The Hypnosis Game Copyright 2022 by Heather Rose Brown

When I was around eight years old, a friend (who was sorta adopted as a cousin) stayed with my family for a few weeks over the summer. We played a lot of games while we she was there, but my favorite was the one where we'd pretend to hypnotize each other.

This is the story of what happened when it was my turn to be hypnotized.

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"You're gettin' sleepy," Kimmie said while dangling a necklace in front of my eyes. The necklace began swaying as she said, "You're feelin' very, veeeery, sleepy."

I watched the swinging pendant sparkle in the afternoon sunlight for a few seconds before letting my eyelids droop.

My friend smiled, then said, "That's right. Your eyes are gettin' heavy. Very, veeeery, heavy. Ya can haaaardly keep 'em open."

I smiled back, then wondered if that was something hypnotized people did. I decided not to worry about it, since it already happened, and let my eyes close the rest of the way.

One of my sisters giggled, and the other whispered, "It's working."

Someone made a shushing sound, then Kim said, "You oooonly hear my voice. You'll oooonly do what I say. Nod once if ya understand."

I was tempted to shake my head, but thought that might ruin the game, so I nodded instead.

"Veeeery gooood. In a moment, I'm gonna snap my fingers. When I do that, you'll open your eyes, and act normal, but you'll still be under my control. Do ya understand?"

When I nodded again, fingers snapped near one my ears, and my eyes popped open. I gasped when I realized my eyes had opened on their own.

"You okay?" my older sister asked.

"I think so," I said while wondering if I'd actually been hypnotized. A tingle of excitement rippled down my back when I thought about it.

"Whatcha gonna make 'im do?" my younger sister asked.

Kimmie scratched her chin and said, "Well, we gotta test to make sure he's really under, so it'd prolly hafta be somethin' he wouldn't normally do."

All three girls looked deep in thought for a while, then my older sister's eyes opened wide, and she whispered in Kim's ear.

An impish grin stretched across my friends face. Her bright blue eyes twinkled when she took my hand and said, "Follow me."

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After closing the door to the guest bedroom, Kimmie let go of my hand and said, "There's somethin' really special I need ya to do for me. Would ya be okay with that?"

"Sure," I said in the dull monotone I imagined hypnotized people used.

"Gooood," she said while patting my arm. "Just stay there while I get something."

"Okay," I said, then watched her root through a couple of dresser drawers.

A minute or so later, she brought a small handful of clothes and said, "I'd like ya to change into these shorts and shirt."

My heart started thumping. "Ya want me to ... to ... wear your clothes?"

The impish grin showed up again, but there was a gentleness to her voice when she said, "Like I said, this is somethin' very special I'd like ya to do for me."

Icy needles ran up my hands and arms when I realized my friend was serious. I almost decided to 'wake up', but the offer was way too tempting. Besides, I was hypnotized, so I had to do what I was told ... didn't I?

"Wait!" Kim shouted when I started pulling my shirt up. In a more normal voice, she said, "Let me go out first. Once you've changed, ya can come out and show me. Okay?"

I tried to answer, but nothing came out, so I just nodded.

My friend studied me for a long moment, then gave me a lopsided smile before setting the clothes on the bed.

Once Kimmie had left the room and closed the door, I spread the clothes out on the bed. There was a light blue t-shirt with skinny white stripes, and blue denim shorts. Except for the sleeves being a little short, the shirt looked like something a boy could wear, and the shorts didn't look much different from what I already had on.

After taking in a deep breath, I pulled off my shirt. Even though it was a warm day, I started shivering when I slipped on my friend's shirt. It was a little stretchier, and a lot softer, than what I'd been wearing. It didn't look especially girly on me, even though it was a girl's shirt.

I was having trouble taking off my shorts until the idea to take off my sneakers made it through my muddled thoughts. When I pulled on Kim's shorts, they felt ... different. It took some adjusting of different bits before her shorts felt right on me.

After getting my sneakers back on, I shuffled across the bedroom on numb legs. On the other side of the door, my friend and sisters were waiting for me. My hand was slippery with sweat when I reached for the doorknob.

I started worrying how they would react when they saw what I was wearing. But ... this was my one chance to dress how I'd always wanted. Plus, I had the excuse of being hypnotized, if anybody had anything to say about me wearing girl clothes.

Would everything really go okay? I decided there was only one way to find out, and opened the door.