Digit

"Um."

"Hey, you might want to... uh..." I gave my cheek a tap.

"Oh." Evie got the picture, and quickly wiped the drool off her face, looking away. "Are you, uh. Ready to go?"

"Sure."

I followed her out of the tent, grinning from ear to ear.

"That was really something! I can't believe you actually, you know, went under like that."

Meanwhile, Evie was carefully studying the tops of her shoes as we walked along. "Did people..." she began softly. "Were people looking at me?"

I shrugged. "Not really."

"No?"

"Maybe one or two."

"Oh... ah, jeez..."

Reddening with embarrassment, she continued to do research for a master's thesis on her shoes. But she kept walking.

"Hey," I said, holding up the plate, "do you wanna find someplace to sit and eat the rest of these?"

"Mmm." A slight nod.

—

She walked. I followed her. We walked, and walked, and walked some more, out of the fair, back up the footpath. Finally, we reached a bench and sat. I put the plate in my lap. Before us was the wide expanse of the briny depths, and behind us, the sun beginning to set.

I wanted to ask Evie about what had happened to her. I wanted so much to ask about it that I felt like the question was hanging in the air between us. She was quiet, still looking at her shoes.

Was I going to push her into talking about something that seemed like it embarrassed her this much?

No. I was going to make myself talk about literally anything else.

"Hey, Evie. I've had fun today," I ventured.

"Mmm," she nodded slightly.

"Thanks for coming with me."

"Mmm."

She cleared her throat. Finally, she completed her research on her shoes and looked up at me.

"Hey, Sirin. I've had fun today too. Um, can I... tell you something kind of personal?"

"Yeah. You can tell me anything."

"And you won't tell anyone else, alright?"

I shook my head. "Absolutely not."

"And you'll be cool about it even if it's weird, right?"

"Look, I'm a certified freak. Weird? I don't know the meaning of the word. Try me."

I smiled at her, and she briefly considered beginning a new dissertation, this time on my shoes.

"It's fine," I said. "You can tell me if you want to."

She looked me in the eye briefly, before the magnetic pull of my chin drew her away.

"I like being hypnotized."

"Oh," I blinked.

"..."

"I never knew that about you. So is that like a hobby of yours?"

"Uh, no. When I say that I like it, I mean..." She took a moment to fish up the words, then lowered her voice. "It's kind of my thing, you know?"

I waved my finger at her in a gesture of supreme assurance. "Oh, I totally get you," I said, having absolutely no idea what the difference was between a 'hobby' and a 'thing.'

"Ah."

"Well, that's interesting! That's not weird. I mean, I never heard of anyone, you know, doing that as a hobby, er, a 'thing.' But it's not weird."

"Mmm. Ah... thanks."

"I think that's cool."

"Mmm."

"And you know what? You're good at it. Like, I was wondering how you, uh, you know, fell asleep or whatever back there."

"Practice," she said.

"I'll bet! That was pure skill, you have a real skill."

"Ah," she said, smiling awkwardly.

I didn't really have to scratch my neck. But I did anyway.

"Hey, Evie," I said, a little more quietly. "I'm really curious about this. I'd like to talk more about it. Is that alright?"

"I, um... I was kind of wanting to ask the same question. Yeah. Yeah, it's okay with you if we talk about it?"

"Yeah!"

"And it won't be weird?"

"Oh, it's the weirdest fuckin' thing in the world."

She busted out into a cute little laugh.

"Stop!" she said, giving me a little smack on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright! It's only a little weird."

"You said it wasn't weird."

"Hmm... I contain multitudes."

"Is that right?"

"It is. Okay, so, like, how does this work? Where do you go to get hypnotized?"

"Internet. There are lots of resources for that. You know, people share audio files and scripts - like, just scripts written in text."

God damn. The sound of Evie talking about something that excited her - I didn't know, until that moment, how much I needed that in my life right then.

"A lot of the time I like to download scripts, edit them how I like, and run them through a text-to-speech program. Lately I've been writing some of my own. Mmm... sometimes I've tried recording myself, but I don't know how I feel about that. I don't really like my voice that much."

I'm not sure that I knew about everything she was talking about, but there was one thing I knew for certain.

"You have a really nice voice."

"Mmm... I don't think so. I like your voice better. You have a confident voice."

