Packback
6. Healing
Working mostly from home is a mixed blessing for me, with the best part being the commute, or lack thereof. I still had to drive up to the spaceport every few weeks, but mostly if I needed to talk with someone there I could teleconference. We used my new software for it, which they were impressed enough to license. I polished it up and they released it as a product. It was worth two million a year to me for more than a decade.
Megan opened a crossfit studio while continuing to work on martial arts. The muay thai and pencak silat were for street fighting, while the jiu jitsu filled in some infighting holes that taekwondo glossed over. She was probably close to a successful MMA career, but that isn’t what she wanted, which was to be able to effortlessly destroy Mike and Jack and four particular others if they ever tried coming at either of us again. She bought a small knife she called a kerambit from the silat studio and trained with it, carrying it almost everywhere. I think she wanted to castrate Mike, but when I asked about it she stopped me.
We saw Peri every week or so, sometimes at our house but more often at Graciela’s, whose parents and younger brother were back in Chile. Graciela had a house on Laguna Beach now, too—some of her live-in slaves were from wealthy families.
Insofar as Peri was dominant at all, she was a very different kind of dominant than Graciela ... Graciela was very physical, while what Peri seemed to enjoy most was enticing a man into doing something embarrassing in public while under a hypnotic suggestion and then snapping immediately back to a normal mental state to realize what he’d done, overwhelmed by whatever emotions that realization brought. Later she would fuck him silly, both of them incredibly turned on by her power. She tried showing Graciela how, but Graciela’s inclination was elsewhere.
If she hadn’t been so scrupulous, Peri could’ve been an incredibly dangerous woman. She’d implanted triggers into all of us so we could go into a hypnotic trance almost instantaneously if she wanted that. She could make us do just about anything, forget what she wanted us to, block most of our physical sensation and even our orgasms, or make us orgasm on command. She delighted in demonstrating all of that but was very responsible about how and when she did it. She enrolled at UC Irvine. She wanted a psychology degree with a focus on psychotherapy. She sometimes spent weekend nights with us but lived in a dorm during the week, where she became very popular.
In the course of working through Megan’s rage issues Peri proposed a deal: if Mike returned and Megan could subdue rather than physically destroy him, Peri could hypnotize him and maybe shift some of his underlying malice, or at least make him forget that he was angry with her.
Megan demurred. I think she preferred the idea of physical destruction. I told her that if they came at us again, they would probably do so in a much more prepared way, with weapons or some martial arts training of their own. We both knew that Megan would be better no matter how much training they might have, but it was still worth considering. My actual fear was that they would come with guns. Megan started training with handguns specifically in mind, and I was much happier for it. We didn’t allow Glyn’s crew to share that Megan was training in anything but taekwondo. Mike and Jack had most of another year in the slammer, regardless.
After that discussion I learned that martial arts aren’t taught in prisons. I guess that makes sense.
The not-so-good thing about telecommuting for me is I was tending to drink in the afternoons. Megan’s crossfit studio had its busiest times after regular business hours, so I would often make dinner for us to be ready about 9:00 PM, sometimes having 2 or 3 drinks before we ate. This annoyed Megan at first but then seemed to disturb her more. One night when Graciela and Peri were at our house for one of those late dinners, she finally snapped.
“Scott, one of the things that made living with my father so awful was that he would get drunk and then he would get mean, and you already know what a horrible drunk Mike is. You seem to be starting down that same path, and I do not like it one bit.” Her face was flushed.
She’d hardly said a word about her father before so I didn’t want to interrupt.
She motioned Graciela over. “Make him watch,” she said, trapped my jaw between Graciela’s beautiful long manicured fingernails, then she absolutely destroyed the heavy kickboxing bag she’d bought for our home gym. I mean, that thing had almost 300 lbs of ballast and my beautiful 130 lb wife kicked it over, kicked it back up before it could tip, devastated its urethane neck, turned to me and yelled “Don’t fuck this up, Scott! I love you too much!” and then ripped its head clean off with a single spinning superpowered kick. She dashed into the next room, sobbing.
Peri watched everything with a certain professional detachment. I wanted to go to Megan but Peri saw it and said “Don’t.”
Graciela went home. After 10 minutes Peri went to Megan. After another hour, they came back. Peri looked at me, expectant.
“I won’t drink too much, honey,” I told Megan. “I promise.”
“I’ll get a new dummy, Scott. I’m sorry ... I really need to work on my anger.”
