At the end of each journey, Esther longed for the quiet atmosphere of her office. She dreamed of sitting behind her computer at her clean desk with a cup of coffee within easy reach. Esther was a reporter for a glossy magazine. She travelled a lot and wrote articles about faraway countries, strange cultures and peculiar habits. Her own photographs often accompanied her articles.
She enjoyed being back at her office, but after a few weeks time the itching started again and she began making plans for another trip.
This time she was planning a trip to a remote kingdom at the border of India. She had collected a lot of material and she was very curious whether all the rumours she had gathered from different sources had any truth in them. The kingdom she was going to visit was called Rahjnipour and it was completely surrounded by mountains. The people in this country were not affected by modern times and no visitors were allowed. It was reigned by a dynasty of maharajas going back to the 12Th century.
There was one thing in particular that made Esther very curious: rumours said, that the maharaja did not allow any ordinary women in his presence, because one of his predecessors had once been attacked by a crazy woman and had almost died. Since then it had become a rule in the royal palace that only women who were incapable of causing any harm were allowed to serve the king or be in his presence. These women were rendered harmless by the amputation of several limbs…
What made this horrible custom fascinating, was that the women appeared to be proud of their mutilation. According to the stories Esther had heard, the women learned to cope with their handicaps remarkably well. They were able to perform almost any task regardless of their lost limbs.
The reason that Esther was curious was, that she was an amputee herself…
Esther Rosenberg was born in Israel in 1961. She was the daughter of David and Miriam Rosenberg, both doctors in a Tel Aviv hospital. She grew up in a country that from time to time was ravaged by violence. It was a few days after her eighteenth birthday that disaster struck.
She had been preparing for her final exams all day and had decided to spend the evening with a number of friends in a popular cafe in the centre of the town. Esther was a beautiful, tall girl with a mass of black curls. She had a nice figure with long legs, a narrow waist and large breasts. She was ashamed of her heavy breasts, they bothered her in her movements and they attracted a lot of attention. Israel being a very warm country, she couldn't hide them by wearing a big sweater. She often stooped, pulling her shoulders forward in an attempt to conceal her breasts. Her parents often chided her and told her to correct her posture. They said that she should be proud of her body.
But Esther wasn't and she planned to have plastic surgery to reduce the size of her breasts as soon as she had enough money. Being eighteen now, she was allowed to make her own decision.
That night she was walking to the cafe in one of Tel Aviv's busiest streets, when a bomb, placed in a trashcan, exploded. The people closest to the explosion were instantly killed. Sarah heard the explosion and felt her legs being swept away from under her body. She fell down and was unconscious.
The bomb was placed in the garbage can by Palestinian terrorists. The home-made bomb contained a heavy charge of dynamite and shrapnel was added to maximise the effect. The force of the explosion had hurtled hundreds of fragments through the air. Many of these fragments hit Esther in the legs. Her left leg was practically severed just above the knee, her right leg was hardly better off.
The Israelis, used to this kind of terrorism swiftly brought the surviving victims to the hospital.
Esther's mother was on duty . She was horrified to discover that her own daughter was one of the victims. She refused to operate on her daughter but insisted to attend while her colleague surgeon did the best he could. Esther had lost a lot of blood and for a while it was not certain if she was going to live.
The surgeon eyes looked up while he was doing his gruesome work: he amputated what was left of Esther's left leg just above the knee and sewed the remaining flesh shut, taking care that the scars were at the side of the stump, leaving the surface of the stump smooth. It made him sick to be having to perform such a mutilating operation on such a young and pretty girl. He shifted his attention to the blackened remnants of Esther's right leg. Again he looked up into the eyes of his colleague, Ester's mother. It was obvious that this leg could not be saved either. While tears streamed down from her eyes, upon her surgical mask, Miriam Rosenthal indicated the surgeon to proceed. The surgeon cut away the singed, dead flesh and hesitated. Maybe he was able to save part of Esther's knee. Esther's mother saw what he was trying to do and broke the silence: "Don't bother to save part of her knee. She will never walk again, so she will be better off if both her stumps are the same size. Please amputate at the same height."
The surgeon agreed with her and took care that Esther's right stump was exactly as long as her left one. Again he made sure that the scars were at the side.
As a result of the loud explosion, the poor girl's eardrums were pierced. Strangely enough, the upper half of Esther's body had no other injuries.
Esther's shortened body was wheeled away and she was brought to Intensive Care. Her mother accompanied her.
It had taken Esther months to recuperate and to get used to her new body. She learned to use a wheelchair, and (which was much harder) learned to ignore the stares. How people stared at her when she wheeled past. Men did not know where to look first: at her large breasts or at the stumps of her legs. Many women were embarrassed and looked away. Children often asked questions. They wanted to know what happened to her legs. Most of the time Esther answered truthfully. In Israel it's no use trying to keep children ignorant.
One of the people who were most useful in the process of Esther's recovery was her aunt Ruth. Ruth was her mother's younger sister, only eight years Esther's senior. She and Esther could have been twins: they had the same build and the same hair. Of course their resemblance had now become less, Esther missing both her legs. But the strange thing was, that Ruth was also an amputee. She had lost her right arm in a traffic accident when she was only twelve. For as long as Esther could remember, Ruth had worn a prosthetic right arm. Ruth preferred an old fashioned artificial arm. It consisted of a double hook, which she was able to operate by flexing her shoulder. She had become very dextrous with it and could perform almost any task with it.
It was Ruth who told Esther stories about her recovery, her fears and her shame. Ruth told that every person she met stared at her artificial arm. She had gotten used to it. "I just wait a few seconds. It takes a number of seconds for them to realise that they are being rude, staring at my hook. When they finally look me in the eyes they are always blushing. I'm used to being surrounded by redskins."
