17.1201-0800 The Weighted Armbinder

@24.0911-1544.99 by Atx

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Dear Marla,

The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air as James and I sat at the kitchen table. I had mentioned my fascination with armbinders, but how impractical they were for housekeeping. I need my arms free to chop vegetables, stir sauces, and wipe down counters.

This morning, James handed me a small, neatly wrapped box. "This is just a prototype," he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Turn around. Let's get this on you."

The first thing I felt was the leather straps of the harness as he secured it around my shoulders. It did not have the traditional sleeve of most armbinder designs. It had a double pulley system attached, unlike any armbinder I had seen before. The pulleys were smooth and about 3-4 fingers in diameter, positioned in the middle of my back.

James then fastened arm cuffs just above my elbows. The rope was rough against my latex skin as he clipped one end to a cuff and fed the other through one of the pulleys, letting it dangle at my feet.

"Now the fun part begins," he said, grinning.

From the box he pulled out a larger, loose pulley and fed the rope through it and up to the second pulley on my back. The rope was taut as he tied it off at the cuff on my other arm. I could feel the tension pulling gently at my elbows.

Next, James reached under the table and produced an empty one-gallon milk jug. He clipped it onto the largem loose pulley. I watched as he filled the jug with water from the sink.

As the jug filled, I felt the weight pulling my elbows, inexorably, toward the middle of my back. I could not escape it.

"A gallon of water weighs about 7.5 pounds," James explained. "This two-pulley system cuts that in half, so the tension you are feeling at your elbows is about 3.75 pounds."

He held out his hand to me. "Here, shake my hand."

I extended my right arm, feeling the resistance of the rope and the weight of the jug. The pulleys shifted with each movement, a soft squeak from one of them accompanying the motion. When we unclasped our hands, the weight of the milk jug almost snapped my elbow back to the center of my back, "where they're supposed to be".

"Try putting your arms straight out in front," James instructed.

The milk jug rose even higher as I extended both arms, and I could really feel the weight resisting this movement. My shoulders ached slightly from the effort.

We experimented with less water in the jug, finding that about one pound was the minimum weight needed to make the system work effectively. James then smiled and said, "Oh, I think you and Hevea will have fun playing with this!"

He emptied the jug and then put a liter or so of water back into it and replaced the cap. Again, I could feel the weight tugging my elbows together at my back. It was not a lot, but it was a constant reminder of its presence.

"Now take it off, Thalia," James said.

"How?" I asked, feeling the cool metal of the buckles against my fingers.

"Just start undoing the buckles on the harness," he replied.

The harness fell off easily, and I felt a sudden sense of freedom. James then smirked and reached into his pocket. I noticed the hasps on each of the two buckles had eyelets for a padlock.

Click! Click!

I was trapped in the harness. I could not take it off. James placed the keys next to the timer on the kitchen counter and set it to five minutes. "Let's try a little test drive. I also see that I need to adjust the length of the rope."330767

I extended my arms as far out as possible. He tugged on the rope to pull the milk jug to my lower back and then tied it off. Now, when I relaxed my arms, the pulleys let the jug down to a point level with my mid-thighs.

"Could you try washing some dishes, please? Tell me what you feel as you do," he asked.

The first time I reached for a plate, I immediately felt the light yet firm tug of that liter of water behind me. I also felt the pulleys and rope shifting with every little movement I made with my arms. One of the pulleys squeaked.

It did not take long for my shoulders to start to hurt. Each movement had a cost, but there was a strange satisfaction in the challenge.

This version maintains the key details while adding sensory elements and reducing the overall length.