With trepidation and a sudden attack of shyness Hazel almost turns tail and runs for the refuge of her car. It was tempting. Who would even know she had chickened out?
Aside from her fiancΓ© Alan, who right now was thousands of miles away across the Atlantic in Philadelphia on a work trip, she hadn't told anyone about the visit to Dr Kovalevich, let alone the details of his unconventional advice. She had wanted to take time to digest and decipher his words carefully, and she didn't want to be talked out of this. She knew his practices were not exactly normal, run of the mill, NHS stuff, which was the very reason she chose to travel 150 miles to see him three days ago. Sick and tired of being bounced around from her own doctor to 'specialist' and back again, she ventured onto the big wild, world wide web for advice on how to take a proactive approach in dealing with her haemochromatosis. Fellow sufferers were few and far between, even online, but when she stumbled across a forum with not one but five enthusiastic folk who simply swore by the expertise of a hiridutherapist she just had to give it a go. Finding one anywhere in Ireland, North or South of the border wasn't easy, but when she did she made the appointment straight away and never looked back. Until right now.
Looking back at her car parked up in a small leafy picnic spot along the opposite side of the country road, she chewed her bottom lip in indecision. About to abandon the evenings activity she stopped short as suddenly a flick book of all too fresh, uncomfortable memories flashed vividly through her mind.
Some days her physical struggles were all consuming and others days they just gnawed away, not disabling exactly, but restricting, and she just had far too much going on, too much still to achieve and enjoy in life, to allow it to keep happening. Having split with her ex-husband five years ago she was thrilled to meet Alan 18 months ago. Both in their early forties with four teenagers to keep tame between them, it was now time to start living as long and as hard as she so desired.
The grass has worn away on the bank to form a path down to the lake. Thankfully the weather had been rain free for at least a week, so the mud beneath her feet is dry and impacted, enabling her to climb down the six foot incline without stumbling. Arriving at the water's edge, her first obstacle successfully conquered, she pauses to enjoy her surroundings. It's 9pm and the sun is speedily preparing to set. The tree enclosed lake is dusky with delicate beams of light bouncing off the short shallow ripples on the surface.
She suddenly becomes aware of the low buzz of insects, and the crunching of the tiny pebbles underfoot, these the only sounds other than the throb of her racing pulse in her ears and slightly ragged breathing. She drops her bag and gasps aloud as her movement startles a moorhen, noisily scuttling back to its nest in the thicket of reeds to her right. Spurred on by the adrenaline buzzing through her veins she kicks off her shoes and sinks her toes into the gravel before pulling her dress over her head, folding it loosely on top of her shoes. Having forgone underwear for the sake of speed and convenience, she slips her glasses off and places them carefully on the pile, then pauses momentarily to enjoy the cooling evening air on her naked skin. Her thoughts run riot, buoyed on by the exhilarating fizzing in her veins.
***Oh now this is living. Nature is so beautiful. I feel amazing. I'm definitely going to do more of this in future. Much more! Can I persuade Alan to join me sometime? Perhaps I can find a naturist beach in Italy this summer, get him relaxed on a gallon of Prosecco...***
A 'plopping' sound as a fish breaks the surface brings her mind back to the task. As the ripples widen out on the water she grabs the ointment Dr Kovalevich had concocted himself and gave to her, with his simple but precise instructions, and quickly slaps it onto her skin. As her hands skirt over her body it becomes quite a task not to slow down and enjoy the sensation of slick wet cream on her lightly goosebumped flesh.
Her 5'2" petite frame is curvy but trim, having been blessed with a naturally speedy metabolism. The only weight she'd gained permanently during her pregnancies was in her breasts, now a 34F, and rounded hips that looked much better out of low rise jeans than in.
The tiny breeze filtering through trees and over the surface of the lake only serves to make her even more aware of her public nudity, as it brings to life her nipples, puckering up so hard they scratch her palms as she coats her ample bosom in the ointment. The soft skin of her inner thighs enjoy the gentle scratching of her engagement ring and her neatly trimmed nails as she leaves not an inch unanointed.
The ointment is to attract the leeches living in the water. She needs to disturb them from their foraging in the soft silty bed of the lake, and lure them up to feast on her instead. On her blood. The good doctor also gave her a spray, a natural mix of tree sap and enzymes that will encourage the leeches to gently drop off her body once she has been bled for approximately 15 to 20 minutes. He told her in a slightly mysterious tone than her body will let her know when it had enough 'blood letting', but now she wished she had forced him to expand on that bit of info.
Stepping forward she enjoys the cool caress of the water as it travels up over her ankles, calves and knees. Turning carefully in the water, doing a full 360, she looks around, rather belatedly perhaps, to ensure she is not being watched. It appears she is totally alone.
***What would I do if someone broke through those bushes right now and spied me, naked and vulnerable? Disappointed the coast is clear? No, silly, of course not. Well... Maybe...***
Confused to discover her immediate thought was not one of horror, she relaxes and even smiles to herself as she steps further into the middle of the lake, the deepening water swallowing her up until she is stood waist deep. Raising both feet and tilting her head back she allows herself to float, her arms extending out to either side.
Long tendrils of pond weed begin to stroke against her, gently massaging her spine, her hips, the sensitive twin cheeks that curve down to shapely legs. A throaty gasp breaks the near silence as a bunch of fine fronds find their way between her upper thighs. Flipping over in the water she soon discovers they feel just as good on her breasts and stomach too. Erotic even. Doggy paddling to stay afloat in that one patch of water, she spreads her legs, allowing the reeds to continue their daring journey around her lower torso until they find their goal, her goal.