Ruth made sure that Esther started rehabilitating therapy as soon as was medically possible. "Don't allow the muscles in your stumps to atrophy", she said. It had taken some time for Esther to get used to these words: your stumps. Ruth had not been sentimental: "That's what they are honey, so let's call them that." Ruth told Esther that she should make use of her stumps as much as possible. "You are not planning to sit in a wheelchair all the time, are you? You will need your stumps for swimming, walking and lovemaking." When she saw the sad expression on Esther's face she assured the handicapped girl that soon she would engage in all those activities. And she had been right. With regard to sex, Esther had had to wait until she was nineteen, when a sweet and gentle boy had made love to her but very soon she was swimming and making her first tentative steps with her stumps.
She used leather stump-boots, laced at the front. When she was first confronted with them, she had to swallow hard. They were fur lined inside and made to fit her thigh-stumps smugly . The soles were made of heavy rubber, and soon she was able to put her weight on her stumps. She waddled rather than walked and knew it was an ungainly sight to see her move in this way. Her laborious way of walking had of course its effect on her large breasts. The big orbs jumped up and down and swayed left to right. When she tried to stop their wild swinging, she almost lost balance because she needed her arms to keep balance. She felt completely humiliated when people looked at her peculiar gait and swinging boobs but she persevered: she didn't want to be dependant of her wheelchair all the time.
And, of course, in time she learned to ignore the stares. She used her red wheelchair to cover great distances and let herself down on the floor when she had reached her destination. She learned how to climb into chairs, because she preferred to sit on ordinary chairs, and to view things from that height, not from the floor's point of view.
She often wore her stump-boots, or cut-off jeans, but she had her stumps always covered. She didn't want people to see them.
She lived on her own, and her flat was customised to her special needs: the floors were covered in soft carpets, the chairs were low and in the kitchen everything was three feet lower than usual. She was able to cook standing on her short thigh-stumps, making little steps from oven to sink.
She didn't have many friends, but she didn't mind much. She preferred to read, study and watch television.
Again it was her aunt Ruth who played a major part in her getting her job. Aunt Ruth had persuaded Esther to join her for a swim and when they were resting afterwards she asked her niece if she was interested in a job as a reporter. Esther remembered that day vividly. She remembered the stares when she came out of the cabin, the period of relative calm when she was in the water (and people couldn't see that she was handicapped), and the stares when she hauled herself out of the water and carried her upper body using her strong arms to swing it forwards, her stumps pointing forward. Many spectators tried to be inconspicuous , but it was obvious that they couldn't keep their eyes off the legless girl and her companion, with only one arm.
Ruth had persuaded her to go to a friend of hers, editor of a magazine, who was looking for a reporter. Esther had gathered all her courage and had gone. The interview went well and she had been hired. From that day on her life changed. She mingled a lot more and got the taste of travelling. She had made dozens of trips when she first heard of Rahjnipour and decided to go there.
Esther was one of the very few people who never complained about lack of legroom in aeroplanes. Her flight to Accra had been uneventful. Her luggage had been taken care of and the stewardess had found a convenient spot for her folded wheelchair. She had tried to concentrate on her book, but was disturbed by the young man who was sitting next to her. The boy couldn't avert his eyes from the legless lap of the beautiful girl with the big breasts sitting next to him. Several times he tried to strike up a conversation and it had taken her a considerable effort to convince the man that she wished to be left alone.
There had been some awkward moments when a steward wanted to carry her from the plane upon arrival. She asked the man to put her wheelchair ready just outside the plane and made her way to it sitting on her bum, swinging her body through the arc of her arms. The stewardess followed with her flightcase.
It took her five more days to reach the border of Rahjnipour, and there she had to find a way to enter the magic kingdom, forbidden to every foreigner.
Working as a reporter, she had become rather good in finding ways to open doors that were closed to most people. She had come to rely on the bewilderment she often caused when people first met her. Most of them were not used to being accosted by a beautiful young lady in a wheelchair, with magnificent breasts and a mass of dark curls. They were so taken aback by the sight of her legless body, that they gave in easily to every request she made.
So when she asked the local innkeeper for a way to enter the kingdom of Rahjnipour, he suggested that she go along with his cousin, who paid regular visits to do business with citizens of that little kingdom.
The innkeeper was glad to be of assistance and soon she was underway. Her red wheelchair was tucked away in the back of the old van and she sat next to the innkeeper's cousin.
The residency of the maharajah was a rambling, large collection of low dwellings surrounding the castle. It was quite big, and Esther was glad that she would be able to go around without attracting too much attention.
Because Esther, being a native Israeli, was olive skinned, she didn't look any different than the inhabitants of the city. And the fact that she had no legs did not attract attention because there were many women with missing limbs. For the first time since her legs were amputated Esther did not feel the odd one out. The busy streets were filled with women who transported themselves sitting on low wooden carts with small wheels. They used wooden blocks to push themselves forward. Esther was amazed at the fact how easily and naturally the legless women navigated through the milling people. Esther saw only handicapped women, no men and she was quite sure about the reason for this contradictory situation. Her heart began beating faster: she was on a trail!
She decided that she was not going to use her red wheelchair, that would be far to conspicuous. She asked her driver to help her, and in no time he obtained for her some clothes and an old wooden cart, such as the women in the street were using. Two worn wooden blocks lay on it. Esther moved her body towards the plank and lifted her buttocks on top of it. She took the blocks in her hands and pushed with them, causing the cart to move forward. She almost lost balance, but soon she found the correct movements and she propelled herself round the courtyard of the inn. She thanked the driver and arranged with him to be picked up in a week's time.
She went to her little room and put on the old brown dress. It just covered her stumps. It was time to hit the town and find access to the royal palace. As she rolled into the street she was thinking of the Pulitzer prize winning article she was going to write.