"Your voice is plenty confident."

"It definitely isn't."

"There! It is."

"Agree to disagree?" She smiled gently, and I could no longer argue.

"Well, whatever you say... Okay, so - this might be a dumb question, but, well - what's it like? Being hypnotized."

"That's not a dumb question. You know, sometimes I ask myself the same thing... I mean, I know what it's like, but I wonder about how to describe it. There are lots of different ways it can be experienced."

Her eyes bored into me with an intensity I'm not sure I'd seen from her before.

"When I go into a really deep trance, it really is like going to sleep, but I know that I'm sleeping. I get to experience what that feels like. Do you ever... like, wake up in the morning, and realize that you were really enjoying yourself right before you woke up?"

"I think so. You mean like having a good dream? Yeah."

"Yeah, it could be that. Or even no dream at all, but just enjoying the feeling of being asleep and the way things work differently when you are."

As Evie kept telling me about her non-weird non-hobby, she just got more and more into it. I'd never seen her this worked up about anything. God, she was precious.

"There's this release. I don't feel anxieties or inhibitions when I'm hypnotized. There's a peace, and a... clarity."

"Wow. I didn't realize there was all that to it."

Evie splayed her hands, then shook her head. "That's only the beginning. There's so much... sensation, or experience, that I don't even know how to put into words."

"What about, like, orders? If someone tells you to do something while you're under, do you have to do it?"

"Well..." she mulled it over. "I can become suggestible. I can easily go along with things. But there's more to it than that. There's this... openness that comes with being in trance. There's all these things, feelings, thoughts, reflexes, ways of thinking and feeling and perceiving, that can be... touched, in ways they can't normally be touched."

Was she running out of breath from all that? It looked like she was breathing kind of heavily.

"What if someone tried to make you do something you really don't want to do?"

"I would wake up immediately," she explained. "Safety first."

"How do you do that?"

"Training."

"Huh." I shrugged. "Well, do you remember what happens while you're hypnotized?"

"In a light trance, yeah. If I go deeper, it can be... dreamlike? You know, it's possible to remember a dream, especially if you want to. But it's also possible to let it slip away. It's like that."

"Huh. So, do you remember everything that happened back at the show?"

"Yeah... uh, mostly. Sorry if I, uh..." She eyed the little damp spot on my shoulder, then cast her eyes down.

"Ha. It's nothing. That's not even the wettest you've gotten me today," I said, smiling down at the giant damp spot that was still all over the front of my shirt.

"Mmm."

The moment passed, and silence followed. Evie looked down, almost as if she was embarrassed that she'd actually talked about her own interests for once.

"Thanks," she finally said. "You know. For letting me talk about this. I really wanted to tell some... uh, you."

"I was the one who asked you to talk about it!"

"Hmm... no, you weren't."

"Oh, right."

I started to chuckle, and soon she did, too.

It was good. Being here, talking with her. It was good.

But I felt like I wanted something more... Oh, of course. I had yet to get her back for throwing that water in my face. But now I had a plan. Way to go, Sirin. You have a plan.

"Hey, Evie. How deep would you say you went back there, at the fair?"

"Just kind of deep. It was good."

"The hypnotist wasn't even serious, though."

"No, but the hypnotist is only half of what makes it happen. I'm always serious about this. And I felt safe, because you were with me."

"There you go again with that sappy stuff."

She shrugged. "I'm always honest about how I feel."

"Oh, is that so?"

She gave the most noncommittal shrug I'd ever seen in my life, smirking as if she'd said the most amusing thing in the world.

"Mmm... you have a point, though," she continued. "That hypnotist wasn't serious."

Was that a little mischief in her eye?

"No, he wasn't."

"Not at all. I bet anyone could do it better if they tried." She hid a sheepish grin behind her hand.

"I bet I could."

Her eyes widened. So did her grin, until it could no longer be hidden behind her hand.

"You could try, if you wanted."

Bingo. My plan worked. It was my plan, wasn't it?

"Okay! Let's try it. So, uh... how do I do it?"

"Do you remember how the stage hypnotist started his act?"

"Yeah."

"That was a combination of two pretty classic inductions that are pretty easy to do. One of them is called progressive relaxation - that's where you just kind of walk a person through visualizing how the different parts of their body are becoming relaxed."

