, but after a couple of months, this became something that I had come to accept. Silhouette is a man’s world and if you wanted to live here, you had to accept things like this.

All the women moved restlessly around the lobby. The area was almost completely silent with only the low rustling of cloth breaking the pristine silence. For women on Silhouette talking in public was allowed but speaking in any holy place was ‘discouraged’. The fact that we were in the lobby of a church we were attending was a further deterrence to all of us. As none of the other women will talk, I too kept quiet, waiting silently for my man like a good little woman. No one wanted to risk their heaven.

It is at times like this that I miss Earth. At least on Earth, I could pass the time looking around checking on the other women’s cloths. On Silhouette, the sumptuary laws make that a total waste of time. The laws of the planet stated that women must be covered from the top of her head to the bottom of her feet, with only the upper face and the hands allowed free. As the Church of Shadow control most things on the planet, and its teaching involved a lot about how women are sinful creatures who must constantly do and think pure thoughts, women on the planet had adopted the nun habit and veil as the clothing of choice. You can almost call it the planet’s uniform for women as over 95% of the women on the planet wear them.

The only exceptions I could think of are off-planet tourists and women who were born off-planet and were relocated to Silhouette for work, or in my case, following her husband though his work. Like those women, I used to go out of the house dressing normally with only a shawl or scarf over my head and one hand on an umbrella. However we often got strange looks from the locals and foreigners like me stayed within the ‘Live Zone’ where almost no locals lived.

During my first year on the planet, Roy found a house that was both cheap and beautiful. I loved it. However it was located in a normal Silhouette neighbourhood and after we moved out of the ‘Live Zone’, I knew that I had to don the habit and veil to fit in (and to avoid the uncomfortable stares). However, the uncomfortable stares did not stop. Women in the neighborhood for safety, and in a further act of devotion to the church, covered the lower part of their face with a veil. As the only unveiled women in the neighborhood, I quickly saw that the uncomfortable stares were more intense than ever. Having a conversation with anyone in the neighborhood was impossible as the men were too embarrassed, while the women were too angry at me. It didn’t help that in Silhouette, only men carry umbrellas. Donning the veil was Roy’s suggestion and I was grateful of that. I was too proud to choose to veil myself, but it was a decision I knew I had to make if I intended to speak to anyone outside the house. I just needed a push, and Roy knowingly provided that. Thinking back to those early days, I couldn’t help but smiled.

It wasn’t long after that the men came out of their chamber. When I first landed on the planet, I often wondered how men knew where their women were. For what I saw, all the women were wearing a habit that brushed the floor, with a nun's veil that covered the top of the head flowing down around and over the shoulders. The face-veil further eroded any chance of recognition they have. The answer was amazingly simple.

All you need to do was to look carefully at the height of the woman, as well as her way of walking. After a few weeks, you could recognize people even without looking at their face. The only problem was if the woman in question was a distance away. Another way of recognizing woman was through their family crest. Each household on Silhouette has what they call a family crest. Styled after an ancient practice on Earth, the family crest was a symbol of the family and men and women wore them on their everyday clothing. For women, the crest was usually placed at the face-veil that covered their mouth. Having no idea what a family crest was, I first thought the symbols were just decorations. Only later did I understand how important it was to the people of the planet. That was just on the outside; on the insides of the women were the neurons.

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Roy approaching. I swept one foot behind the other and use my hands to hold the skirt of the habit out from my body. As Roy reached me, I bended my knees and bowed my head. The curtsy was the formal greeting between men and women, and it was something I enjoyed. I had only seemed a curtsy in period movies before I came to Silhouette and it was something new and unique to me. It was also more difficult to get right than it seems. The curtsy on Silhouette required the women to tilt her head slightly to the side (to give off a shy look), and to have her eyes at the waist of the man. When I first did it, I was told my curtsy had a long list of problems, everything from not bending my legs properly to tilting my head too much. It took me months of practice in orientation class before I got it right. When the instructor finally told me it was okay, I felt like jumping for joy.

Right now however, I gave the prefect curtsy and held the position. Roy’s hand was perfectly in place at the side of his waist. “Stand” The order came and with permission given, I stood. I lowered my hands and slowly stood up. I kept my eyes down, looking at his waist as Roy attached a leash to me. The neck and shoulders of a woman is covered by a piece of garment called the wimple. On Silhouette, the wimple has a hook right where the Adam’s apple should be. The people of Silhouette called this hook the Eve’s apple. After attaching a leash, Roy led me to the door of the church where we partake in the holy water of the planet. A drink of the church, everyone who enter a church of Shadow are required to drink a glass of holy water before they are allowed to enter or exited the church. Not a problem for men, but for a woman like myself, I have to drink it through the face-veil. With the family crest on the veil itself, this drink was even more symbolic for women than it was for men.

