Chapter 5 #3
“She’s probably not concerned with liking the stuff so much as she is with selling it. I wouldn’t worry about what you see there. Just show her what you can do. If she thinks there’s a market for it, she’ll let you know.”
“Or if there isn’t, she’ll tell me that too.”
“Come on now. People are going to love your stuff. I thought what you showed me was brilliant.” He turned toward her and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring grin. She seemed to relax as she smiled back.
“I think you’re prejudiced, but I’m glad someone’s on my side.”
“Does it feel like anyone is against you?”
“Not personally. It’s just the way the world works. Whoever has money seems to have the most value. An artist can be wildly talented and die penniless. It seems like all creativity is subjective, and an artist is at the mercy of whims.”
“It’s a gamble, for sure. So is life.”
She was quiet. Had he said something wrong? They rode in silence for a while.
When he suggested they stop for coffee, she checked the time and said, “No. I just want to get there. The Southeast Expressway could make us late. I don’t want to miss this.”
“You sound excited. I’m glad you’re open to the whole hypnosis thing. I didn’t know if you would be.”
“What other options do I have? I can’t think of anything. I don’t care if it’s a long shot. I’ll take any shot right now. The last thing I need is to chat up a bunch of invisible buyers at my first and possibly last gallery show.”
He reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”
She was quiet for a few moments, then faced him squarely and asked, “Dante, are you sure you want to get involved with a woman like me?”
He glanced over and took in her serious expression. He desperately wanted to put a smile back on her beautiful face.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, some people might think I’m unstable and dangerous.”
“Don’t worry.” He flashed a grin. “I love unstable, dangerous women.”
She leaned back against the leather seat. “Well then, you’ve met your dream girl.”
* * *
“What brings you here today, Miss Summers?”
“Didn’t Dante tell you?”
“I spoke to Mr. Fierro about the problem, but I’d like to hear it in your own words. Also, I want to know what you’re hoping the outcome of our session will be.”
“Okay. I see dead people. I think. At least I see and can speak to people who others say aren’t there. It’s confusing, because I don’t know who’s real and who isn’t. For all I know, it’s all an elaborate hoax and everyone is in on it but me.”
“That must be disturbing.”
“Yeah, for everyone involved. Except for Dante. He seems really cool about it. I don’t know why.”
“Maybe he really cares about your well-being. Is that not true?”
“No. I mean, yeah. That’s true. I’m sure that’s it.”
The therapist let it drop. “And what would you like our work here to do?”
“Make the spirits go away. I only want to see and speak to real people. Can you make that happen?”
“We can certainly work toward accomplishing that. Will you be all right if someone shows up during our session?”
“You mean, will I freak out? I haven’t yet. Most of the people are quite nice.”
“Good. The reason I ask is that if someone arrives, you’ll know for a fact that no one is here but you and me. The door is closed.”
“True.” Mallory’s stomach fluttered with nerves as she put her sanity in the hypnotherapist’s hands. The guy seemed nice enough.
“First, I want you to know you’ll be in control the whole time. If at any point you want to come out of hypnosis, simply raise your hand. I’m here to keep you completely safe and comfortable.”
She would have felt safer if Dante was in the room, but she had insisted she’d be fine.
Now she was sarcastically chastising “five-minutes-ago Mallory.” Dante said he’d go and browse through a bookstore nearby and come back in an hour, so she really had no choice but to get comfortable with this stranger.
“You won’t make me cluck like a chicken, will you?”
He frowned. “No. What purpose would that serve? I’m a hypnotherapist, Miss Summers. Not the type of hypnotist you see on stage.”
“Okay. Good.”
“Besides, remember how I said you’d be in control? All you have to do is tell me you’re uncomfortable, and I can change the script or end the session altogether. I’m here to help you, not entertain myself.”
She figured that would be his answer. He probably wouldn’t have much of a business if he didn’t do what he said he was going to do. “So, I’ll be able to talk to you, even under hypnosis?”
“Yes. You will. Have you been hypnotized before?”
“No.”
He smiled. “I’ll bet you have. Ever been driving down a highway and suddenly your exit comes up, even though you thought it was several miles away?”
“Yeah. But that’s because I tend to daydream.”
