Kept Under Wraps: Part One

Nurse Elise delivers the news cold. Kino Payne’s accident means two months sealed in a full body medical wrap. He takes it like a man at first. Then the weight of it sinks in. She starts at his head and works down, winding the wrap tight until his body holds a seated shape. The form lets her spin him, slide him, keep him exactly where she wants. Once he’s mummified head to toe, she presses a small vibrating pad against the wraps to push blood through and stir his endorphins for the stretch ahead. The buzz hits, and Kino’s mind slips. He reads her touch as an invitation and blurts out what he wants from her. Elise’s voice drops. She reminds him exactly who she is and what this is: nurse and patient, nothing else. Boundaries snap back into place. Part Two waits with a wooden stick and a plastic bag.