The Courier
Copyright 2008 by EC
EC's Erotic Art & Fiction - http://www.ecgraphicarts.com/

(warnings: erotic discipline, sex between adults, medical fetish, 
forced public nudity, harsh police interrogation)


Chapter 7  An understanding

Maria Elena woke up in the middle of the night.  She realized 
that she was awake because she heard someone coming through the 
front door.  Still not accustomed to living in a country where 
break-ins were very rare, she silently went into the hallway to 
investigate.  Very quietly she looked down the stairs, to observe 
Cecilia and her naked fiance embraced in the front entryway.  
They were passionately going at it, a make-out session they would 
not even think of doing if they suspected Victor were watching.  
Cecilia was running her hands up and down Jasons body, 
concentrating on his bottom.  She spoke to him in English:

Youre a bad boysuch a bad boy.  You know that, dont you?

Im badyes Ceciliaso bad

Cecilia took his penis in her hand and began massaging it.

And what happens to bad boys like you?

We get spanked.  Ohhhh

HmmmmspankedReally?  Is that what you want, bad boy?

IOh yespleasespank me

Hmmmmyou really are a bad boyif thats what you wantand you 
do deserve to be spanked.  Well, you know I cant do it herebut 
tomorrow nightIm gonna spank you goodon the bare bottomHmm?  
You like that?

Yesplease

She gave him one last squeeze, leaving him very erect.  She gave 
him a lingering goodbye kiss, and with that he was dismissed.  
She totally loved getting him aroused before saying goodnight and 
sending him home.  Of course that meant he would have to walk 
instead of taking the trolley and try to stay out of peoples 
sight.  There was no chance that his erection would go down 
anytime soon and his fiance had forbidden him to touch himself.  

Maria Elena didnt understand much of what Cecilia had said to 
Jason, but it was obvious that she talking to him seductively.  
Even in the darkness she could make out his attractive figure and 
very erect penis.  She felt a strange longing for him, something 
that terrified her because the last thing she wanted to do was 
cross Cecilia.  She knew that the quickest way to gain the 
Dominicans animosity would be to show any attraction towards 
Jason.  And it was obvious that Cecilia was extremely vigilant 
for potential rivals because she was very aware of how attractive 
Jason was.

Maria Elena quickly retreated back to her room to avoid being 
caught.  She curled up on her bed with her back to the door as 
she heard the Dominicans quiet footsteps in the hallway.  
Cecilia peeked in to make sure the prisoner was in her bed and 
doing all right, unaware that she and Jason had been watched.  
She quickly got cleaned up and went to sleep.

Once Cecilias door was closed, Maria Elena lay on her back.  For 
the first time since she had left Panama, she was aroused.  
Slowly she began running her fingertips over her breasts and 
stomach, before gently stroking the insides of her thighs.  

She fantasized about Jasonhis lovely bodyhis shy 
expressionimagining herself in Cecilias place, with his bare 
body always within her reach.  Then, in her mind she changed 
places with him, imagining herself as he had been over the past 
four years, never wearing anythingand then

She paused and sat up, realizing that she already was in Jasons 
placejust like him she was naked and collareddestined to never 
touch clothing again.  She got out of bed and looked at herself 
in the dresser mirror.  Naked and collaredher Path in Lifewell, 
at least she had a body that was worth looking atat least that

She lay back on her bedher body still aroused as her mind tried 
to settle on something, a thought or a fantasy, that would allow 
her to climax.  Naked and collaredand kneeling

Suddenly her thoughts returned to that moment when she knelt to 
offer Victor a cup of tea.  At the moment she had not focused on 
sex at all, but looking back, she found the thought of serving 
the master of the house while naked, kneeling, and collared, 
totally erotic.  As her fingers explored the sensitive area 
between her legs, the idea of being Victors naked servant took 
hold of her.  She would kneel to serve him his tea and coffee, 
she could care for him, she would surrender to him.  She would be 
histo do with as he pleased, and he would not be able to live 
without her

just like Cecilia could not live without JasonOh yes

She climaxed, sweat pouring down her body as she imagined 
herself, always nakedalways kneelingthe perfect servant

Slowly the spell lifted and her bodys desires released her back 
into reality.  For a long time she lay awake, realizing that she 
had just fantasized about something that could be all too real.  
It looked like it was indeed her destiny to live as Victors 
servant, because Cecilia had openly stated that she wanted Maria 
Elena to take her place running the household.