“I’m just glad you didn’t take it out on me,” I said.
Megan came closer, with trepidation. I held out my arms. She stepped into them. “Hold me, Scott, please. I love you so much.”
In a way, I suppose living with Megan was like living with an abusive spouse, except the abuse had only ever been threats, and those were almost never overt. Had she gotten this from her father?
Peri helped. A lot. She said the most important thing she could imagine in this world was helping Megan. It’s why she wanted to go back to school.
“Is there someone you could recommend now, before you get your degree?”
“Let me get back to you,” she said.
That night, Peri hypnotized both of us. She often did when she stayed over, I think it’s why she wanted to stay over in the first place.
“I love you both in my particular screwed-up way, did you know that?” she asked.
“Yes, Miss Peri,” Megan and I answered together. She liked it when we did that. She wanted us to call her ‘Miss Peri’ when we were in trance.
“Megan, put your tongue in my butt. Scott, fill me up with your beautiful cock. I’m positively dripping.”
It took a little maneuvering. We didn’t have Peri’s queening chair then, but she could be on the edge of our bed with her legs up, Megan’s tongue in her ass, me as deep inside her as I could go, Megan’s arms around my waist with her fingers toying with Peri’s clit and sometimes with my balls. Peri held us there for half an hour until she was delirious. She’d blocked our orgasms but she came several times, harder each time, until finally she directed me to put my cock in Megan and turned us loose. I became a dynamo and Megan held on for dear life, both of us coming harder than I remember for a very long time.
“Glyn was wrong,” Megan said after we’d caught our breath. “Sometimes I like it hard and fast.”
Peri lay between us, her long fingernails playing on our faces, lightly, teasingly. “I truly do love you,” she said softly, wonderingly. I was already falling asleep.
It was early August. We’d been off trail for two months and Peri was living with us on summer break. Our blisters were healed to callus, our knees were good, and we had fresh, broken-in trail shoes. We’d been taking long, fast walks up and down the Laguna hills, no significant altitude but decent ups and downs. Our PCT permit was good for the whole year, and we really needed to get back on trail if we wanted to finish the Sierra.
Megan had been seeing the anger management therapist Peri recommended. It seemed to help but her issues kept getting deeper. I kept being more and more amazed at how deep.
I reached out to Megan’s sister and mother to learn if they were interested in the same kind of therapy, but they never reply to anything I send them.
Back to the Onion Valley trailhead. Our shoes were broken in, our legs were ready. We averaged 15-mile days, not as fast as we could go, but there was so much to see and do together. Flake was amazing, depoting resupplies every week or so every step of the way. We got invited to eat fresh-caught, fresh-grilled trout by some older Japanese gentlemen whose fathers used to take them up here and who’d been members of some fishing club they seemed reluctant to discuss. They had no idea who we were. It was turning into the best summer yet.
Muir Trail Ranch, Agnew Meadows and at an overnight with a shower and a good meal in Mammoth Lakes, who do you suppose we found at the so-called rental house?
Glyn.
I hadn’t seen her in more than a year. Megan had been keeping the secret. She was better at that than she used to be.
“Greta arranged everything,” Glyn said, kissing me like she hadn’t had anyone else to kiss in more than a year.
She looked me over. “You’re not as pretty as you were before. Good thing Megan more than makes up for it.”
“He’s not unmarked now, that’s true,” Megan said. “But I think his scars show character, and I think he’s just scrumptious.”
“Megan is more beautiful than ever to me,” I said. “And you are, too. Glyn, I’ve missed you.” I enfolded her.
“I know, honey, I know,” she said, patting my back.
Glyn owned the house and it was spacious and elegant with unusually large social areas, like it would be a great venue for a Hollywood party. Peri walked into the living room from deeper in the house and arrowed straight for Megan. They embraced, kissing deep. Then she did the same with me.
Then Graciela. We hadn’t spent much time with her malesubs, but she’d brought three on this trip. For driving, cooking, and ... cleaning, as she put it. The one for cleaning looked about seven feet tall. All three had bigger cocks than mine and were naked but for buttplugs, cock rings, and nipple clamps.
“Put those away,” Megan said, and Graciela shooed them to their part of the house.
“So,” Glyn began. “How is everything, my dears?” She seemed very pleased with herself.
Graciela put her beautiful hand on my cock, pulsed her nails against it. Peri seemed mesmerized. Megan pinched my nipples, one after the other, her other hand caressing my shoulder.