“A lot of your daydreaming is probably hypnosis. You don’t need a hypnotist to be hypnotized. Actually, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. If you allow your mind to drift from its conscious beta state to a subconscious alpha state, you’re experiencing hypnosis.”
“Oh.” After thinking about it for a second, she added, “That sounds like it could be dangerous.”
“As long as you don’t fall asleep at the wheel, it’s perfectly safe. You can bring yourself back from alpha at any time.”
“Alpha? Beta? Do I need to know this?”
He laughed. “There won’t be a test, if that’s what you mean, but it’s always good to know what’s going on.
Every part of your body vibrates to its own rhythm.
Your brain has a unique set of brain waves.
In neuroscience, there are five distinct brain wave frequencies, namely beta, alpha, theta, delta, and gamma.
We’ll only go from beta to alpha and back. ”
“What are all the other states for?”
“Well, theta is that twilight state between sleep and barely awake. Deep sleep is a very low frequency called delta. We won’t even approach gamma.
“Just remember that you can bring yourself back from alpha to beta at any time. I’ll put you into a very relaxed alpha state called a trance. From there, we can access your subconscious mind. Do you have any other questions?”
“No. Do you?”
He smiled. “Not right now. When we begin, I want you to remember you’re completely safe.
If anything makes you uncomfortable, all you have to do is raise your hand, and we’ll stop the session immediately.
But let me bring you back gently. Don’t jolt yourself back to full consciousness, even though you can. ”
“Okay. I think I’ll be okay.” She surprised herself when she realized she meant it.
“Good. I want you to find a comfortable position. You can recline in the chair or sit up or lie on the floor. Whatever is most comfortable for you.”
She glanced at the carpet, not because she was actually thinking of lying down, but because she wondered if anyone did. It looked clean, but yuck. It could be full of ground-in dirt from people’s shoes, dropped cookie crumbs, or who knew what else. “Nope. I’m good.”
“Okay. Let’s begin. Take three deep, cleansing breaths, and let them out slowly.
Breathe in, hold it for a few seconds, and relax as you exhale.
” He spoke softly. “Simply breathe deeply and relax a little more each time you exhale. Inhale…and exhale. You can close your eyes or allow them to drift closed on their own as you relax.” His voice had already taken on a dreamlike quality.
He asked her to breathe normally while he counted her down to an even deeper relaxed state. Other than feeling boneless after a good orgasm, she didn’t know how much more relaxed she could get.
“Seven, six… Even more relaxed. Five, four… Deeper and deeper. Three, two…and one. You’re completely relaxed.”
Soon he was describing a beautiful, safe, calm place.
He led her along the grassy banks of a slow-flowing river.
He told her to feel the sun on her shoulders, smell the freshness of the pine-scented air, and listen to the birds as they chirped in the distance.
He let her spend a few moments just enjoying the peacefulness of the place as his voice trailed off.
Suddenly, she wasn’t alone. A beautiful woman who looked like her grandmother but many years younger than she remembered her walked out of the woods.
“Grams?”
“Hello, darling.”
“Is it really you?”
“Yes. My soul is here with you.”
“Just your soul? Because I see you. You look different, but I know it’s you.”
“I’m in my prime and completely healthy.”
“Is that what I’ve been seeing? People’s souls? Why aren’t they all as young and healthy as you are?”
“Sometimes, spirits resist moving on. It’s usually due to a reluctance to leave loved ones or because of some unfinished business.”
“Is that why this is happening to me? Do the spirits want me to help them finish their business?” Wait, that sounds wrong.
Her grandmother laughed. “I knew what you meant.”
“Ack! You can read my mind?”
“Only if you project your thoughts, as if you want them heard.”
Shit. This is weird.
“Not really. We’re connected in a different way. Our souls communicate with each other in the spirit world.”
“Is that where I am? In the spirit world?”
“No. You’re in a therapist’s office.”
Well, duh. Her grandmother didn’t comment. Either because she didn’t hear what Mallory didn’t want her to hear…or she forgave that particular thought.
“I’m glad you’re here, Grams. I have so many questions. But cutting to the chase, is there a way to stop the spirits I don’t know from bothering me? Or can you tell me how to tell real people from the spirits?”