The prisoner pondered how such a life would unfold, and how 
Victor eventually would see her.  She paused, wondering: is that 
all I want for myself?  To be a household servant?  Her thoughts 
wandered again, because she recalled that Kim had told her that 
she was property of the Danubian government.  Her service would 
be to Danubia as a whole, not to a particular personand yetshe 
felt that was not the message she was getting from Cecilia.

Finally she managed to go to sleepbut the memory of herself 
kneeling and serving Victor held fast in her imagination.

----------

Maria Elena woke up early the next morning.  She was still very 
confused about the tumultuous thoughts and fantasies she had 
endured just a few hours before.  She went downstairs, wondering 
if Cecilia was already awake.  When she saw that the kitchen was 
empty, she presumed that the Dominican must have overslept due to 
her night with Jason.

The prisoner decided to boil a kettle of water while she set the 
table and laid out ingredients for Cecilia to cook.  She still 
did not know what to make for breakfast and would leave that to 
her translator, but at least she could help her set up.  Once the 
water boiled, Maria Elena prepared a pot of tea and poured a cup.  

Now she realized that she had an important decision to make.  
Should she take the cup upstairs and offer it to Victor in his 
room?  Yes, she had fantasized about doing just that a few hours 
before, but should she do it for real?  

Yes, she would.  She determined to test at least one fantasy and 
was curious to see what would happen.  She would be the first 
person Victor would see that morning, and she would offer him the 
first cup of tea he would drink that day.  Trembling slightly, 
she went up the stairs, very conscious of being naked.  However, 
her exposure no longer humiliated her; instead she was 
experiencing a much more complicated feeling of sexiness and 
vulnerability.

She lightly knocked on Victors door.

Nad budshkt dek.

Doc?

Nad budshkt dek.  Doc.

Presuming that he had given her permission to enter the room, she 
pushed past the door.  He was almost finished getting dressed; 
only lacking his tie and his shoes.  Maria Elena trembled as she 
approached him, not able to understand herself why she was so 
scared.  She knelt, shyly holding up the cup of tea.

Victor seemed surprised, but he took the cup and responded:

Spakeebo dek.

Maria Elena was very nervous, because she had no idea what she 
wanted or what she expected to happen next.  Part of her was 
desperate to get the awkward moment over as quickly as possible, 
but another part of her insisted that she was where she belonged, 
on her knees in front of the master of the house.  Victor took a 
sip of tea.  He sensed her unease and rescued her by first 
pointing at his feet and then at the closet.

Meni chorni scarpikti tam dek.

Maria Elena remembered that chorno in Danubian meant black.  By 
pointing at his feet, Victor had indicted he wanted his shoes, 
the black ones.  He had issued his first command to her.  She 
immediately got up and brought him the shoes.  She knelt and held 
them out for him to put on.  Once he finished, he smiled slightly 
and touched her bare shoulder.

Harashna div-jinok.

He let out a short whistle and pointed at the door, and with that 
they descended the stairs to have breakfast.  Cecilia already was 
setting the table, with Pedro impatiently standing by, waiting to 
sit.  Maria Elena pulled out Victors chair for him to sit down 
and quickly knelt, awaiting permission to join the others at the 
table.  Cecilia glanced at her with a curious expression, but at 
the breakfast table said nothing.  After breakfast Cecilia 
attended to her nephew while Maria Elena cleaned up from 
breakfast.  She quickly returned to Victors bedroom to make his 
bed and clean the upstairs bathroom.

----------

At 9:00 Maria Elena started her new job at the university.  She 
would work under the direction of an older couple who had been 
groundskeepers for nearly 40 years.  Her new bosses knew exactly 
how to treat her and make her feel comfortable, because over the 
years they had employed dozens of criminals, including several 
foreigners.  Maria Elenas first assignment was very easy to 
understand; she needed to clear grass that was growing among some 
flowers without damaging the flowers themselves.  The gardeners 
talked very little, but showed her what needed to be done and 
what to do with the discarded grass.  The work was tedious and 
time-consuming, but the only way to do it was by hand.