“Pretty good, I think,” I said, gasping.
Glyn slowly stripped, smiling at me like she was about to teach me the one secret every man ever hopes to learn about a woman.
She stepped closer and pressed her bikini-trimmed pussy to my mouth. “Fuck me, Scott darling,” she said. “I’ve missed you.”
“You didn’t come to our wedding.”
“Well, that depends. I sent my crew and they recorded everything, including things you probably didn’t even know were happening. I have about 500 hours of footage and only used 20 minutes in the episode. I’ve watched all of it at least once and a lot of it more than once. I’ve definitely come while watching different parts of it, so yes, my dears, I definitely came to your wedding, even if not the way you might’ve thought.”
We were all lying in Glyn’s huge bed together. “Can we just stay here with you forever?” Megan asked.
“Not unless I get more boytoy time,” Graciela said. “You ladies don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Do you mind if I mess with their minds a little?” Peri asked.
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Graciela replied, “as long as I get to watch.”
“Bring the big one when it’s time.”
“He’s my favorite right now. Scott has a very nice cock, but Enrique stretches me like no one else.”
“I wondered about that,” I said.
“Watch yourself, Scott,” Glyn said. “You’re awfully close to dangerous ground,” then “Peri, I’m curious about you. I hear you’re a certified clinical hypnotherapist and a hypnodomme, and you’ve started a degree towards psychotherapy. What motivates you?”
Peri took a deep breath. “I’m in love with Megan,” she said. “Scott too, of course, but Megan makes me feel out of control, something I’ve never wanted to feel before, but with her, I know what it means, and I love that feeling. She’s hurting very badly inside. I want to help her.”
“Megan tells me you’ve implanted hypnotic triggers in her and Scott.”
“Yes ... mostly to help them go quickly into trance, but I also play with their memory. Also Graciela and her mother, and Flake and Greta, and Scott’s lovely friend Brit before she left and asked that I remove her triggers.”
“Selective memory manipulation.”
“Yes, but I should clarify something ... I’m not really a domme, I just play one on the internet. I write a script, or find someone else’s that suits me, I record it and release it as an audio file, and people pay for it. It brings in a little money on the side, but mostly it’s a way to broaden my fan base. What I really enjoy is fucking with people’s minds, and when they actually pay for that in a private session, sometimes very well, after I check them out of course, that’s just the best.”
“So the files you make are like songs.”
“I suppose so. I do feel like an artist when I make one I’m particularly proud of.”
“Megan tells me you’re very good.”
“I’ve been hypnotizing people since before I turned 10. I have a lot of practice but I’m completely self-taught, so I don’t really know how good I am compared to others, only that my recordings bring in some nice lunch money.”
“Can you show me? My training was in psychotherapy, and it seems like a hypnotic trance could be a shortcut for building the kind of trust that typically takes years. I’ve never seen a really good hypnotist work.”
Peri looked at each of the rest of us in turn. “How would you feel about me putting you in trance and letting Glyn guide a session with you?”
“I want you to bring Enrique in and hypnotize him first,” Graciela said.
“There’ll be time for that later, dear,” Glyn said, “and I look forward to it, but for the next hour I want to be a psychiatrist. It’s been a long time.”
“OK,” Graciela said.
“I would like that,” I said.
Megan hesitated. “This will mostly be about me, won’t it?”
Glyn nodded. “Yes, my dearest Megan. It will be mostly about you.”
Megan took a deep breath. “If it were anyone but you, and Peri, and Scott, and even our ever-horny Graciela here, I would say no. This is very scary for me. But I want to be better. For Scott. And for myself. So ... yes.”
“What makes it different with us?”
“Because I feel safe with you. I feel warm, and protected, including from myself. And I feel loved.” Megan was tearing up.
I was already holding her hand. I squeezed it and wiped her tear away.
Glyn nodded. “Show me your stuff, Peri.”
Peri sat on the bed, facing Glyn and away from the rest of us. She has a lovely back. She slowly raised one long-nailed hand. I felt chills, knowing what was about to happen, and wanting it. She flexed her fingers, waving those beautiful glossy red nails just a little, prolonging the moment. I was probably halfway to trance already ... it felt impossible to look away.
“Sleep, my beautiful babies,” Peri said, and snapped her fingers.
