PENA'S STORY: Part 23: New Year's Eve Celebrations.
The Society has hosted a "Group Rite of Penitence" for many years in place of the traditional gluttony and drunkenness. All members are free to attend but there must be at least two Elders present.
My first attendance was almost 30 years ago in Los Banos where I was paired off with Corazon. Since then I have taken part every second or third year. Attendance has fallen dramatically since we reintroduced the cold water purification ritual and all the Elders had voted, agreeing that this year would be the last such event.
New Year's Eve had arrived once more. I arrived at the Office around 11 pm. The streets were thronged with revelers as I entered. Luci, a fellow Elder four years my junior, was waiting for me and we went down and donned our black robes to "open up the space" in the small Practice Chamber.
We waited. The only member to arrive was Trudy. We all changed into white robes fastened with red cords and entered the small practice chamber together. I had given Trudy an introduction to the ritual a few weeks ago. We had visited the chamber and pelted each others' backs and shoulders with a deerskin flogger. I had not yet introduced Trudy to the bite of hard leather but she had admitted she was looking forward to it! I had brought my deerskin flogger and Luci had her own black leather flogger which looked quite heavy. We discarded our robes and began a warm-up with the deerskin. We took turns, going first in a clockwise direction and then the other way.
Luci's experienced strokes danced over my upper back first. Yes, they did feel a bit like kisses; each was preceded by a whooshing sound that ended in a duller tone as all eight tails made contact with my flesh. Each kiss terminated in a sharp sting, which was absorbed by my relaxed body and was lovingly accepted. Trudy's strikes were less-practiced yet stung more than those of Luci. Trudy was aware that she had to strike firmly so the intensity was about the same but she really did not have much of a rhythm and the 'music' was a little erratic.
We all felt invigorated and stood in a loose ring to decide what to do next. Trudy kept looking at the leather flogger and finally picked it up. Luci came up to her and Trudy held the flogger horizontally in the palms of both hands and offered it to Luci - a sign of acceptance - for her very first leather flogging. The two girls faced each other and chanted. I had not seen Luci in action before and I and sat quietly to observe. Luci knew it was Trudy's first time and began gently. The whoosh became a whistle that became more high pitched as time passed.
I had taught Trudy how to stand with her relaxed arms hanging at her sides, palms facing backwards and fingers hanging loosely. She knew that she only had to pull her fingers up to her palm and Luci would immediately stop. I observed Trudy's face for minute changes that might indicate distress but saw none. She had half-closed her eyes and settled into a relaxed, even breathing pattern. Around the eleventh stroke Trudy's fingers fluttered a little but remained in place. Luci gave a final, slightly harder swing of the flogger and then reached out and caressed Trudy's shoulders. Trudy thanked Luci and the two girls hugged.
We rested for a while. Trudy shared her experience with us. She spoke of her inner conflict of welcoming each stroke but at the same time being apprehensive. I knew that feeling! Trudy had not been aware that her fingers had moved. She had found the pain tolerable and had smiled to herself several times. Now a feeling of peace was taking over. A perfectly even series of twelve red streaks now stood out proudly on Trudy's upper back.
Luci and I decided to do an exchange flogging of twenty strokes across each others' shoulders. I was to take the active role first to allow Luci rest between sessions. I picked up Luci's leather flogger and wondered how often she used it on her own body. I gently drew my fingertips along the tails several times.
... they had a different feeling to those of my own flogger; they were thicker and rounder yes, but the texture was more silky. Mmmmm, they had seen a fair amount of use! I began to muse on what the kiss of this flogger would feel like as the twenty four tails made contact with my naked shoulders...
Well I was about to find out! Luci cleared her throat, bringing me back into the space. I looked up to see her nodding her head in readiness. Luci's tongue peeked out from between her firmly closed lips, licking the uppermost before retreating. This was her gesture of mild annoyance and told me I was to expect some pretty firm strokes when it was my turn! I had been judged (by a real Judge) and found guilty! Oh well! As the most senior Elder in the room I should have kept my attention on the proceedings!
