Dr Jaffrey asked a series of questions about the makeup of her family as a child? Mom was lying back on the couch as she answered that her mother had married a man considerably older than she. He had a son and a daughter from a previous marriage that were ten or more years older than her. They lived with their own mother until they were fifteen or sixteen and then they came and lived with her family. She went on that she had learned later that the son and daughter were trouble and their mother couldn’t handle them anymore. Mom snickered a little as she recalled that her father couldn’t do anything with them either and they were always in trouble with the law. He threw them out when Mom was ten. They were in their twenties by then. Dr. Jaffrey was taking many notes even though she had turned on a video recorder when we took our seats in her office.
Mom had never talked about her older step-brother and step-sister; only that their names were Rafe and Jessica. We had never met our step-uncle and step-aunt. What I had just heard was enough information to imagine that Uncle Rafe and Auntie Jessica were either dead or in prison.
Dr. Jaffrey looked over at me and said, “Your mother is very susceptible to hypnotic suggestion. That’s why I’m suspicious that she could have received some illicit suggestions when she was sleepwalking as a child. I just don’t know how far back her sleepwalking started or ended.”
Dr. Jaffrey asked questions and Mom answered them like she was wide awake watching herself as a child and then it was like Mom became her younger self. It was fascinating to watch. Dr. Jaffrey took Mom back to age five. She was obviously suspicious about the arrival of the step-brother and step-sister in Mom’s family unit. After Mom’s explanation, I was thinking the same thing.
The doctor took Mom back to a sleepwalking episode and Mom confirmed that she, as a child of five, was sleepwalking. She was even able to describe for Dr. Jaffrey what she was doing during that episode. It was benign and offered no useful information. As Mom was led through more episodes it became apparent that she sleepwalked a few times a week, much more frequently than today.
Day by day, Dr. Jaffrey led Mom’s child self through her episodes and then there it was. Mom explained that Rafe had caught her wandering around the house in the dark. Mom said, “He says that I’m in a lot of trouble for wandering around like that. He promises that he won’t tell my mother if I did something for him.” Dr. Jaffrey interrupted her story and asked if she was still sleepwalking when Rafe spoke to her. Mom pondered the question for a few moments and then said, “Yes. I think I am. I hear his voice but I don’t actually see him. I’m alone. I’m terrified of being caught. I don’t have any clothes on.”
Dr. Jaffrey spoke quietly, “Why are you afraid of being caught?”
Mom was quiet for a moment and then said, “Because Rafe says I would be in big trouble if my parents caught me out of bed without any clothes on.” Mom went silent a moment and then continued, “He says he’ll tell on me unless I do a favor for him. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
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