Maria Elena was still somewhat self-conscious about her body, and 
at first tried to sit to avoid exposing herself.  However, she 
was not able to move through her work very quickly and her legs 
began to cramp.  Finally she gave up on sitting and got on her 
hands and knees.  She realized that every time she leaned forward 
she was exposing herself, but her only other option would have 
been to not have the flowerbed finished before she got off at 
noon.  It also occurred to her that if the sun shined directly on 
her bottom it was likely her bruises would heal faster.  As she 
knelt forward and started pulling out grass roots, she felt the 
warm morning sun shining between her legs and realized that she 
liked the sensation.  The unimaginable was happening: she was 
enjoying the sensation of being naked outdoors, of feeling the 
warm air and sunshine on her exposed bottom-hole and vagina.  
Exactly 48 hours after the moment she was arrested, her 
inhibitions faded completely and the prospect of facing a life in 
the nude no longer horrified her.

She had an excellent day in class.  She was able to fully 
participate and keep up with the norteamericanos.  She was not 
any better than most of them, but she hardly could have expected 
that after just one day.  Still, her efforts at studying had paid 
off.  For the first time in three years she was learning 
something that actually was worth knowing, something that was a 
complete break from the futile life of pleasure pursuit she had 
led before her arrest.

During the break she talked to the female classmate who spoke 
Spanish.  The womans name was Carmen and she was from Los 
Angeles.  Her Spanish was not that great, but she spoke well 
enough to hold a conversation.  Carmen talked a bit about the 
exchange program, although it was obvious she was curious to know 
what had happened to Maria Elena.  She didnt feel comfortable 
asking directly and the Colombian was not about to volunteer any 
information.   It was a strange and uncomfortable conversation 
because while the two women talked about the university, in 
reality Carmen was trying to figure out how to get the Colombian 
to tell her why she was collared.  

The Californian brought up Jason, hoping to talk about collaring, 
but Maria Elena changed the topic to discussing how attractive he 
was.  Then she decided to get some information on Jason, knowing 
that Carmen was likely to know something about him.

Yeah, we all know a little bit about his story.  He and Cecilia 
came to Danubia about four years ago.  I think what happened was 
that he had to testify at some trialyou seeuhdid you ever hear 
of an American company called Mega-Town Associates?

Of course Cecilia had heard of Mega-Town.  Who hadnt?  Their 
tentacles had extended throughout Colombia, devastating the 
countrys small retailers.

Well, what happened was they came here to testify in a trial, 
because some of their executives got caught here when they tried 
to overthrow this countrys government.  I guess it was a big 
deal, a really big dealI mean, they had an actual battle with 
Mega-Town mercenaries about 30 miles south of hereand another 
one in Rika Chornaand they were gonna kill the Prime MinisterI 
mean, they were really serious about taking over.  It was Jason 
and Cecilia who helped the government stop em, and they had to 
come here to explain what they did so those guys could get 
convicted.  Of course, once they did that, they couldnt go home, 
so theyre stuck here.

But, whats the deal with Jasons collar?

His father was one of the guys behind the takeover.  I guess he 
felt really bad about thatand so he went to their Churchand 
they told him he should wear a collar to show everyone hes sorry 
about what his dad did.  I think thats the story.

And hes been naked since he got here?

I think so.  At any rate, none of us has ever seen him wearing 
anything.  I think he kinda enjoys being nude, although I dont 
know what he does when it gets cold.

Do you ever talk to him?

Carmen smiled and shook her head.

Talk to him?  Uhno.  If you dont want trouble with Cecilia, 
then youd better stay away from Jason.  A couple of girls from 
last years group learned that the hard way.  I meanCecilias 
not a bad person, but you dont want to mess with her boyfriend.  
You just dont want to go there.

Maria Elena would have liked to continue the conversation about 
Jason, but it was time for the exercise class to start.  It was 
obvious that she still was not ready to exert herself as much as 
her classmates, but it was equally obvious that she had only a 
few days to catch up with the others.  The sinewy instructor 
ominously tapped the switch against the newest students inner 
thigh to force her to do some additional sit-ups.  

