1. In(tro)duction

Tina sat on the edge of her bed. I sat in a chair across from her, looking into her eyes. "You need to relax, Tina," I said.

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"I'm fine," she said quickly. "Are you doing anything this weekend?"

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She's changing the subject again.

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"No," I said. "why?"

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"Oh, I was planning a little something special," she said, and gave me a wink. "You'll love it."

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"Like what?" I asked.

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"Eric's working tomorrow night, right?" she asked.

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Eric was my roommate. "Tomorrow's Thursday, right? Yeah, I guess he'll be working." I said. "I'm going to catch up on some of my reading."

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"Perfect," she said.

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"You're not sleeping very well," I said. Back to the subject.

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"I'm fine," Tina said again.

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"You can't let J--, I mean, you can't let that man do this to you." I dropped my head. "I wish you'd let me help you."

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A few months ago, Tina got out of a very abusive relationship with a wealthy reptile named Jim. Jim went on to date another girl, Lacey, but Lacey dropped him like a smelly gym sock when she found out what he'd done to Tina. Jim is not the kind of person who gracefully handles rejection.

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"You are helping me, Tommy," she said and lifted my face up to hers. "You're the one who helped that man know that he can't just push me around. You're the one who thought of the restraining order. You're the one who... well, who sits on my chair and listens to me."

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"I can do something else for you," I said softly.

 

"You mean the hypnosis," she said. "I told you that I don't want to go around clucking like a chicken."

 

"Tina," I said. "Please trust me. I'll just put you under, let you rest without thinking about him, then give you a little suggestion, a trigger that we can use to get you back into that restful state whenever you want."

 

"What kind of trigger?" she asked.

 

"We make up a nonsense word. When you say it to yourself, or when I say it to you, you'll drop back into a deep sleep, from which you'll wake when you are rested." I said.

 

"It will only work if you or I say it?" she asked.

 

"If you want," I said. "You'll let me hypnotize you, You'll trust me?"

 

She took a deep breath. "Ugmortigen," she said. "That'll be the word. What do I have to do?"

 

I wound up the small mechanical metronome a friend gave me for this sort of thing. On the end of the pendulum arm is a small piece of quartz. It catches the light in really interesting and soothing ways as the metronome's inverted pendulum swings back and forth.

 

"Nothing at all," I said. "Just watch the stone and listen. Sit still."

 

I started the metronome. "It's nothing special," I said in my most soothing voice, "just a stone on a pendulum... It swings left and right... left and right... left and right... just watch it... let your mind drift free... like a summer day... feeling the breeze... left and right..."

 

As I spoke, she began to relax. The hands that were fidgeting slowed, and then lay still in her lap. Her chest rose and fell just slightly with her soft and regular breaths. Her brown eyes closed and, after a while, her chin fell to her chest, and her lovely straight brown hair fell like a sheet over her face.

 

I watched her sit there, deeply asleep, for a very long time. I did not touch her, or even speak to her once she dropped her head. I just watched her, and thought how beautiful she was, how precious. I walked around her, watching her, hoping to burn her beauty into my mind, my memory, so deeply that nothing else could touch it.

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I gave her the suggestion about the trigger.

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"Ugmortigen," she sighed.

 

"Now relax and sleep, Tina," I said. "You are safe and secure."

 

She said nothing at that, but let out a little sigh.

 

I walked behind her, and knelt on the bed. The shifting mattress caused her to sink backwards into my arms, her head falling against my bicep. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and lifted her up a bit. I dragged her back onto the bed, and lay her down gently on the pillows. She was wearing jeans and a tank top, which now showed a bit of her bare midriff, but I knew she'd sleep the night. I undid her sandals, and set them on the floor next to the bed. I turned off the light, put the chair up against the door to her room and sat down there, facing her and her window. No one would disturb her until morning; I'd make sure of that.

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Continue The Game (Chapter 2. Invitation)

 

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