Before exiting the church, I put the second face-veil over my face. Our habit came with 2 face-veils that were hung loose by the side of the veil that covered our head. A woman usually unattached the outer one when they were indoors. The outer face-veil was waterproof and as we exited the church, we were immediately pelted with rain. As much as I loved the people and way of life here, I must say that the weather of Planet Silhouette was every bit as dreadful as rumored. It rained 3 days out of 4 and when it was not raining, dark clouds filled the sky. They say there hasn’t been a sunny day on the planet for years; Silhouette years, which is about 3 times longer than 1 Earth year. The fact that the rainwater was mildly poisonous to a woman’s Y-chromosome made me glad that my waterproof face-veil was on. Although it wasn’t poisonous to the touch, any woman who drinks the rainwater on Silhouette would likely to be ill for the next 4-5 days.

Roy quickly opened an umbrella that sheltered him from the rain. As a woman however I was left following him in the rain. When I first came on planet, I thought this was cruel and unfair. However my perception of men being safe from the rain, while women were left soaking was wrong. Even though I was walking in the rain, I was perhaps drier than Roy. The only concession I had to make was to keep my head down as my eyes were uncovered. I wasn’t even cold as the habit was thick and it helped kept out the cold weather. In fact, every part of my outfit was waterproof and the only part of me that was wet was my feet as Roy liked the idea of me walking barefooted in the streets. If anything, Roy was the one whose suffering from the weather as all he had was a short-sleeve T-shirt with jeans. His attire may be more comfortable than the habit but it wasn’t as practical on Silhouette. 

As I saw my husband walking with my leash in his hand, I thought of our time together and how things had certainly changed since we first met. I find I don’t really mind being led on a leash, because it felt right. Even if I was unhappy about it, I wouldn’t voice my unhappiness. That Starfleet officer was right; it’s something in the air.

About 10 years ago…

The room was grey and the interview was more sombre than I had envisioned. The Starfleet officer sitting in front of me was Miss Amanda Johnson. An officer from the Foreign Office, she had been trying to make me change my mind on going to Silhouette. She’s not having much luck and her frustration was beginning to show.

"You've never been on Silhouette before, Miss Turner," she said, her voice crackling. "If you did, you will run for the hills, much less insisting on going there."

I rubbed my forehead; the frustration was getting to me as well. I took a breath and tried to calm myself. I put on a smile and hoped I looked more relaxed than I felt. "I’m no fool officer. I love my husband, I’ve been away from him for 3 years and enough is enough. I know what I’m getting into.”

“No you do not.” Give her credit; Officer Johnson was nothing if not persistent. “Do you even know the history of Silhouette?”

“Actually I do,” I saw that my smile was infuriating her. I smiled wider. “A convey of colonists whose ships suffered a malfunction crashed onto a then unknown planet. The survivors called the planet Silhouette.” 

“Those colonists were Christian zealots.” Officer Johnson took over the story. “Not the popular smile and sing for peace Christians, or even old-school Western Christianity; we are talking about ancient fire and brimstone Christianity here. When those zealots crashed onto the planet, they saw the dark sky and red soil of the planet and truly believed they landed in hell.”

“Calling them zealots…”

“It’s actually right!” Officer Johnson thundered. “When they managed to contact us again, almost 95 years had past. When Starfleet found out there were survivors, we rushed there but the people didn’t want to leave. That had already built a city and achieved some sort of understanding with the wildlife there. Their way of live evolves around their religion that has changed beyond anything seemed in the Federation. Hell, they even named the planet Silhouette in honour of their new sect, The Church of Shadow.”

“You haven’t told me anything I don’t already know Officer Johnson.”

“Listen to me! They are allowed a chance to build a society from the ground up without any inference! They did not have Starfleet to keep them in check, they did not have to considered how their actions will be view by the rest of the human race, they did everything their way.” Officer Johnson sat up straighter, “And their way view women as whores, as sinful, as creatures who are not even humans!”

