I begin to tap nervously on the arm of the chair, my fingers drumming like the legs of a centipede as my mind races at a million miles an hour in a desperate attempt to work out why I am here. The ad on Craigslist and been very clear but why did I respond? I've never been to see a hypnotist before and actually, as far as I'm concerned they are nothing but con artists! This ad, however, wasn't looking for money but rather offering it in return. With no spare cash and a job that doesn't appear to be going anywhere lucrative, I really can't turn down an easy 300€ for just an hour long practice session. So I'd have to stare at an old man or woman dangling a watch in front of my eyes for an hour, so what? It's not like my social calendar is backed up these days.
The room I'm sitting in looks bizarrely normal, almost eerily so. There are no dark velvet curtains, no crystal ball, no pictures of stars or planets, and no tent. This was just an office. None of the details or décor differs from that of a bank or a lawyer's office. Nope, nobody would be able to guess that this is in fact a hypnotist's office. Another heavy sigh flares my nostrils like bear sizing up an opponent. I glance down at my watch with its rusty dial and battered rubber casing. I think to myself about how desperately I need a new watch. Hey, maybe that's what I'll spend this 300€ on!
The door handle turns and in walks a woman. Not an old, wrinkly, wart-faced woman but a young, elegant, incredibly beautiful woman. Her red, silky hair hangs down just past her ears, curling slightly towards the ends. Her pale skin contrasts her hair that gives off an emotion very similar to seeing the red sun beating down over snow-covered hills. She's not even wearing a cape! Although her t-shirt is black and incredibly casual in comparison to the formal looking office and which only continues to ring true as my eyes instinctively scan down her body. Red jean shorts hug her waist tightly, shorts being the optimal word! These then lead down into dark green tights. As she sits down in front of me she crosses her legs to reveal the most out of place aspect of her...the boots. This woman was wearing giant, black boots that could fit into a vampire movie just as easily as they would work in Apollo 11.
She lifts out a small notepad, lifts a pen down from behind her ear and clears her throat with a small cough. As she looks up from covering her mouth I can't help but notice that she has the darkest green eyes I'd ever seen. They shine bright like an emerald but somehow are competing against her tights to be the darkest green. Her eyes open, almost a little shocked, as if she had just returned from a daydream and hadn't quite sunk into her surroundings yet.
"Ohh", she says, pausing momentarily as her eyes flicker around the room "...hello there..." she lets out another small cough to clear her throat and I notice just how small and petite her hands are. Her nails, however, are at least an inch long, maybe more. They are painted a dark crimson and sort of complete her almost gothic exterior. Is this what a real hypnotist looks like?
"My name is Grace" she tells me: Her sweet accent ringing through my ears as soft as cotton wool. Is it Northern Irish?
"My name is..."I start, but her finger lifts up to my mouth, pressing lightly against my lips until I stop speaking.
"It's OK" she whispers "I don't need your name. I'm not being rude it's just part of my...performance, I guess you could call it. Yeah, it's part of my performance. If you give me your name then that makes you feel connected to me. You'll feel that you're special and that I'll remember your name and you'll look back fondly at this moment thinking you made a special connection with me which just wouldn't be the case. By not taking you name I can already plant in your mind that I'm special enough for a name but you on the other hand are not."
She paused a little longer, staring deeply in my eyes but I don't feel like it's on purpose. It feels more like she's looking into my soul just by chance. She blinks and starts to scribble something down in her notebook, placing it on the floor next to her seat.
"The fun part about this trick is that it doesn't matter if I tell you it is part of the hypnotism or not because already your mind is beginning to doubt itself, your mind is swirling in a soup of random thoughts and pointless memories." She leans in a little closer, effortlessly pulling her chair behind her, almost giving the appearance that she actually levitating over here. I am lost in her eyes though and as I try to gather my thoughts, I begin to realise that my mind does feel like it is a little jumbled. I can picture my mind as a cauldron and this fire-haired woman is mixing it all with a giant spoon with her words scrawled across it.
"The more you think about the swirling and the loss of your cognitive functions, the more you feel your body begin to grow heavy, and tired, and weak!" Leaning forward even further she pushes me back into the chair and I feel like a puppet that has just had its strings cut, dropping helplessly to the floor in a pile of limbs. I lean back slightly and rest my head comfortably into the cushioned back of the chair; my eyes are still staring deeply, intensely, religiously into hers. Can I look away? Can I even try to look away? Every time my thoughts land on the idea, it flutters off before my body can so much as begin to obey the instructions that my mind is trying desperately to send. This is super weird...but this seat is incredibly comfortable. Was it always this comfy?
"I'm going to snap my fingers and when I do the noise is going to echo around your mind like your head is inside a ringing bell. It wouldn't be painful, it won't be uncomfortable but you will notice it. When you do, you'll be under my hypnotic spell and you will have no choice but to obey me. Each snap after that will make you feel more relaxed and more malleable". She lifts her small hands up into the air in front of both of our faces. For the first time in as long as I can remember he eyes are blocked from my gaze. Instead, I find myself focussing on this pale hand with the thumb and the finger pressing firmly against one another. With a firm snapping noise, a find myself slightly dazed and confused as my hearing suddenly wobbles, almost like somebody is messing with my hearing like a DJ plays with music.
"I know what it's like to lose, to feel so desperately that you're strong, powerful and mighty, yet to find yourself obeying and submitting nonetheless. It's frightening". She snaps her fingers, this time louder. "You can try to deny it but I ask you, to what end? You can resist it, you can fight it, and you can even try to run from it...but your submission will arrive all the same!" and with another snap her hypnosis power echoes through my brain like a ringing gong. My eyes flutter slightly as I recover from the snapping's effect.
I can feel the muscles in my body seemingly melt themselves into a pile of goo like a rapidly warming ice-cream. My breathing has become slow and heavy and my eyelids...wow, do they feel tired! Without even realising it I'm staring deeply into her eyes again but this time she's smiling. Somehow, her teeth manage to be drastically whiter than her pale complexion and for a moment I've sure there's a glint, just like in the movies when the hero smiles to his fans or romantic interest. Grace lifts one of her long, crimson nails up to my face, dragging it softly down the side of my cheek.
"I'm going to ask you a series of questions and no matter what I ask, no matter what you think, you're going to reply with 'Yes, Grace'. Do you understand?"
My mind is still spinning slightly and I don't fully connect with what's happening. Is this her beginning the hypnotism or is she just fucking with me?
"Yes, Grace"...the words slip out of my mouth. My mind is still digesting what she actually said but without so much as a hesitation, out those words pop of their own accord.
"Good!" she tells me, lifting her finger away from my cheek. She lift if up to her mouth, rubbing it over her lover lip and as her eyes close ever so gently her tongue pokes out of her mouth just ever so slightly as she lick her finger tip. "Do my words feel powerful to you?"
"Yes, Grace" I respond, once again struggling to keep up with the actions of my body. It's like I'm sitting in the driver's seat but the car is controlling itself and all I can do is hope that it takes me to the correct destination...and without crashing.
"Do they make you feel...obedient?"