Apparently I did a push-up with Megan on my back, the way I once could. Apparently the reward I’d requested was to have my cock in Glyn, my mouth on Graciela’s lovely pussy while Peri kissed me and played with my nipples and chest with her beautiful long nails, all our orgasms but Glyn’s blocked since Peri hadn’t hypnotized Glyn yet, but I figured that was only a matter of time. Megan was behind me riding a double-ended prostate-stimulating strapon up my ass. Apparently I’d requested that, too. Peri was sitting on Glyn’s face, getting what looked like the best cunnilingus ever.
We woke to Peri’s beautiful fingers snapping, finding ourselves artfully posed in unexpected near-ecstasy, motionless for the moment, every one of us suspended on the edge of orgasm. My come was already dribbling out from Glyn’s wonderful opening, so I knew the prostate stimulation was working.
“When I count you down and snap my fingers, all of us will come into the biggest orgasm we’ve ever had,” Peri whispered.
“3. Just let it happen, let my words carry you in an irresistible tide toward overwhelming pleasure.
“2. Start moving in each other again ... all of us making each other feel so very very good. Oh goddess ... Glyn, that’s so good.”
Peri’s eyes were half closed, her head rolling back.
“1. Getting so close now ... you’re going to come so hard ... feel it coming ... feel it building ... Oh Glyn! ... feel yourself starting to let go ... Oh God!! ... feel the way my beautiful hand controls your pleasure so completely, feel it ... [SNAP] happen.”
I’d never been struck by lightning, but that’s kind of how it felt. There was a lot of screaming, and moaning, and sobbing, and gasping for breath, and groaning. It took several minutes before I felt able to talk in a normal voice again, but when I finally did say something, I felt hoarse.
“Glyn, would you mind if we stayed here with you an extra night?”
“That would be just perfect, Scott,” Glyn said dreamily.
There were several very nice restaurants in town, but maybe the best one was a ridge away at Fugitive Lake. We got a private room, Graciela’s three slaveboys acting as everyone else’s dates. At the table, Peri casually put all of us but Glyn in trance with just the motion of her beautiful hands. She told Glyn to not watch closely or she was likely to get hypnotized, too.
“What if I want that?” Glyn said.
“We can do that later if you like, but you did some really good work with Megan before all our fun, and I would like to do one more session with her tonight. Would that be OK?”
“Yes dear, that would be fine. You really are quite good at this.”
“Thank you, Glyn. Graciela?” Peri said.
“Yes, Miss Peri.”
“Would you mind calling our waiter?”
Beautiful Graciela had no trouble at all getting our waiter’s attention. She’d drawn it even more than the rest of us since we arrived. His name was Josh. I’d seen Graciela cast more than one sidelong glance his way, and I knew her well enough to know what that meant.
Peri put her hand on the table next to Graciela’s. “Do what I do, honey,” she whispered, and began slowly moving her hand.
“Josh, I would like you to tell me which hand you prefer. We got our nails done at different salons, and both of us would like to know if the other’s work is better. Give yourself half a minute to look closely and decide.”
Graciela’s fingers were now moving as hypnotically as Peri’s. Josh’s eyes glazed over.
“Good boy, Josh, you’re doing so well. How do you feel?”
“Strange,” he said.
“Let yourself feel very good, Josh ... you’re feeling exactly what you should be. You’re falling into a beautiful state of distraction now, and it’s so nice to be floating in that comfortable place, don’t you think? Call me Miss Peri.”
“Yes Miss Peri, it’s very nice.”
“I’m about to show you how nice. Graciela, I’m going to count you down from three, then I want you to orgasm when I snap my fingers. You may make a little noise if you like, but not so anyone outside the room can hear. Would that be OK?”
“Yes, Miss Peri.”
“Good girl. 3. Feel yourself becoming more aroused from what we just did to Josh together, hypnotizing him with just the movements of our beautiful hands, our beautiful long fingernails. Look at our beautiful hands, their hypnotic movement pulling you deeper into trance the longer you look. So irresistible, and you want to fall deeper into trance for me so much.
“2. Feel that arousal rising, higher and stronger, feel yourself tense as that arousal begins to overwhelm your senses, feel that sense of power you get from controlling a man this way increase that arousal.”
Graciela mewed.
“Josh, watch Graciela’s beautiful face as she orgasms. She’s so beautiful already, don’t you think?”
“Yes, Miss Peri, I think she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Josh’s not-insignificant cock was tenting his trousers.
“Good boy, that’s a very nice thing for you to say, and Graciela becomes even more beautiful in orgasm, which is why I want you to watch.”