Esther succeeds in establishing contact with one of the Maharaja's servants. Ravi is a beautiful young woman with no legs. She tells Esther that she was brought to the palace when she was fifteen, her parents received a modest amount of money and Ravi was immediately taken to the hospital belonging to the palace. There they had amputated both her legs ten centimetres below her hips. When her wounds had healed she had been taken to the palace, where she had to perform all kinds of domestic tasks. She used a wooden plank on wheels to move around.
Ravi confirmed the story Esther had already heard: the maharajah did not allow any able-bodied woman in his vicinity because he was afraid of an attack. One of his ancestors had nearly been killed by a madwoman and since that day every woman working in the palace had to be rendered harmless before being allowed to come near him.
Esther was dying to see the palace from the inside and was delighted by the fact that for the very first time her handicap would be an asset, not a limitation. She offered Ravi a lot of money and persuaded her to take her inside the palace. Esther would be able to watch everything from close up. Ravi rearranged Esther's hair, to make it look more like the hairdo of a servant and scrutinised Esther's appearance. She fussed with Esther's dress, trying to smooth the fabric in front, but did not succeed. Esther's large breasts remained a very prominent sight. Ravi worried about that: the native women had all relatively small breasts and Esther stood out in that respect.
Esther persuaded her and together they pushed themselves forward in the direction of the palace. Ravi moved effortlessly through the traffic. Esther had interviewed her and had asked her how she had felt when she woke up after her legs had been amputated. Ravi had told her that in the first few weeks she had been very sad, because she had been a good runner and swimmer. She would never be able to engage in that kind of activities again. But she had been glad for her parents: they had received quite a lot of money for their daughter, so they would be able to extend the little shop they owned. Ravi knew that she would be presented with a large sum of money when she left the Maharajah's service. She would have to leave when she was twenty-eight. The maharajah only wanted young women around. She was planning to start a little sewing business with her gratification and marry soon. Esther had looked questionably at her when she talked about marriage, but Ravi had assured her that girls who had been in the maharaja's service were very popular among the men. They were rich, and the fact that they had no legs was by no means a problem. "I am still capable of giving birth", Ravi exclaimed. She had giggled: "And some say men like sex with a legless woman even more!"
Esther had ample opportunity to investigate the situation inside the palace. It was very strange for her to be surrounded by legless women. She felt that the fact that the maimed girls were part of a large group of companions made it much easier for them to cope. Most girls seemed happy and they moved around as if this had been their condition since birth. But Ravi assured Esther that all these girls one time had ad two healthy legs.
There was one part of the palace that was strictly forbidden for most of the people. Ravi told Esther that these were the private quarters of the maharajah. Here he had his special harem. When Esther asked questions about this harem, Ravi refused to answer. Esther was not able to persuade her to tell anything. Ravi just kept silent and looked the other way whenever Esther brought up the subject.
This of course only served to fuel Esther's curiosity.
Esther grabbed her chance the following morning. She saw a number of girls on their skateboards move in the direction of the gate to the private part of the castle and hurried to join them. The girls pushed a trolley on which all kinds of food were heaped. The looked at Esther questioningly, but did not raise the alarm. The gate was opened and Esther was inside. When she was out of sight of the guard, she thanked the girls and went in a different direction. Her heart was beating fast, because she was taking quite a risk. She did not know how the guards would react if they found out that there was an intruder. She moved forward slowly, making no noise when she pushed the plank on which she sat forward with the wooden blocks. The corridor came to an end. When she reached the end she saw that she was on a balcony overlooking a large hall. There were a lot of people in that hall and Esther moved slowly to the balustrade in order to have a good look.
Her eyes registered what she was seeing but her brain refused to believe it. The surface of the hall was covered with rugs and cushions and on these dozens of girls reclined, crawled or sat talking. Every one of the girls was a quadruple amputee..
For a few second Esther had forgotten to breathe. She could only think of one thing: what a story this would be! A whole harem filled with mutilated girls!
Fumbling she took from the pocket of her dress the small camera. She checked the settings and started to make photos. She was so engrossed in it that she didn't notice the man who approached her from behind. She felt his arm grabbing her and was able to put her elbow in his stomach. This gave her the opportunity to turn her little cart around and she started racing away, her arms pushing like mad. She didn't have the blocks so she used her hands to push. Her assailant was recovering from the punch in his stomach and was racing after the invalid girl. She was no match for him, within ten meters he had caught up with her and he knocked her from her cart. She fell on the ground and hit her head, dizzying her. She was faintly aware that her dress has ridden up and her stumps were flailing in the air. Her attacker pointed a sword at her and talked to her in a language she didn't understand. Esther pulled down her dress, sat down on the floor and started to speak in English, slowly.
She saw that the guard had picked up her camera and she pointed at it, gesturing that she wanted it back.
The guard pored over it and found the latch which opened it. To Esther's chagrin he removed the film
and dropped it to the floor.
Esther protested, but was suddenly yanked upright by her hair. The guard had her hair in his grip and was pulling her along. The poor girl couldn't do anything but trying to avoid her hair being pulled out. She screamed, but the guard paid no attention. She was able to put her stumps down and used them to waddle along as fast as she could, while the guard kept pulling her hair.
The guard brought her to his superior, and there was a lot of commotion. She was treated very roughly. It didn't help that she shouted continuously that she was a journalist. They stripped her of her clothes, in spite of her protests and she was locked up in a little room. She was very afraid now and thought of how she was going to escape from this awkward situation. She didn't hear a sound and for hours nobody paid any attention to her. She was cold, and her body automatically wanted to take the position suitable for preserving her body warmth: her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms around them. But she had no knees. She let her raised stumps drop down again and sat shivering with her back against the wall, stumps pointing forward.
She sat there for four hours. The only thing that happened during that time was the opening of a peephole through which someone watched her for several minutes. She felt very vulnerable without her clothes. She covered her large naked breasts with her arms, but knew that her stumps were in full view.