"Uh huh."

"Then the other one is eye fixation, which is the oldest one in the book. You ask the person to focus on looking at something, you know, something that makes their eyes tired. A spiral works great for that. Or just anything held in a position where they have to strain their eyes up to look at it. And you keep suggesting that their eyes are getting more and more tired, and that they'll be so relieved and relaxed when they close."

"Uh, okay."

"Hmm... either of those would be a great starting place."

"What about that thing with the counting?"

"That's called a deepener. It's something that often goes after an induction to really sell the idea that the person is hypnotized. Counting down is a pretty good thing to include, because, you know, it has a kind of symbolic... weight. And any kind of metaphor that a person can visualize is good. Like, how the guy talked about going down a flight of stairs toward a bed... I mean it was silly because those things don't really go together, but other than that, it works. Like the symbolism works. You know?"

"I one hundred percent get it," I said, nodding in a gesture of supreme confidence, trying to digest everything she had just said, wondering how in the world I was going to wing this. But there was no way I was going to back out now. My alea had been iacta'd.

"Okay." I cleared my throat. "Are you ready?"

"Wait. You want to do it here?"

"Sure. Why not?"

She looked around, at the few people strolling up and down the footpath. Oh. Right.

"Hey," I suggested, "you want to go back to your place instead? Come on."

"Um. No... I think we can do it here. If you want to." She kept glancing at the people walking nearby.

"I really don't mind going back to your place. It won't be very private here. Are you okay with that?"

"I think it's... fine."

For my part, I must have looked skeptical.

"It's really fine," she said. "I'd like you to do it to me. You know... here. As long as you're sure that you want to."

"Sure, I'm sure."

"Mmm."

"Alright... then. I'd like you to look at me straight on, just keep your head level. Yeah, just like that." I sat up as straight as I could. "And now, without moving your head, look directly into my eyes."

She looked up to meet my gaze. Maybe not super far up, but the angle was only part of what was going to make this work. Evie had never maintained eye contact with me for more than two seconds before. There was no way she'd be able to keep this up for long.

Hell - she was blushing already.

"Good," I said, in the most calming voice I could effect. "And as you look deep into my eyes, notice that you will begin to feel a little sleepy."

I couldn't blame her for blushing. By how hot I had suddenly started to feel, I think I was, too. But she kept staring into my eyes intently.

"Staring into my eyes is making your eyes so tired," I continued, "that they keep feeling heavier and heavier, as you feel more and more sleepy."

She just kept staring at me with a blankish look on her face. I didn't realize it was going to be this hard. How long had I been looking into her eyes? A few seconds? A minute? If this kept up, I was going to be the one who had to look away.

"And your eyelids are getting so heavy that you can barely keep them open. And when you close them, you will feel this great sense of relief, uh, a sense of relaxation that spreads throughout your whole body."

As her eyelids began to flutter, I could feel my chest doing something similar. I was really doing this. I didn't know exactly what I was doing to my friend, but I was really doing it.

"And when that happens, it means you will be hypnotized."

I didn't know if I wanted to keep staring into her fluttering eyes or tear myself away immediately. But neither of those were what she had asked for.

"You want that, don't you? Go ahead and close your eyes now."

As she did, I could see the change in her body right away - the way she sank down in her seat and the muscles of her face became perfectly still. Her head tilted a little to one side, but not too far. She looked comfortable. Her hands just kind of laid on her lap. The only movement was the slow, subtle rise and fall of her chest.

She looked cute this way. She looked happy.

"Hey, Evie. You can talk, right?"

"Yes," she said, barely audibly. The word slid out of her just like one of her slow breaths.

"Are you ready to go deeper?"

"Yes."

So - the next step. I didn't know what I was doing. But when I looked down at my lap, I realized I had a tool I could use. I wouldn't be able to do a countdown from ten though, because there were only three things left on the plate: a chocolate-covered wild strawberry, a slice of pickled rhubarb, and a lavender blueberry pierog.

"Okay. Good. Now... you know what's going to happen to you. You're going to go down into that deep, dreamy sleep that you like so much. All you need is a few key ingredients, and I'm going to feed them to you. I'm going to count down from three, and with each number I'm going to feed you something that will push you deeper into that state. You're going to love eating each of these treats, because you know what they're going to do to you, and you want that so much. And when we reach zero, you will be deeply asleep, just like you wanted."

