It was an exciting evening. We had met for the first time in 40 years at a primary school class reunion. As we were getting on a bit, we had a lot to catch up on - our work, family, hobbies, etc. Even though we still felt young at just over 50, it was just before midnight that we said our goodbyes and exchanged addresses in case we happened to be staying somewhere where we could visit. Since my wife died several years ago, I live alone in a beautiful apartment on the outskirts of the city. Sometimes I feel a little lonely, and have often longed for a partner even though I had not met anyone – at least not until tonight when I saw Beate! She was always a very pretty child, and we all thought that she would have no problem finding partners. When we were exchanging addresses, I noticed that she was still using her maiden name and was apparently not married. I was fascinated by this woman because she was very attractive in spite of her age. She had a very slim build, a pretty wrinkle-free face and a short, frizzy hairstyle. So I resolved to try to get to know Beate again. A couple of weeks later, I kept thinking about Beate, so I called her and told her that I would be in her town for a few days and asked if I could visit her once. I didn’t tell her that I would only be there because of her – she mustn’t know about that! Judging by her voice she sounded excited and we arranged to meet one evening next week for dinner at a restaurant. I would pick her up at her apartment. Punctually at 7 o’clock I was standing at her front door and rang the bell. When she opened it and smiled at me, a tingling ran through my body, and I think I was in love again. She was casually dressed in jeans and a blouse and invited me in. Her apartment was not very large, just a living room and a bedroom, but very tidy, so I felt comfortable straight away. We sat at the lounge table, she brought something to drink and snacks and we chatted about old times. If asked her if she had ever married. “No”, she said, “after school and my studies, I spent many years in various places abroad and was so absorbed with my work at the office that I didn’t have much time for boyfriends. There were a few but I never found the right one”, she said, smiling mischievously at me. We chatted a lot about school and I reminded her that I always got top marks for singing and she for gymnastics. I said that I could still sing a bit but I had not really kept it up or joined a choir, so these days I just sang in the bath! I asked her how she had got on with her gymnastics. She told me that she had continued to develop her skills, joining a gymnastics club and taking part in competitions with the team. During the holidays she had been in a children's circus for a few years, where she had her own contortion number. She was able to twist and bend in all possible ways, which none of the other girls in the circus could do. She enjoyed it that her act was very popular and she had fun being in all those crazy positions. Academically she had studied languages and then went on to a school for interpreters. During that time she had performed as a contortionist in several variety shows and galas - all alone on stage on a small pedestal, bending her body into impossible positions. The audience really enjoyed her performances and her appearances certainly helped to supplement her student income! Because her career had taken her to many places overseas she did not have time to continue with these appearance and no longer performed in public. But privately, she had maintained her flexibility and still practiced every day to stay fit. She asked me if I would like to see, and I of course said yes, wondering what was about to happen. She got up, and went to the carpet in the middle of the living room. There she arched her back, stretched her arms upwards and then let herself fall slowly backwards into a bridge, with her hands touching the ground. Then she used her fingers to walk her hands towards her feet until she could grab hold of her ankles. Then she lowered her upper body so that she was lying on the carpet. She moved her hands further forward until her head was next to her feet and she smiled at me with a twinkle in her eye. “Unbelievable,” I said, “don’t you have a spine?” “Of course, but with my daily practice I can bend myself into all sorts of positions without it hurting or injuring myself. At the moment I'm not completely warmed up, but if you want, I can show you a lot more.” This woman already fascinated me because of her beautiful appearance, and now she can do all this! “Of course,” I said, “if you don’t mind. I had always wondered about those acts on TV or at the circus, and wondered how it was possible to bend so much, and now I have seen it close up with you, I think it is unbelievable.” They came out of the backbend and rubbed her back with her hands. “You can help me if you want.” “Sure. What I can do?” “Take your hand and rub my spine from top to bottom, then you’ll feel what I mean.” Using a circular motion with my hands, I massaged her spine from top to bottom, all the way from her waist to her neck. She was very supple to the touch and I could feel each vertebrae. While I was doing this, she wriggled about a bit and I could only wonder how flexible she had become. After about 2-3 minutes, she told me that was enough and that her back felt good. What followed almost took my breath away, because I have never seen such a flexible woman who was already over 50. She still had her jeans on, but her blouse slipped out of her trousers, so that I could see her naked belly. She stood sideways to me, arched her back and then bent her head back until it touched her bottom. Then she lowered her head a little further down and rocked her torso, until her head kept touching the back of her knees. Finally she grabbed her knees with both and pulled her torso tight so that her bottom was touching her back. She was still able to speak whilst holding this position and she told me it felt great to be able to bend and stretch like that. I was completely fascinated by what I had been watching. I told her how impressed I was by her abilities she said that she wanted to show me much more. She said she was getting a little warm now and asked if I minded if she took off her blouse. After my silent nod, she did so and stood in front of me in only jeans and a lovely black bra. She still had a very good figure, and I told her so. “That comes from my daily workout,” she said. It keeps the body young, which pleases me of course. She lay face down on the carpet and lifted her upper body without using her hands to about 90 degrees. You could see a real bend in her spine. Then she continued bending backwards until her back was resting completely against her buttocks with no gap between. Her head was lying against the backs of her knees looking straight up at the ceiling. She made sideways movements with her torso , and you could see how soft her spine had become.” Can you help me again?” she asked. “Of course,” I replied. “Take hold of my feet and lift them up.” I did that and she stayed in the folded position with her head and legs now up in the air, and resting with her belly on the carpet. “Now let go of me, and we’ll see if I can hold the balance on my bell.” Her trouser legs slid down a little revealing two cute, shapely legs, a somewhat strange, but erotic image! Then she spread her legs slightly and pulled her head through between her thighs, until she couldn’t go any further. She effortlessly came out of this extreme bend and lay with her back on the carpet. “Forward bending is an important counter-balance,” she said, raising her outstretched legs up into the air and bringing them in tight to her torso. She put each of her legs behind her back one at a time so that she was in a knot in front of me. “An excellent relaxation position,” she said. After she had unknotted herself, she told me she needed to rest, which I understood of course. But she had her own special way of “resting”. She stood in front of an armchair, arched her back and bent backwards until her head came through between her legs and her shoulders were pressed against the back of her thighs. “I feel so relaxed in this position that I could stay here for hours. Could you pass me my glass? I need a drink!” “So what is the real reason we met up today?” she said mischievously. “I’m hungry. Come on, let’s go to dinner.” After she had taken a shower, we spent a pleasant evening in a very good restaurant. There was nothing odd or unusual about her to give away the unbelievable way she had bent her body a few minutes early. She moved just like you and me. The flexibility of her spine, coupled with a perfectly normal posture enthralled me more and more. We talked about it over dinner and she said that her back muscles were so well trained that she didn’t find any difficulty either doing extreme bending or moving quite normally. She did not experience any pain or soreness, but she absolutely had to do her special exercises every day without fail to keep her back supple. She always did these first thing in the morning or last thing at night. It had always fascinated her what she was able to do with her body and she really enjoyed it. Well we had fun that night and fell in love. Several weeks later, Beate moved in with me and we now live together in my apartment. She hasn’t given up on her contortion and we always enjoy discussing her amazing exercises.