She was glad when at last the door opened and someone entered. It was a small man with a pointy beard. He introduced himself, he was the maharaja's vizier. He spoke English very well. A servant brought a chair on which he sat down. He had a little notebook and made notes while he interviewed her.
Esther had had ample opportunity to consider her predicament and had resolved to tell the truth, that she was a reporter looking for a story and intended no harm. But first she demanded her clothes back. It was difficult for her to be firm, because she had several disadvantages: she was speaking from a low position and she was naked. She was quite used to the first, but the fact that she was completely naked in front of a strange man made her feel very insecure. So her demand was not as powerful as she had intended. In fact, it sounded more like a plea. The vizier considered the question and refused. "First you give me the answers I need, then I give you your clothes", he said.
Esther couldn't do anything but obey. She answered the questions and hoped that everything would be over soon.
The vizier wanted to know everything about her, not only how she had got into the castle (she did not mention Ravi's name) but also her personal history. How had she lost her legs, was she able to walk on her stumps, and so on.
Esther thought that the answers to those questions were personal, but knew that not answering them would only cause delay. She was very cold know , her bum felt numb and her teeth were chattering.
After many questions the vizier was satisfied. He closed his book and stood up. He looked down on the frightened girl and shook his head. This worried Esther, but when she saw him leaving the room without paying further attention to her, she gave a cry:" You promised to give me my clothes!"
As an afterthought, the vizier said something to a guard outside the door. A few minutes later a blanket was thrown into the room. Esther slid to it and wrapped it around her. Suddenly the lights went out and Esther felt her way to the corner of the room, She pulled the blanket around her as best as she could and closed her eyes.
It was the coldest night the poor handicapped girl had ever experienced .
The next morning two legless girls entered Esther's cell. They had brought a beautifully crafted oak cart, especially designed to be used by a person without legs. It was far more beautiful than her old cart she had left behind when she was taken away by the guard. They also had a simple dress for her. The girls motioned her to climb on the car and follow them. They had similar carts and used them with extraordinary ease and grace. It was obvious that they had used these carts for quite a long time.
Esther had no difficulty in following the girls and was glad to be moving again. The exercise of moving along dispelled the cold from her body. She looked left and right and was awed by the wealth and opulence of this part of the palace.
They reached a large room, with lots of luxurious carpets and cushions. There she was left alone. Esther slid from her cart and sat on a cushion, taking in her surroundings. Suddenly there was a humming sound and a huge curtain started to slide away revealing a big window, replacing one of the walls from top to ceiling. It was quite dark behind the window and Esther squinted her eyes to see what was behind the glass. She was able to see the figure of a small man sitting on a big throne.
Suddenly there was a voice, coming from a hidden loudspeaker.
The voice commanded her to get nearer to the big window. Esther complied and moved in the direction of the huge glass wall. She recognised the voice: it was the vizier's. The voice continued to speak, ordering her to take her clothes off. When she indignantly refused, the vizier offered in a cold voice to send in a male servant to assist her. Esther knew that this was not an idle threat and undressed reluctantly. She looked at the figure behind the glass wall and suddenly realised who he was. This had to be the maharajah! Finally she laid eyes upon him. It was a neat, small man with a small beard and sharp eyes. She saw that he spoke to the vizier, who was standing next to him. The vizier brought a microphone to his lips and she heard his voice through the speakers. He ordered her to move around, turn around and walk a few steps on her stumps. Esther felt a blush rising in her cheeks but decided that resistance was of no use. She paraded round, as asked, and felt humiliated.
She decided to try getting the initiative and asked the vizier to be introduced. She did not know if she was heard and she repeated her question. Still no answer. She sat down on a large cushion and realised that the men in the other room had left. With a soft burring sound the curtain resumed its old position in front of the glass wall. Esther sighed, took up her dress and put it on. She sat down and waited.
Suddenly the door was thrown open and two men entered. One of them picked her up effortlessly and carried her out of the room. Esther was surprised and forgot to protest. The men walked hurriedly through several corridors and did not answer her questions about where they were taking her.
It turned out to be a hospital. There were many beds in a row, some of them occupied. The orderly opened a door for his companion who carried Esther and they entered a room. Esther immediately knew where she was: she was in an operating theatre..
She was gently laid upon the table and the men left. Esther's heart beat fast. She was very much alarmed know. Why had they taken her to this room? What was going to happen? She thought of trying to escape, but the table she was on was quite high, too high for her to get off.
Another door burst open and three or four masked people entered, fully dressed in hospital gowns. They all held their hands in sterile gloves in the air. Esther swallowed hard. They came to her and someone pushed her gently down on the table, while another prepared a syringe filled with a clear liquid. She was held down by two pairs of strong hands and she felt the needle going into her upper arm . She screamed and screamed until darkness overwhelmed her.
Two weeks later an orderly helped her sit upright. A nurse came with a surgical tray and put it on the bed next to Sarah. Without speaking she gently rolled up the sleeve of Esther's night-gown, revealing the bandaged stump of her right arm. The bandages were cut away with a pair of scissors and one could see a round stump of about 8 centimetres with a scar at the tip. The flesh was red and tender. The same procedure was performed on Esther's left side. There too, only an 8 centimetre stump was all that was left of her arm.
Very soon after the operation Esther had realised that both her arms had been amputated, presumably at the request of the maharajah. The initial shock and panic had been replaced by some kind of resigned aloofness, as if this terrible thing had happened to someone else. She accepted the food she was being fed, being washed and being put on the chamber pot. She was completely helpless and could not do a single thing for herself. She just lay back while her body healed. Once a day she obediently swallowed a pill that someone put in her mouth. This medication was responsible for her quietness.
She looked at her armstumps without much interest and watched them flip up and down as a result of involuntary contractions of her muscles.