“Yes, Miss Peri.”
“1. My beautiful Graciela, release for me. Come for me, and for Josh, hard.” [SNAP]
Graciela moaned softly, her beautiful eyes closing, hunching forward in her seat and trembling for more than half a minute.
“When I snap my fingers, all of you will emerge from trance, but only Josh will not remember that he was in trance. Everyone will remember that I made Graciela orgasm with just a snap of my fingers. Ready?”
“Yes, Miss Peri,” all of us but Glyn said together. Peri smiled.
[SNAP]
Josh looked startled.
“Josh, would you come home with us tonight after your shift? I’m pretty sure Graciela will want to have sex with you, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”
“Um ... let me ...” He took a deep breath. “Yes, I’ll be there. Miss Graciela, I think you’re very beautiful, and I’m glad Miss Peri let me watch what she just did to you.”
Graciela smiled. “You’re cute,” she told him. “It’ll be fun.” She winked.
Dinner was outstanding. Josh was attentive but a little unsettled. Graciela gave him a little kiss goodbye, her hand on his chest, over his heart. We left at 8:30, earlier than we could’ve, but Glyn and Peri wanted time to work with Megan before everyone got too tired. Josh would arrive at 10:30.
We were in two cars. Peri driving Graciela and Megan and me in one, following Glyn who was driving Graciela’s slaveboys in the other. It took about 20 minutes.
Peri spoke. “Graciela, I saw the way you were looking at Josh tonight, before I had you call him over. You like him, don’t you?”
“I don’t know. We just met. He’s cute, but ...”
“Megan, Scott, did you see?”
“I was a little preoccupied,” Megan said. “You and Glyn pretty much scrambled my brain. I’m still sorting things out.”
“Don’t try too hard, Megan ... we’ll work more with you at the house. You’re supposed to feel a little unmoored right now, it’s part of the process. You might as well enjoy it.”
“I noticed the way they looked at each other,” I said. “It was sweet. I mean, I’m sure Graciela is very accustomed to men looking at her, even staring, but Josh was trying not to. It felt like he was being thoughtful and considerate. I also saw Graciela eyeing him in that way she has when she doesn’t want you to know she’s interested.”
“That’s pretty much exactly what I saw, and it’s why I wanted her to call him over. Graciela, is the relationship your mother has with your father really the kind you want?”
Graciela breathed out in a puff. “I don’t think it is. I mean, it’s fun and all, I have like 15 slaves now and there’s always as much great sex as I want, but I feel more like a collector than I’m having any kind of real relationships, and honestly it’s a lot of work.”
“Have you thought about what kind of relationship you would rather have?”
Graciela paused a moment, then glanced at Megan and me in the back seat.
“I tried to enslave Scott when I first met him, but he wouldn’t let me. I liked that about him very much ... I think what I want is a man who can stand up for himself even against me ... I know I can be forceful, but I don’t want to feel like I need to. Someone I can have a relationship with the same way Megan does with Scott.”
“Megan has a sub, too.”
“I know. But she keeps that separate, and I think it helps her.”
“I think it’s deflecting, myself, but if that’s what it takes to keep her sane, then I heartily approve. My hope is she won’t need Ian much longer.”
Graciela continued. “I want to feel loved and cherished, and I want to feel free to improvise, not limited to dominance or vanilla or any other thing. I’m still so young, just like you, and I hardly know what to make of life yet. I’m working things out by feel.”
“What if Josh could be that person?”
“I guess we’ll have to see.”
We were back at Glyn’s house. I hopped out and opened all three women’s doors, offering a hand, kissing theirs, and helping each of them out in turn.
“Thank you, Scott. You’re quite the gentleman, as always,” Peri said.
Megan seemed preoccupied but let me hug and kiss her, even seemed to welcome it. She felt so good in my arms, such a strong, slender woman, so powerful yet so vulnerable. So beautiful. I still love her smell.
“Go back to your lounge,” Graciela told her boys. “We’ll call for you later. Be ready to make some gorgeous women very happy, and you might just get to have some fun yourselves.” They left. Glyn made herbal tea for everyone.
“Let’s all try to relax now,” she said when we were settled in the living room together. “This might get intense. Peri, please begin when you’re ready.”
Peri raised one hand to her eye level. She was such a delicate young woman, so elegant, so lovely in her unique way. Of course she took her time, savoring her power, so that I was half in trance already just watching her fingers move, but she looked nervous.
