I got dressed and headed back to the living room, where Alisha had her new clothes scattered all over, showing them off to her mother.
“And this one, I thought I could combine with… oh, Dad, did you see this one?”
She held up the red top.
“Yes, I saw all of it, I was there when you bought it, remember?”
“Yeah, I just…”
“Why don’t you take your new stuff upstairs and hang it up, all right?”
“Yes, Dad.”
She grabbed everything and put it back in the bag before darting upstairs to her room.
“Busy day?” Ava asked, giving me a kiss.
“Phew. Well, shopping isn’t too hard, but she gets very enthusiastic sometimes.”
“I can tell she was in a good mood. Those garments were a new style for her.”
“I noticed.”
“Her confidence is growing, apparently. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”
She gave me another kiss and went back to her computer over in the corner.
“I have to get these last reports done.”
“How long were you heading this course, again?”
“Last day tomorrow. Then back in the air, once all the trainees are cleared.”
“Once you clear them, you mean, you awesome supervisor, you.”
She smiled and turned to her screen, putting on her headphones.
Ava had been doing office work for a week now, coaching some youngsters for the airline. I had wondered why they used a pilot for this kind of work instead of keeping her in the air, but apparently, she was the only one qualified on a certain system or something, so she became their mentor for a time. I wasn’t complaining, as it meant she’d gotten a break from those long trips away from home.
We all enjoyed a nice supper together before heading off to bed. Ava had some last-minute things to work on, so I followed Alisha upstairs and prepared for the evening’s session. It always took a while to bring her fully under, so she liked doing it just before she was going to sleep. After working on this for several weeks, though, we were able to speed up the process a little bit. Still, I preferred always using the same method, so that she got used to it.
“… and take a deep breath… and exhale…”
Alisha sat on her bed, leaning back against her two large pillows, while I sat in the chair right next to her. I could sense that she was drifting under after about ten minutes. Just a little more now…
“You feel yourself floating now, getting closer and closer to falling asleep… I’m going to count down from five, and when the number reaches zero, you’ll feel completely relaxed and free to talk about anything you want. Five… and you feel your body relax… Four… you feel warm and comfortable… Three… you feel your inhibitions dropping away like a sheet of clothing slipping off a chair… Two… you feel safe and secure… One… you feel strong and confident… Zero… all right, you’re ready to have a nice talk now…”
“Mhm…”
“Do you feel good?”
“Yeah…”
“Do you feel tired?”
“No…”
As usual, when I got her to say something while she was hypnotized, her sentences were short and direct. Some words even sounded like they were left hanging, as if there was more coming, but then there was nothing. Her speech was also slightly slurred, as if she was talking in her sleep. After all, she kind of was.