Now an elderly lady wheeled herself into the room, siting on a beautifully crafted wooden cart. She had no legs, of course. This lady motioned to an orderly that she wanted Esther to be put on a cushion at ground level. The man immediately obeyed and lifted the legless and armless girl up and put her down on the cushion, her back against the wall.
When she was at the same eye level as Esther, she began to talk. She spoke English and her message was clear: Esther should be glad to be one of the Chosen. For the rest of her life she would be taken care of, she would never need to work anymore, she would be able to concentrate completely on her one and only task: to please their lord, the maharajah.
Other girls were envious and would have given everything to change places with her.
Esther listened to the woman but did not react. After a while the lady disappeared and Esther was lifted back in bed . That evening she did not receive a pill.
Slowly Esther surfaced. She became more acutely aware of her surroundings and of what had happened to her. She was brought to a gym everyday and there she worked out on machines especially designed for the limbless. Here she saw numerous girls, amputated like she was, exercising. They lifted weights with their short stumps and trained in sitting up, rolling over, climbing in chairs. All the girls were slender, but their breasts were ample without exception . They were very friendly for Esther and tried to speak with her in broken English. They were all waiting for their golden moment, to be invited to the maharaja's bedroom.
Esther had plenty opportunity to ruminate about the things she had learned in the past. She remembered the old myth about the maharajah not allowing any women in his presence who were able to cause him harm. The girls she now was with were rendered completely harmless. They had such short stumps for arms and legs that they were completely unable to inflict any harm.
For a while Esther had refused to work out. She wanted to be left alone, she wanted to die. But somehow a life-power took over and she decided not to despair. Although she was severely maimed, she was determined to escape and to find her way back home. For that she needed all her strength and ability and that was why she went along full swing with the training program. She remembered how she had fought when she had lost her legs and now she fought again. But how difficult it was! Every move she made had to be calculated, because she had hardly any balance. Numerous times she fell on her face, not being able to break her fall with her arms. But the carpeting was very thick, so only her pride hurt.
Eventually she learned to keep her balance, to sit without falling over and after lots of training, to "walk" again on her stumps. She made very small steps and stretched her little armstumps to their full extent to help keeping her balance. This way she could slowly cross the room without falling. She had noticed that no other girl ever "walked" on their stumps. This probably had to do with the fact that most girl's stumps were shorter and that they felt no need to move around in this way. They were catered for in every way, so they had no reason to move around independently. Esther planned to keep it a secret that she was able to move around, albeit slowly, because it might be of use for escape.
So she played as if she was completely dependent on help, which in many ways she was of course. She couldn't eat, drink or go to the bathroom without help and this infuriated her. The other girls had no problem whatsoever with being helped all the time but Esther resolved to be independent again, one day. She asked to be fitted with artificial arms, but was only laughed at.
At nights, especially, she would be overwhelmed with grief. She lay awake, staring at the ceiling and thought of her former life. Even if she were able to escape somehow from this terrible place, what life lay ahead of her? A quadruple amputee, completely helpless, always stared at by people, she would never find a boyfriend, always be alone and pitied.
Tears would stream from her eyes and she would use her little armstumps to wipe them away. Sometimes she would lay thinking longingly of her job, but every time her fantasy would be shattered by the image of her mutilated body sitting in front of her computer, eyes staring at the keys, no hands or fingers to press them.
There was only one way for Esther to avoid sinking away in a dark pool of depression, and that was trying to keep fit and strong and thinking of one step at a time, the first step being: getting away.
Esther was not aware of the fact that her friends at the office were trying hard to trace her. They had pulled strings and had involved the Israeli government and the Mossad in their search. When they had not heard from their handicapped friend for six weeks, they had begun their search. Now, four months after Esther's disappearance, they were on her trail. The Mossad agent had found the village where the invalid reporter had started and it would only take him hours to find out that she had gone to the maharajah's castle.
As David Ben Gurion, a grandson of the former prime minister was heading for the castle, a group of ecstatically chattering women surrounded Esther. She was taken to the communal bathroom and there her limbless body was undressed, washed and perfumed . She kept asking what they were doing to her, but there was no reply. Her hair was shampooed and brushed, and many hands massaged her with scented oil. The girls who attended to her were all legless, of course, and the scooted around her, chattering all the while, turning the limbless girl this way than that, while they massaged the oil into her skin, paying special attention to the round soft tips of her stumps. They made lots of comments on their victim's large breasts, lifting them and feeling their weight in their palms. They made all sorts of smutty remarks and suddenly Esther understood: this was going to be "her night "! They were going to bring her to the maharajah, to spend the night with him. The ruler had made sure that she couldn't possibly hurt him, and now he wanted to have sex with her.
Evidently, she ought to have felt very flattered, but the only feeling she had was one of bitter resentment. That little coward, mutilating girls because he was afraid of them, should she be glad to be fucked by him? She ïd rather bite off his nose!
As if the servants attending to her had read her thoughts, one of them pulled a strange contraption over her head. In an attempt to see what it was, Esther withdrew her head and tried, cross-eyed to see the object.
It was made of metal and leather and it was attached with buckles so that a metal bar was in front of her mouth. She focused her eyes and saw that is was made of gold studded with diamonds. It was heavy and it pulled her head forward. She had to strain the muscles in her neck to keep her head up. Suddenly she realised its purpose: it was a muzzle making it impossible for her to bite! She shook her head but the object remained in place. She stuck out her tongue and tasted the dull shining metal. She saw the other women smile when she tried to push the thing from her head using both her armstumps. It wouldn't budge and Esther stared ahead angrily. She felt humiliated. Back in Israel they used this on dogs.
