Den & Lauren, c03 e03: Look Into My Eyes

‘How does this hypnosis thing work, then?’

Den looked up from the steaming tea in his green mug, and looked into Megumi’s dark brown eyes. ‘It’s actually remarkably easy,’ he said. ‘How’s your tea?’

‘Very nice,’ Megumi said. ‘Thanks. How did you know I like unsweetened lemon tea?’

They sat alone in the Tanakas’ living room. Isao and Lauren had taken Mr Tanaka’s car to go to the police station to get some paperwork done.

‘I saw lemons in the kitchen and a fresh packet of Oolong, which I hadn’t seen before.’

Megumi blinked. ‘Wait, you’ve been in the kitchen?’

‘Yes,’ Den said. ‘Your father’s been teaching me to cook.’

Megumi’s jaw dropped. ‘Dad never did that with me,’ she said.

---

‘Never?’

‘I learned to cook on my own,’ Megumi replied. ‘Nothing I did could come anywhere near as good as Dad’s cooking, but I kept at it till I was good enough for me. The kitchen was kind of his sanctum sanctorum. Other men had sheds. My Dad’s shed is the kitchen.’

Den took a sip at his green tea. ‘You know, if you google “best green tea” nowadays, all you get is “best green tea for health this,” “most affordable green tea that.” He sniffed. ‘None of them tout “best green tea because you like it.”‘

Megumi smiled. ‘It’s all about the health these days,’ she said.

‘So you never really saw your Dad cooking, then?’ Den asked.

Megumi sipped at her tea. She shook her head. ‘I’d watch him sometimes, from the safety of the doorway. Woe betide if I were to enter while he was cooking, though. Bad enough before …’ Her voice trailed off. She swallowed a mouthful of her tea.

‘Hypnosis is kind of like that,’ Den said, ‘only your focus and concentration are deeper and, at the same time, narrower.’ He put down his cup, and took Megumi’s cup from her hands. ‘It’s not exactly how Hollywood portrays it,’ he added, looking at Megumi’s face. Megumi leaned forwards.

‘We don’t exactly do that thing any more,’ Den said, ‘when I say something like “Look into my eyes, not around them, not above or below them, but deeply into my eyes …”‘ He snapped his fingers. ‘”And you’re under.” We don’t exactly say that any more.’

He sat back. Megumi was staring into the middle distance already.

‘This is unexpected,’ Den said. ‘I hadn’t expected it to be that easy.’ He stood, and went over to Megumi, who continued to gaze at nothing. Den touched her forehead. There was no reaction. Her skin was cool.

‘Would you like to stand up, now?’ he said. Megumi stood.

‘I am now going to speak to your unconscious mind,’ Den said. ‘Say hello.’

‘Hello,’ Megumi said, in a hollow half-whisper.

‘I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’ll tell me the truth, okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘It’ll feel really, really good to answer truthfully,’ Den said. ‘Because when you answer me truthfully, you’ll experience a rush of dopamine.’

‘How old are you?’

‘Twenty three.’

‘How do you feel?’

‘Really good.’

‘Are you single?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay. Megumi, do you know that you are hypnotised?’

‘Yes.’

‘And do you want to continue being hypnotised by me?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you want me to teach you to hypnotise other people, as well?’

‘Yes.’

Den smiled. ‘You’re a perfect subject,’ he said, mostly to himself. He walked slowly around Megumi, who continued to stare.

‘Yes,’ Megumi said.

‘How do you feel?’

‘Strange,’ Megumi replied, ‘but also good.’

‘That’s great,’ Den said. ‘Tell me, would you want me to hypnotise you again in future?’

‘Yes.’

‘How does it feel to be hypnotised?’

‘Turned on,’ Megumi said. ‘Horny.’

Den noted this without comment. ‘Megumi,’ he said, ‘would you like some fun instructions?’

‘Yes,’ Megumi replied.

‘After each instruction, I’ll ask you if you want to accept the instruction. Okay?’

‘Yes.’

‘Good,’ Den said. ‘So, Megumi, here’s the first instruction …’

---

Megumi opened her eyes and blinked. She and Den were still sitting in the living room, facing one another. Megumi shook her head.