I tried to maintain my smile, but could feel it slipping. "You are being a little overdramatic Officer"

“No I am not,” Officer Johnson said it with so much authority that for a moment I seriously wondered if she was right, that I was truly making a mistake. “Forget women’s rights, women on Silhouette don’t even have human rights! From the age of 15, all women on Silhouette are subjected to neurons injections. Once the neurons are in, the women are completely under the control of their Viewer.”

“Neurons injections are hardly illegal Officer Johnson. We use it in our prisons for…”

“My point is that they are more than that Miss Turner,” Officer Johnson then went on a speech that sounded rehearsed. “Here in civilization, when we placed the neurons inside a prisoner, the Viewer in charge of the prisoner can monitor the prisoner remotely. He can even send a one-word message straight to the prisoner to give instructions. In Silhouette, it is more than that.” The officer stopped for a moment. When she saw that I refused to be baited, she continued. “Somehow the men there discovered a way to expand on the neurons. They can literally control the brain of their woman. We’re not sure how they do it but they are can send messages that affect the brains of their women. Pain, pleasure, any basic emotion; can all be ‘manufactured’ by these new neutrons they developed. It’s a way of mind control.”

“I have no wish to join the church Officer Johnson.”

“It doesn’t matter.” This surprised me. “I have seemed hard-nosed female drill-sergeants entering that planet and come out as doormats. There’s something in the air there Miss Turner, and whether you want to or not; you enter Silhouette, you will be changed.”

Part 2

Roy led me along the pony track as we made our way to the clubhouse. The clubhouse was situated near the church and Roy told me before that this wasn’t by accident. It was designed from the start that after Sunday service, men could easily bring their women for their weekly exercise. The pony track started at the clubhouse and weaved its way through several neighbourhoods before coming back to the clubhouse.

There were actually 3 other clubhouses along the route. These clubhouses served the other neighbourhoods that also used the same track, so it wasn’t a surprise when I heard a cart coming behind us. I wanted to look but not having permission from Roy, I kept my eyes to the ground. However, Roy knew me well and the order came in my head. “Look”

I looked behind and stared the passing cart. The woman was in a full bodysuit, with knee high boots and a head harness. In keeping in the style of Silhouette, the lower half of her face was covered with a mask. The top half of the harness totally covered the head with only a hole at the top for the woman’s red hair to come out from. Two large buckles near the ears served as the anchors for the reins. It was quite a sight seeing a redhead with her hair flowing behind her, pulling her master in a pony-cart. I must say I was a little jealous at her beautiful form.

Galloping at a high speed, they were soon upon us. Only at this point did I look at the man driving the cart. The man was in a full-length coat with one hand holding the reins while the other hand was holding a whip. The man must be a lover of the Victorian times; he was even wearing a bowler hat! The man saw us looking and tipped his hat as he went past. Roy nodded his head in polite greeting while I respectfully looked at the ground in reply.

I looked back up after they had past us. The man was driving a hard pace and I must have been staring at them for a while because Roy tugged on the leash. Immediately embarrassed at my envy, I looked at the ground again. Envy is a sin, and I had just committed it. It would be in my confession later tonight and Roy would decide on my appropriate punishment.

The clubhouse was just a small hut where the drivers can sign in with their DNA signature. Naturally, this means the men. There are several designs of the pony attire for the drivers to choose and as I had expected, Roy picked his favourite. Taking the attire, he led me to the changing room nearby. The leash was unhooked, the attire was given to me and I stepped into the room.

I took off my habit in a hurry. Wearing the habit everyday made this a simple task, but wearing Roy’s favourite pony-girl attire was something else. I started with the corset. It looked like a round metal tube at first, but I stuttered at the sight of it. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the harmless looking round metal tube and lifted it to waist level. Making sure the area for my breast was in the front, I pressed the button to activate the corset. The corset started to shrink in size. Soon it was hugging my body, and then it got smaller. It shrank to the programmed 20-inch waist Roy wanted. I took some time to get used to the corset, cursing the wonders of technology.

When people buy cloths nowadays, they buy one that is about their size. With a press of a discreet button somehow on the cloths, the cloths would shrink to fit the wearer. They call this “liquid clothing technology” but I prefer to call it “liquid torture technology” because on Silhouette they took things a step further. Roy had informed the crew at the clubhouse about the size he wanted and they had programmed it into the corset. The corset is designed to get to the designated size without consideration to the comfort of the wearer. So now my 22-inch waist was in a 20-inch corset, and there’s nothing I can do about it.