The women now started to apply makeup to Esther's face. She couldn't see everything, but she saw that they used a lot of gold, dark green and blue. When they had finished with her face, they also applied makeup to her breasts and nipples. They pulled her backwards, spread her stumps and even started to paint the lips of her vagina. Esther wanted to protest, but realised that it was useless.
When at last they were ready they put her on a cushioned cart and wheeled her in front of a mirror. Esther gasped at the sight. She saw a beautiful girl, her face painted in an oriental style, black hair shining, skin blushing, limbs ending in soft rounded stumps, the torso dominated by two large round breasts, nipples painted scarlet. The bottom half of her face was partly obscured by a beautifully crafted golden object in which sparkling diamonds were set. She couldn't tear her eyes from the sight. She knew that most people would shiver at the thought of a limbless girl. She was ugly according to everyone's standards. People would consider a quadruple amputee to be a terrible sight. But what she now saw in the mirror was something of extraordinary beauty. She knew that she was always going to remember this strange moment. Here she was, irrevocably mutilated, completely helpless on the verge of being raped by a tyrant. But the servants of the castle had used their skills acquired by ages of experience and they had turned her into such a magnificent sexy creature.
She was so taken aback by her appearance, that she accepted the last preparations. She was propped up on the cart, so that she was sitting completely upright, her stumps were slightly spread, revealing her painted lips and she was wheeled to the entrance of the Maharaja's bedroom.
At that very moment, David Ben Gurion arrived at the balcony overseeing the main hall. He had sneaked in, using a stungun to sedate guards and soon he found the place where Esther was likely to be. Like Esther, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw all the limbless girls. He yanked a pair of sophisticated field glasses from his overall and trained them on the face of the girl that was wheeled away in the direction of the Master bedroom. He held his breath when he saw that this girl, too was completely limbless. He was looking for a girl without legs, could this limbless girl be Esther? Had they removed her arms? He hesitated. He couldn't discern her face, it was made up heavily. The hair fitted: raven black, and the breasts as well. When he was briefed he had insisted on as accurate a description of the girl he was supposed to find as possible, and one of Esther's friends had told him rather ashamedly that she had very large, firm breasts. A quick scan around the room confirmed David's idea: none of the other girls had breasts as large as the girl on the cart. He started to move as soon as the bedroom door closed.
In the large bedroom, soft lights shone on the beautiful furniture. A male servant picked Esther up and put her on the bed, her back resting against the headboard. Again, her thighs were slightly spread, revealing the soft lips of her vagina. The servant indicated that she had to remain like this and disappeared, leaving her alone. Suddenly a hidden door opened and the maharajah entered. He pored himself a drink and sat down at the edge of the bed. His small eyes went over her body and she felt goosebumps rising. A small hand extended to her left breast and lifted it, feeling the weight. The same happened to her right breast. Suddenly the Maharajah began to speak, He spoke English without trace of an accent.
The poor girl had to listen to this man, who gave a lecture on the evil of women, and the weakness of men. It would have been much better if the men didn't have anything to do with women, but the flesh was weak. He droned on, trying to justify the terrible thing he and his ancestors did to women. Esther tried to store everything in her memory, hoping that one day she would be able to use it for her article.
Suddenly the door behind the Maharajah, through which he had entered , opened. A tall man in khaki overalls entered, at the same time easing a stunned guard to the floor. He had a gun in his right hand and motioned to Esther to keep quiet. Esther's eyes widened imperceptibly and her heart began to beat fast. Was she going to be rescued? The tall man turned the gun around in his hand and hit the Maharaja's hard over the head. The little man grunted and fell to the ground.
" ¥re you Esther Rosenberg?" asked the tall man. Esther nodded jubilantly and wanted to embrace her saviour. Her little stumps jerked up and she had to stop her futile attempt. Suddenly she realised that she was naked. She drew her thighs together and blushed. David quickly explained who he was and said that there was no time to lose. He started to lift up the helpless girl when suddenly two guards ran into the room. With one fluid movement David put Esther back down and lifted the unconscious body of the little Maharajah, pointing his gun at his head. The guards immediately froze.
"We seem to have a bit of a problem", David said. "We could probably walk away using this guy as a hostage, but I can't carry both of you I'm afraid, and you obviously can't walk."
Now, at last all Esther's efforts to be independent bore fruit. She told one of the guards to tear up a few cushions and had him assemble a kind of padding for each of her stumps. With leather belts the padding was strapped to her stumps and soon Esther worked her body up and did several tentative steps. It felt awkward, but she would manage. David had stared at her and was now shaken from his reverie. He followed the girl while she waddled through the door, her short arm stumps stretched aside carrying the maharajah over his shoulder.
This strange procession was encountered by numerous guards and servants, but no one dared to do anything for fear of causing harm to their monarch.
Esther grew tired very quickly and she had to rest frequently, but she wanted desperately to get away, so as soon as she regained her breath, she pushed on. The padding on her stumps shifted and soon the tender flesh of her stumps began to hurt. She kept going and tried to forget the pain.
It was a miracle: the people of the castle were so anxious to harm their maharajah that not a single attempt was undertaken to stop them. They left through the main door of the palace trailed by the entire population. Still pointing the gun to the maharaja's head, David motioned the driver of a military truck to leave his vehicle. He put his hostage in the cab and lifted Esther to the passenger seat. When they were all aboard he started the engine and drove away fast.
Tears of joy, pain and relief streamed off Esther's face. Free at last! She drank in the sight of the landscape and she waited for quite some time before she spoke to David. He was looking in his mirror all the time, but his smile indicated that there probably was n't any danger. She asked him to explain everything to her, how he had come to her rescue at such an important moment, but first: would he remove the unconscious body from her lap and give her something to cover her naked body?
