Jasmine climbs the carpeted stairs, her breath caught in her throat, terrified of what she'll see or hear.
There's a clinking sound, glasses and dishware being moved about. Devon's in the kitchen.
Okay. Whatever. He's making breakfast.
Is he expecting her to go into the kitchen? This whole thing seems so innocent. If anything, she's the one acting weird.
But then the sensation of the leather cuffs on her wrists and ankles reminds her that no, something about this isn't right. She tries again to get them off, and still experiences an inexplicable mental block. She shouldn't go into the kitchen. She should get the hell out.
She makes it up to the landing, and sighs with relief at what she sees.
#
"Jasmine," Devon's voice was so soft, "are you watching the marbles for me?"
"Yes," she said.
"Good. Good girl."
She didn't know why, but when he said that, when he called her a good girl, she took in a small but sharp breath. She wondered if he noticed.
"Look at the way they move back and forth."
"I am."
"Just keep looking."
Back. Forth. Back. Forth.
"Every time one marble hits the rest, I want you to imagine yourself getting more and more relaxed. I want you to imagine more and more of the world slipping away, until the only thing that remains, the only things you can see or hear, are the marbles and myself. Any physical sensations you feel come only from me." As he spoke, he put his hand on top of hers, and she took another breath in. "As you get more relaxed, more of the world falls away, and it makes you feel more relaxed to know that. It makes you feel more and more relaxed to know that I am in control of your senses, that you don't have to worry about them anymore."
Clink. Clink. Clink.
The marbles were so beautiful and relaxing. She could see why people liked having them in their offices. It was so easy to do what Devon said, so easy to feel herself getting softer and softer in the chair. She didn't care what his friends thought about her anymore. They didn't matter. Nothing mattered. The only two things that mattered in the vastness of the universe were the marbles and Devon.
She felt like she was made of liquid, something that had melted and could be reshaped in a new mold.
She felt happy.
"As everything else falls away, Jasmine," Devon went on after a moment, "my voice doesn't just become the only voice you hear. It becomes the voice of absolute truth. Whatever I say to you is true. Whatever I ask you to do, you'll do. No question. No hesitation. Because I will only ask you to do things that you already want to do. Things that will make you happier than you already are. So, there's no reason to resist."
It was hard to imagine being happier than she already was, but she nodded.
There was a pause, and then Devon said, "Did you hear that, Jasmine?"
"No."
"Tasha was saying how beautiful you look in your trance."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Jasmine knew that probably wasn't what Tasha really said, but Devon had said it, so it must be true.
"You are," he said. "Very beautiful. With your eyes glazed, your lips parted, your chest rising and falling with your slow breathing. Being in a trance suits you so well, Jasmine. It makes your mind and body more beautiful, and it's a state that should be desirable for you to fall into as deeply and as often as possible."
That made sense. It made perfect sense to her.
"And since my voice is the only one that matters to you, the only one that can speak truth to you, who is the only one that can place you in a trance, Jasmine?"
"You."
"And since you're in my trance, and since I can compel you to do whatever I want, do you know what that means?"
"No."
"It means many things, Jasmine. First, it means that thinking, making your own decisions, forming your own thoughts, that's becoming more and more difficult the further you fall into this trance. Every time one marble hits the others, it becomes more difficult. Until it's almost painful. And you don't like being in pain, do you?"
"No." At least his questions were easy to answer, didn't require much thought from her at all. She liked that. It meant that she was right to trust him to put her in a trance.
"Of course, you don't." His voice was gentle enough to rock a baby to sleep. "As you fall further into your trance, it's much easier to just stop trying to think, stop trying to question. You can feel safe to do so, because you know I wouldn't ask anything of you that you wouldn't be willing to do anyway."
Another pause, and Jasmine started to wonder if another one of Devon's friends was talking, but let the thought float away when her head started to hurt. He was right. It was much, much easier that way.