With no choice in the matter, I put on the rest of my pony-girl outfit. The hot-pants were cut scandalously short, the boots were knee-high, and the collar was heavy with a ring in front to act as my Eve’s apple. The last part of the outfit was my head harness. It was actually more like a soft helmet than a harness. Putting it over my head, a strap cut across my forehead. Using that as a base, a big strip of leather goes across the top of my head to another strap that cut across the back of my skull. 3 big pink feathers rise out from the big strip of leather. I arranged it so that the feathers would be place directly on top of my head. When it was in place, I pulled the lower mask across my face and strapped it on.

I looked at the mirror to check myself out. The harness covered my lower face, my corset covered my body from my breast to my waist, and my hot-pants barely covered my buttocks. That was all that was covered and to say that I was showing a lot of skin was an understatement. The Church of Shadow only recognises 2 roles for women, the Maiden and the Whore. As a Maiden, women wore the nun habit as a shown of purity, chastity and obedience. As a Whore, there was clothing like this pony-girl outfit.

As I stood looking into the mirror, I couldn’t help but wondered who this woman in the mirror was. When I first met Roy, I was the chief finance officer of an inter-stellar company while he was a space shuttle technician. I was traveling to Mars and he was the technician on the shuttle. A low cost shuttle, space was tight and we met. It was just a bad match. I was 1.9m tall with blond hair and bright green eyes whereas Roy top at 1.65m and was kind of plumb. I even briefly flirted with the idea of being a model during my teenage years. Now I was a faceless woman who is led through the street by a leash and who will soon be pulling her man on a cart like an animal. How did I end up like this? A wave of self-pity came over and tears came to my eyes. “Hurry” The order came in my head as I remembered that Roy was still waiting for me. My husband, lord and master was waiting while I was asking myself stupid questions. I can’t believe what a stupid bitch whore I was.

I quickly folded my habit neatly and came out of the changing room. For once I was glad of Roy’s orders that I was to be always barefoot; wearing boots would have cost me even more time. I kept my eyes down on the ground and offered my habit to R…my lord and master. I could almost feel the questioning look on my master’s face and I resolved to be even more obedient than usual. The leash was hooked on my Eve’s apple and my master led me back to the clubhouse.

After checking in my habit at the clubhouse, he led me to our cart. As I was the only one pulling, Roy only rented a small one. It was a 2-wheel cart with 2 long poles extending in front of it, and a seat with a foldable cover to keep out the rain. It was supposed to be ‘inspired’ by the rickshaws of old colonial days, but I had never saw a real rickshaw before so I can’t make any comparison. I stood between the 2 poles and kneeled. Roy hooked me into the cart as various chains were connected between my corset and the poles. These hooked me to the poles and made it easier for me to pull the cart. Roy then hooked another leash to my Eve’s apple. Roy took the 2 leash and went to sit on the cart. It wasn’t necessary as the track is one-way but Roy, like most men, enjoyed the illusion of control the leash gave him.   

“Up” I stood up as the order came into my head. “Trod” I went into a slow trod as my warm-up began. After about 200 meters, a new order came. “Jog” I quicken my steps as my trod became a jog. After about 400-600 meters, the order I was waiting for came. “Run”

I put my back into it and launched into a run. As the track was 3 kilometers, I tried to pace myself but it was hard. Like most women in Silhouette, my place was at home. In the house from Monday to Saturday, my time was filled with either housework or prayers. I was only allowed outside the house once a week for the weekly grocery shopping, and even then the time was limited. As such, I found that I looked forward to this weekly run. From my talks with other women during our grocery trips, most of my neighbours felt the same. With cars flying over our head and the wind and rain pouring onto our faces and hair, this was the only time we were free from the shackles of the habit and it was a great feeling.

“Slow” The order came as Roy obviously thought I was going too fast. I slowed only a little. I still wanted to run. It was a mistake.

“Pain” I heard the order in my mind, but this time the order wasn’t for me. It was for my brain. As the order came, my brain responded by sending a shock racing through my body. My steps faltered as my body came on fire. In Silhouette, orders come only once. If the whore does not obey, then punishments must be swift. “Stop” As the order came, the pain subsided. I was grateful it only lasted a few seconds, I had heard of some men punishing their whores by making the pain lasted for hours. The longest I ever had was about 40 minutes and even then, I couldn’t move for hours afterwards.

“Jog” I went back into a jog as shame rushed over me. Here I was resolving to be more obedient than usual and I went and screw it up less than 20 minutes later. Without question, I was a stupid whore who deserved to be punished. The rest of the run went without incident. Run, jog, trod, run; I obeyed Roy’s orders without question as we made our way around the track.