Our eyes met and a clear message entered my mind telling me I was to strike firmly. Luci turned her back, took up a relaxed posture and nodded once more. Trudy was watching the proceedings intently as I began to apply full strokes to Luci's waiting back. It had been some time since I had done this exchange with another Elder but I managed to keep an even rhythm. I had not been consciously counting but my inner voice told me I had reached my goal.
Luci turned to face me, joy written across her flushed face. We hugged briefly. Luci did not want to rest so I turned and stood quietly, waiting for the bite of the flogger across my upper back. Luci was returning my blows in kind. Wheeeeeee - splat! Wheeeeeee - splat! I could feel my shoulders becoming warmer. There was pain of course! It stung at each strike and slowly transformed into a burning sensation that was immediately punctuated by the next stroke. In all I received twenty four strokes, the last four of which I guessed had been delivered backhand from the opposite side. I felt I had got off lightly!
Luci and I hugged once more, this time for much longer. I whispered my thanks in her ear. Trudy approached us as we hugged so we opened up the hug to her. I could feel Trudy's cool fingers lingering over my back and a feeling of inner joy flooded my mind.
We headed for the showers and dressed. We climbed the stairs, entered the Society's office and sat down. Luci picked up the 2017 calendar that lay still cellophane-wrapped on the counter. It was now almost 2 am! It could now be opened and hung up on the wall [In the Philippines it is considered bad luck to unseal a calendar before midnight on December 31]. We hugged once more and Luci departed, calling out a farewell to Trudy.
It was time to go home! Trudy's apartment is very close to my home and we set off together, hailing a passing Jeepney. It was really quiet for a New Year's Day at 2 am. There was no sign of drunken revelers on the streets and little traffic. We arrived at Trudy's apartment and I was invited in for a snack. I was feeling pretty hungry after all that exertion and accepted. I sat down and Trudy entered her tiny kitchen. She entered the living room a few minutes later with a tray containing home-made almond cookies and two glasses of soybean milk. We sat side-by-side and nibbled.
Trudy asked me how long the marks of the flogger would take to fade. I told her they would probably be gone by the morning. Trudy stood and pulled her dress over her head. Her back was covered evenly in red lines but they had already begun to fade. I reached out and ran a finger across the tramlines. Her back was pleasantly warm to the touch.
Trudy sat down without replacing her dress. Her heavy breasts were straining within the confines of her bra and I found my eyes drawn to them like a powerful magnet. Our eyes met. Trudy took my hand and led me to her bedroom where she unzipped my dress which fell to the ground, leaving me totally naked. I unfastened the clasp at the front of Trudy's bra and eased the straps of the garment over her shoulders. We gazed at each others' bodies for several minutes
We lay skin-to-skin on Trudy's bed and gently stroked each others' backs, exploring the wheals with our fingertips. A slow tide of feeling began to permeate my entire body and the familiar wetness began to form between my thighs. I rolled onto my back and Trudy followed suit. I gently placed my palm over Trudy's belly and paused. She placed her own hand over mine, gently guided it down a few millimeters and transferred her hand to the space between my breasts.
I slowly, slowly, allowed my hand to move downwards, caressing her soft flesh with my fingertips in a circular motion, until I located Trudy's Dimple. Trudy sighed deeply as my finger entered her slightly parted labia, encountered a delicious slick wetness within that more than matched my own. I began a lazy exploration of the silky-smooth inner surface, totally devoid of inner labia, until I located a soft bud that quivered slightly as I gently brushed it. At the same time, Trudy's hand had made a slow relentless journey down my abdomen and it was my turn to sigh as her finger located my clitoris. We both needed a deep nurturing experience. This was not about invoking an orgasm! We gently explored each others' genitals for some time until we drifted into a peaceful asleep.
We awoke about two hours later. Our hands were still in place and the wetness had now turned a little sticky. A sense of deep peace flowed downwards from the top of my head. We turned to face each other and kissed softly, bringing our erotic journey to a pleasant end.
We rose and showered together. The sun was just rising and we entered the kitchen still naked. Trudy busied herself. She handed me a welcome cup of hot, strong coffee and we shared some pancakes that we drizzled with honey. I pulled on my dress and made my farewells before heading back to the empty house further up the hill.
To be continued...
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