David blushed, and pulled the body unceremoniously down to the floor. There was plenty of room. Then, rummaging behind his back, he produced an army blanket which he proceeded to pull around Esther's shoulders. Finally, he unfastened the straps of the bridle that was still attached to her head. He weighed the object in his hand and whistled. "This must be worth quite a lot. I think it's pure gold and there are some precious looking stones in it too. I guess this is yours now. " Keeping an eye on the road he presented the valuable object to Esther. When she did not take it from him he looked at her questionably and realised suddenly that she was not able to take it from him. He started blushing vehemently when he saw her sad face. He apologised over and over again and until Esther told him to stop. "This will not be the last time something like this happens. I'd better get used to it, "she said.
There was a tense moment when they crossed the border, but nothing happened. When they were sure to be in the neighbouring country, David slowed down and parked the vehicle in the shade of a tall tree.
"What do you want me to do with this fellow?" he said, poking his foot in the side of the now wakening monarch. Esther thought a while, but decided against revenge. "Just throw him out", she said. "When I'm finished writing my article about him, there will be not much left of him."
Esther was brought to the Israeli embassy. The wife of the ambassador bought new clothes for her, and altered them. She asked Esther what she should do and Esther answered: "Just cut off the trouser legs and the sleeves of the shirts please, and then sew them shut."
It was a wonderful feeling for Esther to be wearing a bra again (it had taken the ambassador's wife quite some time to find such a large one) and jeans. The last couple of months she had worn light dresses or nothing at all. As soon as she was dressed (her new friend Rebecca had to help of course), Esther stood up using her arm stumps to pull herself up and walked on her stumps towards the big mirror. She stretched out her arm stumps to keep balance. She looked in the mirror and saw a pretty girl with a very large bosom, standing on her jeans – clad stumps. Her red sweater ended both left and right, sewn shut around small round stumps. She lowered her arm stumps until they hung by her side and sighed. Rebecca had watched and was lost for words. Finally she managed to say something, and offered the handicapped girl a cup of tea.
While Rebecca was off, Esther walked back to her chair. She missed her stump boots and knew that she shouldn't walk without them. She already felt that the sensitive skin of her leg stumps was chafed.
Esther was very glad when the ambassador offered to have David accompany her on her trip home. He would take care of her new passport and the little luggage she had. The flight back was uneventful. David pushed her wheelchair and carried her into the plane. His seat was next to hers, for which she was glad, because this way she was able to hide behind him, not having to return the many stares. At some time, in the middle of telling a very funny story he put his hand on her thigh. Suddenly realising what he was doing he had pulled back his hand as if he was bitten. Esther laughed and teased him, she didn't mind it when he put his hand on her thigh.
It was a strange homecoming. Everybody was there: her family, her colleagues and of course, the press. David pushed her in her wheelchair to the VIP lounge and there she had to talk to the journalists. She had asked David for advice, and he had suggested that she speak to the press for a few minutes, telling them that they had to wait for the full story, and that she was going to write that story herself. When he said that Esther had lifted her arm stumps in a powerless gesture. "How am I going to write?" she had asked him. He had made little of it. "We ïll find a way ", he had said and Esther had been especially pleased by the word we. She had observed her companion and thought she recognised the signs, but refused to believe herself. She could not possibly perceive the notion of falling in love with a person who had no arms and no legs. How could a man love such a mutilated woman? He would have to take care for her for the rest of his life, scorned by his friends. Whenever he was to appear with his handicapped wife, people would stare at them, suspecting him of an unhealthy attraction towards the handicapped.
Still, she fantasised caressing his face with her arm stumps, sitting on his lap with her stumps extended forward, her body kept in balance by his strong arms around her breasts. She would squirm, grinding her buttocks in his lap, feeling his rigid member responding. She had problems pushing these thoughts away and her press conference passed in a daze. She felt extremely vulnerable, sitting in her chair facing the many cameras and microphones and was very glad that David was standing beside her with his hand on her shoulder.
Esther was a celebrity for a few days. Then something else grabbed the attention of the public, and she found some rest. She agreed to live with her parents until she was able to look after herself. David returned to his unit, but left his address, promising to keep in contact.
She was medically examined and she was found to be in perfect condition. The surgeon who had amputated her arms had been an expert.
Esther immediately ordered a new pair of stump boots. The orthopaedic shoemaker had her measurements and sent the new pair within two days. Esther asked her mother to put them on for her and soon she was making her first tentative steps on her new boots. They were black and shiny and were laced up in front with red strings. It felt very good to be able to move around again, but she had to watch out all the time. Only by reacting very fast she avoided being injured: she tripped over a loose carpet and started to fall forwards. Instinctively she stretched out her arms to cushion her fall, but the ten remaining inches of her arms were completely useless. The instant she realised that she was going to fall flat on her face, she somehow turned her body, causing her shoulder to hit the floor first, not her face. It hurt, but there was no damage.
She was approached by a famous firm that produced state of the art prostheses. She glanced at the pictures in the glossy brochure. She saw many men and few women, smiling all the time while they did all kinds of things using a prosthetic arm. There were no pictures of double amputees. She hated the sight of those stiff artificial arms, designed to give the impression of being real. But Esther knew that nobody would be fooled if she was wearing two of those horrible fake limbs. She felt more inclined to have them fit her with arms like her aunt Ruth's. They were ugly, but unpretentious. And aunt Ruth had learned to use her hook for almost every purpose. She asked her aunt Ruth to come and visit her and give her advice.
Ruth had not hesitated for a second and agreed completely with Esther about the cosmetic prostheses. Esther turned down the company's offer and Ruth had her orthopaedic technician take Esther's measurements and he made two artificial arms for her with hooks for hands.
It took her many months before she was able to use her hooks. They were attached to a leather harness that Esther had to wear on her upper body. It left her heavy breasts free. By flexing her shoulders in a special way Esther learned to use the hooks. Ruth helped her in many ways, but she had only one arm amputated. Esther had to make do with two hooks.