Later in the class Carmen took two cruel strokes across her 
backside for attempting to walk during the run in a hidden part 
of the path where she thought the P.E. teacher couldnt see her.  
In the shower her face was flushed with embarrassment and her 
eyes were full of tears, so Maria Elena did not attempt to talk 
to her anymore that day.  Two thin reddish welts had formed 
across both sides of her bottom and already they were raised and 
looked very painful.  Carmen would have an uncomfortable time 
sitting in class the next day and it was likely those welts would 
last a week.  Maria Elena shuddered, because her classmate had 
taken just two strokes.  She remembered that criminal on the 
stairs of the Central Police Station who had received 
considerably more than that, andshe remembered her own upcoming 
trial

----------

Maria Elena went back to Victor Dukovs house by herself, because 
Cecilia needed to stay at the university to council several 
students and catch up on paperwork.  Pedro wouldnt be at the 
house either, because his class had gone on an overnight field 
trip.  That meant Maria Elena would be alone with Victor.  That 
was something she looked forward to, but she couldnt have 
explained, even to herself, why.  She served him dinner and, as 
usual knelt before he gave her permission to sit at his table.  
She shyly attempted to engage him in conversation, trying out 
some of the new phrases she had learned in class that day.  She 
found that most of the time she could make herself understood, 
but still could understand very little of what he was saying.  
When he finished eating, she again knelt to request permission to 
clear the table.  When she noticed his shoes were dirty, she 
requested permission to clean them.  

Throughout the rest of the evening Maria Elena dedicated herself 
to Victors needs.  She hung up his suit coat, put his shoes away 
after showing him they had been shined, turned down his 
bedspread, laid out clean towels for him to get cleaned up, and 
brought him two cups of tea.  She also laid out his black prayer 
robe, knowing that he probably would spend part of the evening in 
front of his dead wifes portrait.  While he was praying, Maria 
Elena cleaned up the kitchen and the bathrooms, and took a bath.  
She wanted to be presentable, to make sure Victor found no fault 
with her

When she served him yet another cup of tea, he told her to get 
several photo albums from a bookshelf, so he could show her some 
of his past.  He knew that he still could not really converse 
with her through words, but there were other ways to communicate.  
Letting her know about his past was one way he could open himself 
up to her.

Showing his naked guest a portion of his past was an important 
step in Victors life.  He always had trouble communicating with 
people, especially with fellow Danubians.  And yet, somehow he 
felt a connection with the young Colombian, partly because she 
was so desperate to please him.  Victor was grateful for the 
attention, something that neither his sons nor Cecilia were able 
to provide at the time because of their own responsibilities in 
life.  Maria Elena was different, because she had nothing to do 
apart from having to learn how to speak Danubian.  Perhaps it was 
precisely because Victor and Maria Elena could not communicate in 
words that they felt they had something in common.  Perhaps in 
their case, words would have gotten in the way.

Another reason sharing his past with Maria Elena was important 
was because Victor was finally ready to move beyond his wifes 
death.  He was not yet aware of that change, but after four 
months of grieving and heaping guilt upon himself for her death, 
subconsciously he was hoping for something or someone to pull him 
out of his emotional morass.  He didnt have the inner strength 
to escape on his own; he needed something in his life to change.

The photos ranged from Victors own childhood, through his time 
in high school and college, his marriage, and his sons at various 
ages.  He pointed out his older brother Vladim at various stages 
of his life, including several photos of young Vladim as a 
criminal while Victor was still in high school.  Yes, for five 
years the countrys current Prime Minister had been a collared 
criminal.  There were photos of a neighbor girl called Maritza 
Ortskt, who later because Maritza Ortskt-Dukovna, and photos of 
Victors nephew and niece.  Victor also had photos of his 
employees, including several of Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna, back in 
the days she was called Criminal # 98945 and she spent her 
summers riding around Danube City naked on a bicycle delivering 
messages.

What struck Maria Elena was how ordinary the lives portrayed in 
the album truly were.  Even Vladim Dukov, the Prime Minister, 
seemed such an ordinary person, right up to the day he was 
elected.  There certainly was nothing to distinguish him from the 
rest of the family in any of those photos, except that he had 
worn a collar for such a long time.  Yes, even the countrys 
Prime Minister had done what Maria Elena was having to do.  Even 
the Prime Minister

Maria Elena collected the photo albums and returned them to the 
shelf.  She knelt, and exchanged glances with Victor.  At that 
moment, something very important happened.  They both realized 
that they cared about each other.