As we came back to the clubhouse, Roy signed back in and I changed back to my habit. Then we went back home and my day returned to normal.

Part 3

Our house was located about 15 mins from the clubhouse. Like most houses on Silhouette, we have a prayer room inside it. That’s where I am now. On my knees with my head locked to the ground and my ass high in the air.

This is how I usually spend my evenings. From Monday to Saturday, I spend the mornings and afternoons tending to the house, looking after the 2 children and prepareing for the arrival of Roy in the evening. After eating the dinner, I would wash up the dishes and then Roy would locked me in the prayer room for my daily prayers. As I kneeled there, Roy would take over the duties of looking after the kids in the evenings. The kids look forward to this as they get to spend time with their dad and can do stuff like watch television and use the Galactic Internet. As I’m not allowed to use or even watch the television, the internet, and even the news screens; the kids spent their time with me reading books, cleaning the house or taking afternoon naps. Not actually the things kids aged 8 and 6 liked to do for leisure.

While the kids were enjoying their evening with their father, I am in the prayer room paving my way to heaven. I had exchanged my habit for more relaxed attire. A neat lace headdress covered my hair, and a loose transparent face-veil was covering the lower part of my face. I wore a loose long-sleeve blouse and a pair of loose comfortable pants. I had also exchange the wimple of the habit for a loose collar.

My Eve’s apple was hooked to the ground with my bowed head facing a hologram picture of Precious Alamgir, the Chirst Reborn. It was unthinkable that a woman, a whore, a creature of sin, like myself be allowed to lift my eyes to a picture of the great man, so Roy locked me in tight to the ground. Idle hands do the devil’s work, so my hands are also locked behind me. In my hands was a rosemary and I passed the time by reciting my prayers. In front of a picture of the First Father of the Church of Shadow, I could only hoped that will be enough to save my soul from damnation.

When I got to my 265th prayer, I heard the door being unlocked. A few small footsteps later, a small hand unlocked me from the ground and I heard the commands. “Father want you whore.”

As the leash was attached to my Eve’s apple, I asked my 6 year old son, “May I may stand sir and walked out of the room.”

“Father did not say, so that means no,” Roy Jr. tugged on my leash. “Come on whore.”

“I hear and obey sir,” I shuffled on my knees, following my son out of the prayer room. I was careful to keep my head lower than the height of Roy Jr. For some reason I had less problems thinking of Roy Jr. as my master than I did for Roy. I guessed this was due to the fact that I never knew Roy Jr. as anything other than my master.

When Roy and I got married, I was earning more as I had a better paying job. I even ‘asked’ Roy to sign a pre-nup before our wedding. After the marriage, he wasn’t really a househusband but he no longer took any job that required long distance travel. He found a job as a port technician, repairing space shuttle that were in between trips. It paid a lot less but with my high-paying job, we didn’t really need the money. The job was to keep Roy busy more than anything else.

All that changed when the economy collapsed. The stock markets of the United Federation of Planets (UFP) had been going upwards for years. As they say, the higher you go, the heavier the fall. The bubble burst and the economy went into another depression. Even though we were doing well, the company I worked for had no chance to survive the bloodbath. Thousands, maybe even tens of thousands, of companies in the UFP were faced with bankruptcies in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 2857 and we were not big or strong enough to survive. Suddenly I was out of a job and as credit tighten; we had problems paying off the mortgages on our house.

There was a severe shortage of jobs for an out-of-work chief finance officer, and Roy’s job became more important to us. As it doesn’t pay much, Roy began sourcing for another job. He found one from a small planet millions of miles from Earth. Nestled on the outskirts of the charted galaxy, Silhouette was an anomaly. It was one of the few planets humans had colonized that was still free of pollution, mostly due to the religious doctrines of the people. More importantly for us, they were willing to double his pay.

Roy said yes and then he was away. For 3 years we were separated before I finally had enough of sitting on Earth waiting for the economy to turn. That was about 10 years ago.

“The whore is here father.” Roy Jr. announced. As I stopped behind my son, I could fell my leash being handed over to Roy. A tug on my leash and I shuffled over to Roy. Roy told me before that he loved the sight of me on my knees with my head to the ground. I was moving my head to the floor to please him when the order came in my head “Look”.