Learning to use hooks in stead of hands is an extremely frustrating job. It is difficult to keep them still, because the complete weight of the prosthetic arms is on your stump, which gets tired very quickly. You have to guide the steel fingers from a considerable distance, using your shoulders and stumps to put them in position. Then you have to open and close the hooks and manipulate the object, carrying out what you intended to do. Many times things dropped, or got crushed by the metal hooks.
However, Esther did not give up. She was determined to become as independent as possible. She moved around the house now, waddling on her stumps in their stump shoes, waving her hooks around never asking for help.
Time passed. David phoned regularly and to her great joy announced that he would come and pay her a visit.
Esther asked her father to take her to the airport and convinced him that she was able to cope and sent him away. Her father hesitated, but after having held open the car door for her, he left her on the curb in front of the passenger terminal.
Travellers carrying their bags, headed for all kinds of destinations saw a beautiful girl in a green dress and realised that she was not a little girl when they saw the front of her dress. Shocked, they realised that this women was only four foot tall because she had no legs. Had they seen the gleaming hooks that protruded from her sleeves, they might have been shocked even more.
One lady watched as Esther made her slow, swaying way into the terminal , with an expression of disgust. She audibly sucked in her breath when she saw that Esther brushed aside some curls from her face with her right hook.
Esther felt very apprehensive. She was aware of the stares and she was very much aware of how her ass and breasts moved around wildly while she put one stump in front of the other.
She found a place in front of the glass partition which separated the waiting area from the arrival hall. She had a sudden flash back: there had been another glass wall, from behind that wall the maharajah had observed her. She shivered.
David had only a very small bag , so he was the first to come out of the arrival area. He had already spotted the invalid girl behind the glass wall and he quickly made his way to her. Without thinking he picked her up and swirled her around in his arms. Esther tried to wrap her artificial arms around him and they kissed passionately. During their long phone calls they had developed very tender feelings towards each other. When their first joy had passed, David put her down again and he walked slowly beside Esther in the direction of the exit. She lifted her hooks and asked him apprehensively what he thought of them. She had told him over the phone that she had decided to wear old fashioned hooks, but she didn't know what his reaction would be if he saw them.
David looked at them closely and said that they were wonderful. "I can't wait till we get home, then you can show me everything." Obviously it was not difficult at all for the tall young man to keep up with his short companion, they talked animatedly while she waddled beside him , her peculiar gait causing her large breasts to sway from left to right. Apparently he did not care at all about the people staring at his companion, turning around while they kept their gaze at the beautiful maimed girl.
He kept talking to her in a very cheerful way, and ignored everybody except his girlfriend.
They had a wonderful time. Fortunately Esther's parents liked David too, and they went along very well. When the time came for Davis to leave, he took her out to the cinema and afterwards they had a drink in an outdoor cafe. He lifted her into her chair in one fluid movement, (which had become a pleasant habit) and he took her right hook in his hand. They both felt silly and had to laugh about this rather useless gesture. He pulled his chair close to hers and put his arm around her shoulder, hugging her tight. This was the kind of contact they both longed for. He explained to her that he didn't want to leave her this time and asked her to marry him. For a moment Esther hesitated, wanting to ask him if he really was prepared to marry only half a woman, but she knew better than to ask him this. On numerous occasions he had told her that her physical impairments meant nothing to him. On the contrary, he loved every movement of her handicapped body and was not such a hypocrite to deny it. And , of course, David had been a witness to that very special moment when Esther had been made ready to meet the maharajah. The way she had been "prepared" by the experts of the palace had made of her a very special kind of beauty. Both of them had felt the magic of the moment.
She agreed to marry him, of course, and they moved to a small village in the vicinity of David's barracks.
The marriage ceremony had been simple, and the bridegroom gently put a golden chain around the neck of his bride. On this chain was her wedding band.
Esther and David are very happy now. She hobbles around the house and still writes articles for the magazine, but her lust for travelling has dwindled. She is content now to move around the world via the Internet, her steel hooks making soft clicking noises when she deftly touches the keys. She meets a lot of people on the Web and they are not aware of her appearance. They have no way of knowing that they are chatting with a quadruple amputee.
When David comes home she walks to the door to meet him. They embrace and very often he picks his wife up and carries her to the bedroom. There he slowly undresses her, first taking of her sweater, revealing her magnificent breasts and caressing those soft mounds of flesh. She asks him to remove her hooks, she has been wearing them all day and her little armstumps are tired . He obliges and puts the heavy leather harness on the ground. He massages her little stumps for her and kisses them tenderly. Esther had been self conscious about this in the beginning: she was afraid that her stumps would be smelly after their day-long confinement, but he had said that they smelled of leather and that he liked the odour.
Then he shifts his attention to her stump boots. He unlaces them and puts them on the ground as well. Her leg stumps undergo the same treatment as her arm stumps, and soon she wriggles with her ample buttocks in order for David to pull off her shorts and panties. She is completely naked now and demands that David undress as well. Happily he does so and when he is naked too, he jumps on the bed and they roll around. Esther uses her soft arm stumps to caress his face, his body and of course his rigid cock. David always tells her that here is no feeling on earth comparable to being caressed by two soft stumps, and Esther never tires of it.
They make love with Esther on top, she moans softly as David's strong arms slowly lower her, impaling her on his hard cock. Her soft lips part, she is very moist and she gasps as she feels his penis enter her. He keeps her in balance as she gyrates her body slowly around their linked genitals. Unconsciously, she uses her little stumps to caress her large breasts, frustrated that they are too short to reach her nipples . He helps her out, caressing the hard nipples with his thumbs, his hands cupping her breasts, holding her on top of him.
Esther's leg stumps just reach the bed, spread apart. She uses them to enhance the movements of her hips.
David tries to hold back as long as possible, watches her face, her hair, her eyes and loves her.