----------

That night Maria Elena spent a long time masturbating on her bed, 
as her mind wandered from topic to topic.  She visualized Jason 
Schmidt, desperately wanting to fondle him in the way Cecilia had 
fondled him the night before.  She thought about herself, on her 
hands and knees in the university garden, her bottom facing 
towards the sun and the warm rays touching her exposed womanhood 
whenever she reached forward.  She thought about the naked 
norteamericanos during the exercise class, their sweaty bodies 
exposed to anyone walking by who cared to look at them.  Her 
thoughts wandered to her classmate Carmen, standing in formation 
after the run, her eyes full of tears as she rubbed her sore 
bottom

But most of all, Maria Elena fantasized about herself with 
VictorHer desire to serve him and her desire for him to hold her 
and comfort her.  There was something about him that she found 
very desirablebut what? It was strange, he was not particularly 
good-looking and he even had sons who were older than her, but 
she desired him

----------

The next morning, Cecilia noted Maria Elenas behavior during 
breakfast.  She suspected that the prisoner might have developed 
a crush on Victor, which wouldnt have surprised her, given her 
circumstances and traumatic arrest.  

Cecilia had very mixed feelings.  She was relieved that the 
Colombian had so quickly adapted to her new role in the house.  
She was very happy that she no longer had to worry about anything 
other than caring for her nephew.  She also was glad to see the 
possibility that Victor could move beyond his wifes funeral.  To 
be honest, she found her hosts nightly praying sessions in front 
of the portrait rather creepy. 

However, Cecilia was becoming increasingly concerned about what 
was witnessing at the table during meals because she did not 
think that any romantic involvement between Victor and the 
prisoner was a good idea.  There were plenty of young men at the 
Socrates Club and as soon as Maria Elena met some of them she 
probably would forget about Victor.  She just needed to wait

More importantly, Cecilia was convinced that Prisoner # 101025 
did not understand what being a collared criminal actually meant.  
She was not Victor Dukovs personal servant; she was property of 
the Danubian government.  The Ministry of Justice, through 
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, could reassign her whenever it chose to 
do so, according to the perceived needs of the Danubian state.  
For example, at a moments notice she could be forced to live in 
a camp at the other end of the country and participate in a 
public works project.  Cecilia suspected that if Kim knew what 
was going on, Maria Elena would be moved immediately.  She did 
not want the courier transferred out of Victors house, for 
purely selfish reasons.  

On their way to the university she decided to talk to her 
housemate, not about her growing feelings towards Victor, but 
about what was expected of her as a criminal:

you need to understand that you dont belong to Victor.  Youve 
been assigned to live in his house, but thats because of me and 
my Spanish.  It has nothing to do with him.

ButI thought you told me that I was supposed to help him out.  
Isnt that what Im supposed to do?

It is, but you gotta look at it this way.  Youre being kept at 
Victors house because, for now, thats the most convenient place 
to keep you.  When the government needs you somewhere else, 
youre gonna get moved and no ones gonna care about what you or 
Victor think about it.  Ill give you an example of what can 
happen.  Last spring a canal overflowed near the river upstream 
and flooded a bunch of farms.  They had to sandbag the area so 
the Public Works people could get in there and fix a levee.  To 
do that, the Ministry shipped in 600 criminals from Danube City 
and kept them there for three months.  For three months those 
criminals never saw their families, and that whole time their 
employers had to figure out how to get along without them.  No 
one: not the criminals, not their families, and not their bosses, 
had any say in the matter.  The Public Works Ministry said we 
need 600 criminals to fill sandbags and the Justice Ministry 
said sure, where do you want us to send em?  Whatever was 
going on in any of their lives didnt matter.  They got called to 
the Central Plaza, they were loaded onto buses, and three months 
later they came back.  The point is; it could have been a year.  
Or three years.  Or the rest of their sentences.  Thats what it 
means to belong to the government.  You have to understand that.

Butdid they go back homeI mean, afterwards?

In that case they did.  But thats not something you can count 
on.  Home is wherever the government decides to put you.

Cecilia continued: I think youve done very good adjusting to 
things in Victors house and helping out.  Id bet had you been 
from the States youd still be crying and moping and feeling 
sorry for yourself.  Youve actually adjusted extremely well.  
You just need to remember who you belong to.

A question popped into Maria Elenas thoughts.  She felt it was 
general enough to not arouse Cecilias jealousy:

What about Jason?  Does he have to do all that stuff too?