I lifted my head as ordered but kept my eyes downward as required. A hand came under my chin and I gently let the hand lift my head up. I saw Roy sitting there with a smile on his head. A movement at the side caused me to glance over to my daughter, Rachel. She was dressed similar to me but without the face-veil. As she was unmarried, an indoor face-veil was a privilege she had yet to earned.

“I hope you have enjoyed your run today.”

“I have my lord. Thank you for allowing me this joy.”

“I am glad. Do you have any sins to confess today whore?”

“Yes my lord.”

“Tell me.”

I started with the usual. “My sins start with my birth because women are whores, creatures of sin. Women are weak with less ability in both mind and body, and my sins are that I required a man to guide me to my path to salvation.” Once those were out of the way came my failings for the today. “My sins are also for remembering of my times on Earth before I reached the holy planet and received the holy teachings. Today I committed the sin of envy. My envy is to the beauty of the redhead pony-girl that captured my eye today at the track. I thought of obeying you my master in all things but I was unable to hold on to my own promise for more than a few minutes once I started my run.”

“You know the sins you have committed today whore?”

“Yes my lord.”

“Tell me.”

“The sin of envy, the sin of remembrance and the sin of disobedience.”

“That plus you sin of being a whore makes it impossible for me not to punish you today.”

“I beg my lord to guide me on my path to salvation. Punish me so that even a whore like myself may one day be saved from damnation.” I can feel tears coming to my eyes as I said this. Part fear, part relief, part acceptance; this was my life on Silhouette. Outside the peace of my prayers; the boredom of housework; my days were also filled with the pain of my punishments.

Gently Roy lowered the veil on my face with one hand, this was the only time when my children saw me without a face-veil, with his other hand Roy showed my holy bit to me. Shaped like a man’s penis, Roy put it in front of my mouth. “Take this bit while you suffer whore. Remember your sins and repent.”

I opened my mouth and took the bit into my mouth like I would a man’s penis. “Kiss the ground whore.” I threw myself at the ground. Laying there on my belly, I felt my legs being shackled. “I take no pleasure in this but I must as your lord and master do this. Lay there and suffer whore. Repent for your sins.”

And then it begins. The one word that was terror to all women in the Church of Shadow. The thought came into my head, “Pain”.

I whimpered and thrashed but to my avail. My hands and feet were locked useless as fire raged in my body. The neurons in my brain worked their magic as shocks after shocks raced through my body. Then relief came. “Stop” The neurons stopped the moment the order came. I lay there motionless as the pain in my body slowly subsided. I then felt Roy’s feet pressing my head to the ground.

“You have confess your sins whore and have received just punishment. With my ears, I hear your sins. With my command, I gave you punishment. With this foot on your face, I Roy Turner, a lay priest of the Church of Shadow grant your sins forgiven for today. Be grateful whore for tomorrow is a new day and the sins of a whore is forever. Be grateful for your purity however short it last. Amen.”

With a painful breath I whispered. “Amen”

Later…

Roy wasted no time. There was no foreplay, no words spoken, and no commands given. Roy got into bed and just took me. As I had been lying on the bed waiting for my lord and master, this wasn’t that surprising. I opened my legs wide and waited for the order in my head.

“Pleasure” The order came in my head and pleasure flooded my body. Roy entered me without any word and my body’s reaction was immediate. I felt absolute total joy as the neutrons filled my body full of endorphins. Emotions can be ‘manufactured’ by the neutrons but it didn’t matter. Who cares if machines manufactured it when it felt like this?  I didn’t care because as usual it was my best normal orgasm plus 10. Somehow the Church of Shadow has found a way to make the neutrons do this. As a whore, I never knew how but I do not care. The pleasure I felt now made it a fool’s question.

The pleasure I felt now made all the pain, suffering and humiliation worth it. It was behavior modification taken to the extreme. Officer Johnson was right about one thing; it was a method of mind control. The Church made their whores so happy that its no wonder hard-nosed drill-sergeants became doormats. If Officer Johnson were here, she would do anything she was told just to make sure she could have pleasure like this every night. All she had to do was obey. Which was what every women on Silhouette did. We obey and we got to taste heaven like this.

It lasted minutes but to me it was like hours. I cum just as Roy did and as I lay on the bed, I heard Roy’s whisper. “You did well today whore. Be as obedient tomorrow and I shall give you heaven again.”

He turned away to switch off the lights. As my lord and master lay down to sleep, I laid on the bed feeling heaven leaving me and vowing to do anything to have it back. All I have to do…is to obey.