“Come on, sit still, Peter.” I pushed him till his head rested on the couch back. “And don’t talk.”
Addie had wandered over to the front window. She sat on the window ledge with her arms crossed over her purple sweater, fiddling with her glass
beads, watching us.
Outside, the sunlight faded in and out. Shadows seemed to reach up and swallow Addie.
I turned back to Peter. “Keep your eye on the coin,” I said. Holding the chain high, I began to swing the silver dollar. “Follow the coin… Follow it
closely…” I whispered.
Peter burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I snapped.
“You are,” he said. “You’re a total fake, aren’t you?”
“Of course she isn’t,” Addie chimed in. “We both studied that hypnotism book.” She pointed to the book on the table beside the couch. “We’ve been
practicing for weeks, Peter.”
Peter stared at the book. “Really?”
I sighed. “I can’t hypnotize you if you keep laughing and asking questions.”
Peter pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Well, what are you going to do to me when I’m hypnotized?”
“I’m going to make you remember things you’ve forgotten,” I told him. “And then we’ll see if you have any past lives.”
“Cool,” he said. He settled back. “Do it.”
Addie flashed me a thumbs-up. I raised the silver dollar and turned back to Peter. “Watch the coin, Peter,” I whispered. “You’re getting very sleepy…
very sleepy…”
He didn’t burst out laughing this time. He didn’t say a word. His expression was solemn. He rested his head against the back of the couch, and
nothing moved but his eyes. Back and forth… slowly, so slowly… back and forth.
“You feel so drowsy now, Peter. Your eyelids feel heavy… so heavy… You can barely keep them open…”