“Graciela, Scott, this is only meant for Megan. When I tell her to sleep and snap my fingers, it will not affect you, OK?”
Graciela and I both nodded.
“Good. Sleep now, my beautiful Megan,” Peri said. [SNAP]
Megan’s head lolled on her shoulders.
“Let her lean against you, Scott. I’ll take her much deeper than any of you have gone before, and I don’t want her falling over. Megan, let yourself lean against your husband. You trust Scott, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Megan whispered.
“Good girl. We’ll rely on your love for Scott and his for you. We all envy that love and are so glad you share it with us, you’re both so loving and so easy to love. Right now I want you to relax, much more deeply than you ever have before. Let your whole body relax, the way you teach your crossfit students when they’ve finished their workout. Let that wave of relaxation flow up from your toes, all the way up your legs, let yourself feel so warm and safe leaning against Scott, who would do anything to protect you. Let yourself feel that relaxation all the way up your body, to your neck, your chin, your face, your eyes, your scalp. Let yourself rest there, feeling that warmth and relaxation collect there at the top of your head, then let it gently flow out of you, radiating into the room, away from you and into us, until all you feel is your warmth and relaxation joining with ours, safe and loved here with us in this room where no one and nothing can harm you. Feel that safety here with people who love you, who would do anything to keep you safe, who’ve already done so much for you. Does that feel nice?”
Megan’s lips barely moved, but I was close enough to hear. “Yes, Miss Peri.”
“That’s wonderful, my good girl, you’re doing so well. Now with all that warmth and relaxation radiating from you and back from us, I want you to let yourself sink farther into this lovely trance, farther than you’ve ever been before, trusting me, and Glyn, and Scott and Graciela, who all love you so much. Let yourself feel that love seeping into you, warming you, helping you go even deeper. Can you feel it?”
“Yes.” Megan’s voice was a whisper.
“You’re doing so well. Now I want you to go even deeper, like you’re sinking into a pool of lovely warm water, the most wonderful bath you’ve ever felt. Let yourself sink into that water, deeper every second, as your awareness goes farther and farther away every moment, let yourself go chin deep, knowing you’re completely safe in warm relaxing water, so protected and loved. You’re doing so well, I’m so pleased with you.”
Megan’s lips twitched, her only sound a little hum.
“I’m going to give you a new trigger now, Megan. It’ll help you reach this level of trance any time we want, so deep you have no choice but to fall this far into trance unless you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. No one will be able to misuse this trigger because it’s YOUR trigger and YOU own it, only you, no one else, not ever. You’re just letting me use it. You can disregard it any time you feel unsafe or uncomfortable, but you know I would only use it for your benefit, only when I think you’re safe and warm and protected and loved, just the way you are now.“
Megan’s head made the tiniest of nods.
“The trigger is very simple, exactly what it sounds like: ‘Ten Times Deeper’. Anytime I speak this trigger and you’re already in trance you will fall ten times deeper, just like you did while relaxing for me. Would that be all right with you? It’s not a trigger you’ll crave, but it’s a trigger you’ll welcome when it comes and when you feel safe and comfortable.”
Megan nodded, whimpering. Was that expected?
“Megan, I want you to tell me what you’re feeling right now. Let your voice be stronger, even while remaining so deep in this wonderful trance.”
“I love this feeling, Miss Peri,” Megan said softly. “I feel everything you’ve said, so warm and relaxed and safe and protected and loved, it’s like I’ve never felt anything like this before, like I don’t know what’s happening but I like whatever it is very much.”
“That’s very, very good, Megan ... you’re doing so well and we’re all so pleased to hear that.” Peri glanced at Glyn. “I’m going to wake you from this lovely trance soon, I know how much you’re enjoying it but we need to see if you can go back in and then go even deeper. Are you ready to try that?”
“Yes, Miss Peri.” Megan’s voice was almost inaudible.
“That’s so good to hear ... I love how you trust me and everyone here so much. I’m going to count you up to five, becoming more aware and awake with each number I speak, and when I reach five and snap my fingers I want you to feel wonderfully rested, awake and aware, fully ready for anything else that might happen.”
Megan barely nodded.
“One. Let yourself begin to be aware of what your body is feeling, how wonderful you’re feeling, basking in the warmth of our love.
“Two. Let yourself feel how loved you are, how incredibly loved and warm and safe and relaxed and comfortable you are, your head on Scott’s shoulder.
