CHAPTER 29: Hypnotized By Her Mom Part 2
Am I in the dreamworld? Am I dead? No, I’m not quite awake, not quite dreaming… I’m drifting through the helix nebula. The stars disappear. A sultry voice guides me through deep space, telling me everything is ok, to relax my body, focus on my breathing, to follow her voice… I remember this place—subspace… I’ve been here before, but only on the front porch, the launch pad, guided by Mitsuko. Her mother is a magician, weaving dark magic I can’t comprehend. She put me here with just a few sentences of her hypnotic induction…

“I can see you’re deeply entranced already; Mitsuko has trained you well. But I would like to break apart any hidden resistance. I’m going to count you up, and when I reach 3, you will open your eyes and return to the waking world. Understand? 1… 2… 3…” Snap!

My body jolts with more pleasure than I’d ever felt from Mitsuko’s snaps. It’s amplified so loud it bounces my brain around and seemingly comes from within my own skull. My eyes flutter open like I revived from a coma. I hear whimpering… is it coming from me? It is… Mae lets out a quiet, demented laugh; it's far more brutal than anything I’ve heard from Mitsuko. She berates her mom, not raising her voice too loud like we’re in a library. Mitsuko’s concern soothes me and makes me feel safe.

“I’m sorry, Mitsuko. I’m just so proud of you. You’ve trained him well. Ha!”

Mitsuko gives her mom a glare. Mae sighs, brushes her hair back and curls her toes, cracking them. “You’re no fun. Fine, fine... Back to you, Jin. You look well rested. Where did you go?”

It takes me a moment to remember how to speak. I lick my lips a few times. Before I can respond, Mae cuts in with a disapproving sigh. “You’re taking too long. Let’s see how receptive you really are. Drop.” Snap!

The combination of drop and the finger snap plunges me into the depth. I’m back in the void, launching through a stargate, a mass relay, warp speed…

“And back up, up, up! That’s it, open your eyes. Good... This is called fractionation. Basically, I’m bringing you in and out of trance. The purpose is conditioning you to enter more deeply into trance by breaking apart your resistance. Up and out, then I throw you back in until your subconscious stops resisting. Another definition… is to literally take your mind and separate it, fraction by fraction, bit by bit, layer by layer… Oh, I’m getting ahead of myself. Drop. *Snap!* Down you go! *Snap!* Drop, deeper. *Snap!* Oh my…”

I’ve separated from my body… My mind is vacant of any thoughts that aren’t coming from Mae’s voice. I’m unsure if Mae’s intentionally causing the pleasure I’m feeling. Regardless, it envelops me—not just the outer layer of me, but it becomes a part of all I am, my very being… All I know is this blue tantalizing glow. I squirm in the real world as my mind melts into tiny fragments. Mae finally shows mercy and brings me up with a count to three. My eyes are like bricks, open not even a quarter of the way…

“I think that’s enough. He looks broken enough, don’t you think, Mitsuko? Now, describe where you were. It doesn’t really matter. This is to satisfy my personal curiosity. Hurry up, now.”

I speak quickly to avoid what happened last time. “I-I was o-outside of Earth.”

Mitsuko and Mae’s purple-imbued faces fill with intrigue. “Really? How curious. Go on.”

“I saw nebulas, blue like Mitsuko’s pretty eyes. Your voice, Miss Williams, was guiding me through space. I saw stars, but I was far from our solar system. Wavelengths that matched your voice, shifting every color spectrum. Sometimes everything went dark…”

“Interesting… What did you feel?”

I hesitate for a second. Mae threateningly lifts up her hand, pressing her middle and thumb fingers together. I shout, “Pleasure! A-a-a pleasant sensation… Euphoria, like a healing spell over my mind, my body… my soul…”

“Your soul? Interesting. Describe this ‘pleasure’. Don’t be shy… You’re in a safe space, I assure you. The safest place you will ever know. You’re mine—ahem, you’re… in our care, so don’t you worry about a thing.”

Mae twists her ankle as she waits for my reply. My eyes are drawn to her foot. I know I fucked up the instant my gaze left those blue planets.

“Mitsuko? Did you see that? It was only an instant…”

“Of course I saw it,” Mitsuko replies, pissed off. I stammer an apology, but Mae lifts her hand again. I’m grateful to be silenced; my mind is too weak…

“Give him a break, darling. He’s in a trance. Can’t you see it in his eyes? How glossy they are? How his mouth is agape? See the drool? He looks ridiculous, harmless, incapacitated. Surely you can’t be jealous of a glance? The boy can’t help himself!”

Mitsuko suppresses her anger, her eyebrow twitching furiously. “I guess you’re right…”

“Don’t worry, just add this to his training regimen for later. I’ll give you some pointers after this. I am curious, though. Jin, how does Mitsuko hypnotize you? Walk me through the process…”

I hesitate, stammering once again.

“Oh? Are you too shy to express yourself? Let me fix that.” Mae counts me down in rapid-fire fashion, “5-4-3-2-1, sleep, drop, deep, sink, down!” Snap! Snap! Snap!

Three snaps, three times as deep, three times as vulnerable. Mae’s voice reverberates from the ether, almost as if she were the stars… When the stars disappear and there is no light, only her voice remains.

“Tell me of any time my daughter has hypnotized you. Pick your favorite, or pick them all. Beginning to end… Take your time.”

Gazing into the void I confess my most treasured memories. Mitsuko bullying me on the verge of cruelty, only to show a hint of affection, keeping me tethered to her. The first time she induced the finger snap trigger linked to pleasure and trance, good boy, drop, pet, and with no shame, I confess the hypnotic hold Mitsuko’s feet have over me.

Mitsuko says that’s enough, to take him out of trance! But the session continues.

“So if I snap my fingers, you feel pleasure? Is that why you squirm when I do so?” Mae asks sarcastically as if she knew all along.

I nod my head, at least, I think I do.

Snap! Snap! Snap! Insidious laughter. The fourth snap is cut short—Mitsuko grabs her mothers hand, stopping her.

“Aww, I was just having some fun, Mitsuko. Fine, go ahead and take him out of trance. I want to see your technique.”

I feel Mitsuko’s presence in front of me. Soothing hands grasp my cheeks and she whispers in my ear… “Everything is ok now. Just follow my voice. That’s it… You’re doing so good. Squeeze my hand. Good boy… You’re ok… Come back to me on the count of three…”

“Good boy?” Mae says in the background. She stifles her laughter. I thought Mitsuko was cruel, but her mother is the true villainess. It’s scary to think that such wickedness could be concealed so well—I thought Mitsuko was a lot but I had no clue…

I open my eyes. Mae is still seated across from me. The lights are no longer purple; they’re a dim yellow. I realize why Mitsuko was freaking out… There is a huge wet spot on the front of my shorts.

I instinctively try to get up and run to the latrine. I trip and fall to the floor—Mitsuko catches me, holding me up like I’m weightless. Mae watches the dynamic between us with an amused grin.