‘What happened?’

Den smiled. ‘I may have accidentally hypnotised you,’ he said.

‘Hypnotised me? How?’

Den sat back in the chair. ‘You tell me,’ he said. ‘Lose one.’

Megumi was wearing a light jacket over her blouse, jeans, and the sensible flats she had worn for travelling. ‘It didn’t feel like anything in particular,’ she said, removing her jacket. She looked at her tea. ‘It’s gone cold,’ she said, getting up. ‘Want a topup?’

Den gave her his cup. ‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Lose one.’

‘I won’t be a moment,’ Megumi said, kicking off her shoes.

‘Sure thing,’ Den said. ‘Lose one.’

Megumi began peeling off her blouse on her way into the kitchen.

‘What tea do you normally drink?’ Megumi asked, her voice echoing from the kitchen over the sound of the kettle.

‘Nothing special,’ Den replied. ‘Mum loves Ty-Phoo brand tea. She thinks Twinings is posh tea.’ He heard Megumi giggle. ‘Lose one.’

A moment later, the kettle boiled. Den heard Megumi fixing the tea. ‘You should meet my Mum, Beryl,’ he said. ‘Lose one.’

‘Do you live near here?’ Megumi asked.

‘Yes, actually,’ Den replied.

‘I might drop in and see you and her some time, then,’ Megumi said.

‘Not dressed the way you are,’ Den murmured, as Megumi entered the living room, carrying two mugs of steaming tea, wearing only panties and socks.

She sat facing him, and leaned against the back of the sofa, cradling her tea in her hands.

‘So tell me, then, Den Thompson, just how do you hypnotise people?’

‘Okay,’ Den replied, leaning forward. ‘To understand how hypnosis works, you have to understand how people’s unconscious minds work. Stand up and lose one.’

‘Do tell,’ Megumi said, standing up. She slid down her panties, and stood facing him, naked but for her socks.

Den looked up at her. ‘The unconscious,’ he said, ‘is where all the real decisions are made by the mind.’ He sat back. ‘Your feelings, your choices, even your tastes and habits. If you have the subject’s unconscious mind on your side, it’ll do wonders for you.’

‘In what way?’ Megumi asked.

‘Well, for instance, if you realise that you smoke,’ Den said, ‘you can work on that habit with the unconscious mind.’

‘I understand,’ Megumi said. ‘So how would that help someone who smokes?’

‘If you realise that you have a habit,’ Den said, ‘you can work with your unconscious mind to control that habit, and eliminate it in the end. I usually replace it with a different but equally satisfying habit. Eating a lollipop, for instance. Lollipops are good. Mum says it reminded her of some actor called Telly Savalas, who gave up smoking and went and put on weight from eating lollipops instead.’

‘And you can only help someone by replacing their habit with another one?’

‘And stepping it down a gear once in a while till the new habit’s practically non-existent,’ Den replied. He smiled. ‘Providing it’s a harmless habit. The unconscious doesn’t mind what the activity is, because the dopamine’s the same when you feel the rush.’

Megumi smiled. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, leaving the room for a moment. Den watched her exit the living room, and heard her ascend the stairs.

A moment later, Megumi re-entered the room, naked and smoking a cigarette.

‘I remembered where Dad used to stash his cigarettes, whenever he used to try and quit in the past,’ she said, sitting down. She took a drag of the cigarette and blew out a cloud of blue smoke. ‘The funny thing is, I don’t smoke.’

‘Quite right,’ Den said. ‘It’s a filthy habit, after all.’

Megumi finished smoking, and cleared her throat with some tea.  She sat back again, sprawling so that Den could see her naked body. ‘So then, she said, fixing her gaze on Den, ‘tell me more about how you get the attention of the unconscious mind?’

‘It starts by learning tha acronym ABS,’ Den said. ‘Absorb the subject’s complete Attention, Bypass their critical factor somehow, and then recruit the Subconscious.’

‘Oh, is that all?’ Megumi said, sipping her tea. ‘It’s going to be fun learning hypnosis.’

‘Yes,’ Den said, sitting back. ‘It will be.’