No.  As long as he wears a Church collar, hes property of the 
Church.  He doesnt have to do anything for the government, but 
trust me; those Priests keep him plenty busy.  Sometimes I wish, 
that if he has to be collared, that he was just an ordinary 
criminal, because hes always busy on the weekends.

Butcould he quitI mean, lead a normal lifeif he wanted to?

He could, but thats between him and the Creator.  Ive never 
said anything about it because its not my Path in Life to 
question his conscience.

Cecilias last comment opened up a bunch of new questions in 
Maria Elenas mind, but the conversation needed to end because 
they had arrived at the university.  Cecilia had to chaperone yet 
another group tour, while Maria Elena had to report to the 
groundskeepers to find out what she needed to do that day.

----------

The rest of the day was the first out of many that would be Maria 
Elenas routine: work, lunch, class with the norteamericanos, and 
exercise class.  Carmens bottom still was clearly marked with 
the two welts from the day before, but she seemed none the worse 
for the experience.  

Everyones gotten at least a swipe or two.  The instructor 
watches to see what youre capable of doing, and then if she 
thinks youre not putting everything into the workout, youll get 
it.  I got lazy yesterdaycant argue with thatmy fault.

She hasnt hit me

because she hasnt figured out what you can dohow fit you are.  
Once she has that figured out youll get hit if youre not 
putting 100% into your workout.  But at least shes fair about 
it.  She knows that 100% effort for someone else isnt 100% for 
you.  And if youre sick or got a sprain or whatever, all you 
have to do is tell her before class and shell have you do 
something else, as long as you dont try to BS her.

----------

Maria Elena thought about what Cecilia had told her, but decided 
that she should continue trying to get as close to Victor as 
possible.  Her efforts that night were crimped by the presence at 
dinner of not only Cecilia and Pedro, but also Victors youngest 
son and his fiance.  The young woman was absolutely beautiful and 
elegantly dressed, leaving the naked prisoner feeling very 
intimidated.  For some reason she felt extremely uneasy kneeling 
in front of that young Danubian, in particular when she gave her 
several haughty looks.  However, Maria Elenas unease made her 
even more determined to ingratiate herself with Victor.

For the first time Victor was eager to be alone with the naked 
prisoner.  After dinner he put on the prayer robe that she had 
laid out, but his prayer session was somewhat shorter than usual.  
For the first time in four months he had something else on his 
mind besides guilt.  His thoughts were on the naked Colombian and 
his own desires toto do what with her?  Hold her?  Touch her?  
Comfort her?  Make love to her?

Maria Elena went about her daily chores while he was praying, but 
she had the hot water boiled for tea and was vigilant to make 
sure she was ready when he finished.  She was a bit surprised 
when he ended his prayer early, but she was prepared.  She 
quickly poured his tea and presented him with the cup.  

When he sat down, their glances met.  She stared at him with her 
intense dark eyes, thinking: Im here for you Victor.  You can 
take me if you want, because thats what I want.  Im yours.  I 
dont care what the government says, Im yours

Victor stood up and motioned for Maria Elena to stand up.  He 
wasnt ready to make love to herand yet he wanted toat least 
touch her.  He wanted to talk to her, but the language barrier 
was still insurmountable.  But her expressionno language barrier 
therePrisoner # 101025 was offering herselfthere was no doubt 
about itand he badly wanted her

Without saying anything, Victor shyly reached out to take Maria 
Elenas hand.  However, the moment their skin touched they heard 
a thud upstairs.  That was followed by footsteps running to the 
bathroom, a door slamming, and more footsteps.  Then they heard 
Cecilias voice in English:  Pedro, just stay there.  Ill get 
you some water.

Cecilia came running down the stairs and rushed into the kitchen.  
She glanced at Victor and Maria Elena on her way back up.

Pedro just threw up.  Stomach virus.  I need you to help me with 
his sheets.

And that was it for that night.  Maria Elena was drafted to help 
Cecilia deal with her sick nephew.  

However, as she went up the stairs, Maria Elena turned to look 
back at Victor.  They exchanged a final glance.  Victor Dukov and 
Prisoner # 101025 felt connected, that they understood each 
other.  So much separated them: language, culture, ageand yet, 
they felt a bond that neither of them could have described or 
even understood.  