“Three. Hear the sounds of the room around you, the air flowing around you, the couch you’re sitting on, the cars on the road, the concert down the hill.
“Four. Feel your eyes want to open to the world around you, to the warm and comfortable room around you, to the people who love you, and ...
“Five. Your eyes opening, rested and refreshed, becoming awake and alert and ready for the rest of your night.”
[SNAP]
“That was incredible,” Megan said. “I loved it! What did you ...”
“Sleep now, my beautiful Megan,” Peri said. [SNAP]
Megan went out like a light. She dropped like a stone, she ...
“Ten Times Deeper,” Peri said, snapping her fingers again.
Megan whimpered.
“We’re going to go even deeper into trance now, Megan. Ten Times Deeper [SNAP]. Let your voice respond even as you remain so deep in trance, deeper than you’ve ever been before. How do you feel?”
“MMMMMmmmmmm,” Megan said.
“One more time, Megan. When I speak your trigger one more time you will be far beyond any trance you’ve ever known. Your conscious mind will be completely switched off and I will be speaking directly to your unconscious, the part that normally doesn’t get to speak, the part that goes back all the way to when you were a little girl, and I’m going to speak to that little girl, and then Glyn will, and that little girl part of you will be totally honest with us, and she will feel as safe and secure as she can, and she will tell us anything that doesn’t make her feel safe and secure, and whatever is bothering her, we will work through it together, because we love and cherish her, and you, and we want you to feel safe and secure and comfortable. We love you, Megan, you need never doubt that, you can build your life around that. We love you. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Megan whispered. Her eyes were tearing up.
“Ten Times Deeper,” Peri said. [SNAP]
“Why are you angry, Megan?” Glyn asked.
Megan shook her head.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Megan nodded.
“Are you uncomfortable about someone being here?”
Megan nodded.
“Are you uncomfortable about me?”
Megan shook her head.
“Are you uncomfortable about Miss Peri?”
Megan shook her head.
“Are you uncomfortable about Graciela?”
Megan nodded slightly.
“Are you uncomfortable about Scott?”
Megan nodded more vigorously. I moved to rise but Peri put out her hand.
“Are you angry at Scott?”
Megan nodded slightly.
“Is there anyone else you’re angry about?”
Megan’s voice sounded like a little girl’s. “Mike. Jack. Those other men. The judge who let them out so they could hurt Scott.”
“Do you love Scott?”
Megan nodded vigorously.
“Do you trust Scott?”
Megan shrugged.
“Is there a reason you don’t trust Scott as much as you love him?”
“He’s a man,” Megan said. “I’m a little afraid of him and I’m a little afraid of how much I love him. I’m afraid he’ll leave me, I’m afraid he’ll stop loving me. I love him and I hate him, I hate that he wasn’t able to stop those men from hurting him. I would hurt them very badly if they tried that again.”
“Would it make you feel better if Scott and Graciela weren’t in the room?”
Megan nodded vigorously. This time Peri let me get up. I kissed Megan’s temple and took Graciela’s hand. We went outside for a walk. And a very good talk. It turns out she’s a lot deeper than I’d ever suspected, and tonight had touched her more deeply than she’d ever thought she could be. She seemed to like Josh more than she’d let on, and was anxious to see him later. We laughed and touched, enjoying each other’s company.
We returned to the house at 10:00, going in the kitchen door because we didn’t want to interrupt anything that might still be going on in the living room. Peri came into the kitchen a minute later.
“I’m sorry you had to leave. What Glyn and Megan are doing now is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen, and I wish you could be there. We’ll bring her up soon and invite you back. Join us about half a minute after you hear my hands clap.” She kissed me, almost desperately, then Graciela. “I love you,” she whispered.
I heard her handclap about five minutes later. Megan was stretching and yawning. Peri and Glyn looked tired but satisfied, and very very relieved. Graciela and I sat on opposite sides of Megan, each of us holding one of her hands. Megan’s eyes finally opened. She hugged and kissed Graciela, and then she gave me the closest hug she’d given me since that first morning at Hikerville. I wondered if she would ever let go.
“Peri is incredible,” Glyn said.
“Glyn is incredible,” Peri said.
“I’m so happy,” Megan whispered into my neck. “I love you so much, and ... I really Really REALLY want you inside me.“
She turned to the other women. “Come visit us later if your boys give you the chance. That was the most wonderful thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you so so so much.”