Suddenly, she was alone.
“Grams?” No one answered. “Grams? Can you come back?”
Again, there was no answer. Maybe her grandmother would have crossed some kind of line if she told her more.
Maybe she’d already crossed a line and was dragged off by the heaven police.
Shit, Mallory. You sound nuts now. Or more nuts than usual.
It was time to come out of this trance and make sense of what she’d been told.
She raised her hand.
* * *
Dante arrived five minutes before the hour, and the door to the inner office was open. They’re done already? He peeked in.
“Ah, Mr. Fierro. Come in. We were waiting for you. Have a seat.”
Dante entered and sat in the empty chair. “Is everything all right?” He glanced at his watch. “I thought I was early.”
“Yes, everything’s fine,” the therapist said. “We had a breakthrough today. I’d like to see her again, but she wanted to speak to you first.”
Mallory squirmed in her seat as if she couldn’t wait to tell him what happened—or get out of there. He wasn’t sure which.
“I’ll let Mallory share with you what she wants you to know.”
“First off, I’m not crazy!”
Dante laughed. “I didn’t think you were.”
“Well, you were more certain of that than I was.”
Dante waited, then prompted her to go on. “What else?”
“I found out the spirit world is real, and I’m talking to souls that haven’t moved on.”
“Wow! That is a breakthrough.” He wondered how this new information came to her, but following the therapist’s lead, he was letting her tell him what she wanted him to know.
She frowned. “Unfortunately, my grandmother left before I could understand the difference between a real human and an uncrossed-over soul.”
“So, you had a chat with your grandmother?”
“Oh yeah.” She slapped herself upside the head. “My Grams showed up and told me what was happening.”
“I’m glad you got some answers. Do you think you’ll get more with another session?”
Mallory looked toward the hypnotherapist. “Will I?”
“You might. Especially since it won’t be new to you next time. You can enter the trance state more easily when you know what to expect and trust that you’ll be completely safe.”
“What I really want to know is if we can stop the spirits from visiting except when I want them to.”
“I can add a posthypnotic suggestion to that effect.”
“You can? Why didn’t you?”
“We didn’t discuss it. I wouldn’t add something like that unless you were completely aware that that’s what I was going to do. Mental health is trickier than hypnosis for losing weight or giving up cigarettes.”
“I thought you said I wasn’t crazy.”
He leaned forward. “You’re not. Mental health is different than abnormal psychology.
Everyone wants mental health. I know it’s just semantics, but the difference is important.
I wish more emphasis was put on that difference.
Society hears the words ‘mental health’ and automatically jumps to the conclusion that the lack of it is being discussed. ”
“Oh. So, I’m mentally healthy?”
“Until proven otherwise.”
“All of this is good news,” Dante said, “except for one thing. Why is she being haunted, for lack of a better word? Is there a proper word for what’s happening to her?”
The hypnotherapist took a deep breath and looked as if he had to take a moment to think.
At last, he said, “Not that I can think of. I haven’t had a case like this before, but mediums might have a better handle on the lingo.
If she were schizophrenic, that would be one thing, but I don’t think she is. ”
Mallory shot to her feet. “You don’t think?”
“Relax. I’m quite sure, but I have to allow for the fact that I’m human. I believe in a spirit world, even though my education is rooted in science. I could be wrong, even though I’m confident.”
“Oh. I was almost confident too. Confident that I was crazy,” she said with a frown.
Dante quickly changed the subject to making another appointment.
Mallory looked at him imploringly. “I’d need a ride. Would you be willing to bring me, Dante?”
“Of course I will,” he said. He rose and held out his hand. This relationship was still new and undefined. He’d be thrilled when he could say she was his. Happily, she placed her hand in his and didn’t let go.
“If it’s any consolation,” the therapist said as they were leaving, “the spirits haven’t given you any commands. They seem to be benevolent.”
“Well, crap. I never thought about what would happen if they told me to do something evil. What if one of them tells me to run into traffic?”
“Would you run into traffic?”
“Of course not.”
“Then I wouldn’t worry about it.”
Dante sucked in a deep breath. How frightening would it be if a voice told someone to run into traffic and that person believed they had to do it? He was grateful Mallory was well aware of the difference.