The first thing I picked up was the tiny, roundish strawberry, half-covered in dark chocolate. Despite its size, it had a very strong and sweet aroma.

"This is a wild strawberry," I said. "It is so sweet that it will fill you with pleasant feelings. Such pleasant feelings, there won't be any room left for any kind of worry or anxiety or any other negative thought when you eat this strawberry."

I brought it to her lips, and she did the rest.

"Three."

As she bit down on the strawberry, I thought I saw the corners of her mouth turn up just a tiny bit. I felt like she was happy. She was so happy that she didn't have to show it with a smile, I thought.

I knew I had made the right call. Food always makes a person feel good. And that was the goal here, right? To make Evie feel good.

Oh. Right. I still had to get her back too.

"How was the strawberry, Evie?"

She whispered something so faintly that I could only make out the last of it. "Further."

"What was that?"

"You can go... further."

Something about the way she said it made me feel... I don't even know what. Or maybe it was just the heat. The setting sun was right upon us. It was natural that I'd be sweating.

I picked up the second treat from the plate - a thick slice of pickled rhubarb, topped with a plain yogurt. As I did, a few people were walking right past us, talking loudly.

"Hey lady," called one seemingly intoxicated guy who happened to look in our direction. "Is your girlfriend alright?" His friends hustled him away pretty quickly.

When I turned back to Evie, she hadn't moved an inch, but she was blushing furiously. With... embarrassment? She shouldn't have been feeling anything like that under hypnosis. But maybe she just needed to go deeper. It was embarrassment, right?

"How do you feel, Evie?"

"Good."

"Uh, that's good. I'm going to feed you a piece of rhubarb now. It will be sour and tangy. When you eat it, all of your inhibitions will just melt away, and you'll be completely at ease, completely open and receptive to anything I tell you. Two."

She chewed on the rhubarb. When her lips parted again, I could see that her mouth was glistening. The sour treat must have made her salivate a lot. Her tongue sat under a pool of saliva that slowly leaked out, moistening her bottom lip. I watched as a little trickle of drool spilled over and ran down to her chin.

Her saliva would probably be sweet and tangy, like the rhubarb.

I glanced around. There were still as many people walking along the path nearby. Some of them looked like they were glancing over at us, but they didn't seem interested in what we were doing.

I could... I could taste it if I wanted to, I thought. Evie wouldn't stop me. I could lick the drool right off of her chin.

I wiped the sweat from my face. Was I okay? What silly thoughts I was having. Maybe the heat was getting to me.

A droplet fell from her chin onto her dress, landing right in her lap. That was kind of funny.

There was only one item left on the plate, a little dumpling slathered in melted butter. I picked it up between two fingers, not caring about the grease that began to run down my hand. It had stayed surprisingly warm - thanks to the heat, I guess.

"H-hey. Evie. There's one more treat for you," I said, my hand shaking a bit as I raised it closer to her waiting lips. "This is a lavender-blueberry pierog. I don't really know what it tastes like, but we're going to find out. Once you eat it, you'll do anything I say. And you'll let me do anything I want to you."

I, uh, had to cover all the bases. Because I still hadn't figured out exactly how I was going to segue this hypnosis thing into getting her back for her prank at the fountain. And that was definitely still a thing.

I took a deep breath, steadying my hand so I could press it smoothly against her lips.

"One."

The moment as she took the pierog into her mouth seemed to last forever. Was she being slow on purpose? To tease me? No. There was no way she could have known how I was looking at her, how I was feeling as her warm, soft breath brushed against my fingers.

It slid in, leaving behind a sheen of melted butter that dribbled down her chin, mingling with her drool. She closed her mouth and began to chew, slowly, and I took my hand away, slowly. I tilted my head a little to get a better look at the side of her face, the workings of her jaw. I watched the subtle contractions of her throat as she swallowed the food.

Then her lips parted again, and her breath rolled out, carrying with it the herbal scent of lavender - deep, earthy, and sweet. It was different than I expected, prickling my nose with an almost minty tang as I breathed in her warm breath. I never knew lavender was so complex, so pleasing. I tasted it on my lips. And I thought about tasting it on her lips.