Mark and Emily had been married for 7 years, and couldn’t be happier. They both loved having little “adventures” and so they traded off going to fun events every weekend. The two of them were constantly scanning the internet for events going on in the city, and it almost became a game of trying to one up each other with a more unique experience.

And so it was that it came Mark’s time to pick, and he decided on a carnival that was in town.

The two of them had fun doing the little games, and ate far too much of the faire food, and eventually found themselves outside of a tent that had the words “Dr. Amazo’s Incredible Hypnosis Show.”

They both smiled at each other and entered the tent. They were just in time, as a man (Dr. Amazo?) seemed to be warming up the audience, and explaining how hypnosis worked to the audience.

Dr. Amazo finished his spiel, and asked if there was anyone who would like to volunteer in the audience.

Mark was surprised when Emily raised her hand. He was even more surprised when Dr. Amazo called her up, along with half a dozen other volunteers.

“I want you all to look deep into this crystal,” Dr. Amazo said, holding a gem that twinkled in the lights of stage. “See the way the light plays across it, the way it sparkles. Yes, I want to you all to focus completely on this crystal, and the sound of my voice. Everything else is fading into the background, going away moment by moment as you relax.”

Mark wasn’t paying attention to anyone except for Emily up on the stage. He could see that her eyes were glued to the crystal, and that her eyelids were getting heavy. He couldn’t help but notice her breathing slow, as he watched her chest move slowly in and out.

“Now, sleep!”

Emily collapsed forward in her chair, her head down and all consciousness seemingly gone.

Dr. Amazo entertained the audience with a variety of funny scenarios. He made all of the participants cluck like a chicken, had them ride a roller-coaster, and pretend they were trying to flirt with some cute people on a beach while a variety of weather effects thwarted their efforts.

“Now, let’s have a round of applause for our amazing volunteers!” Dr. Amazo said. After waiting for the noise to die down, he continued, “Now, volunteers, raise your hand if you came hear with someone.” Most of them raised their hands. “I’m going to whisper an extra special secret command into your ears, so that the people you came with can have a little fun.” Dr. Amazo went down the line, whispered something into each volunteer’s ears, and then woke them up.

“Thank you everyone! I have a few more shows today, my assistants are in the back if you’d like to give me a few dollars. Have a great time at the faire!”

Emily walked back to Mark, looking a little out of it.

Mark pecked her on the cheek, and smiled.

“Wow,” Mark said. “I’m surprised that actually worked, what did it feel like?”

Emily looked at Mark strangely, her hand softly touching where he had kissed her. “Oh, geez,” she said. “He really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

Mark blinked in surprise. “He did a number on *me*? You were the one who went up there, babe!” He tried to take her hand, as they followed the crowd and walked away, but she wouldn’t take it.

“Don’t call me ‘babe’, Mark. We’re just friends, and you’d remember that if you hadn’t just been up on that stage. I don’t blame you, the guy played you like a fiddle,” she said, giving a slight smile.

Mark was thoroughly confused. “Emily, you’re scaring me. We’re married, look at your ring,” he said.

Emily held up her hand, but there was no ring on it. Mark was even more confused than before.

“Where did your ring go?” he said.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Mark!” she said in exasperation. “He didn’t hypnotize me, he hypnotized you.”

“But why do I have a wedding ring?” he asked, holding up his hand.

“He probably slipped it to you while you were on stage or something,” she said.

Mark shook his head. “No, we’ve been married for 7 years, and we’ve known each other twice as long as that. Let’s go talk to this hypnotist!”

Emily shrugged, and followed Mark backstage. “Mark, we met like a month ago, and I was really enjoying hanging out with a guy pal who didn’t just want to sleep with me. Hopefully the hypnotist can set *you* straight, and we can go back to building this new 100% platonic friendship of ours.”

“We’ll see who’s right!” Mark said. “Hey, Dr. Amazo. Give my wife back her memories!”

Mark had barged into the dressing room back stage, where he saw Dr. Amazo sitting down with a drink after the show.

“Oh, hello!” Dr. Amazo said. “Have you two been enjoying the little gifts I left you with?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “It’s kind of wearing thin at this point. Can you set him straight, so we can go back to enjoying our evening?”

Dr. Amazo held up the crystal, and started moving it back and forth.

“Hey!” Mark shouted. “You can’t just start… hypnotizing… me. Gotta… fix...”

Soon Mark had trailed off entirely. Emily watched as her new friend went under for the second time that day.

“Mark, I think you might be misremembering some things after the show,” Dr. Amazo said. “For example, did I hypnotize you earlier?”

“No,” Mark said from far away. “You hypnotized my wife Emily.”

“No, that’s what I told you to remember happened,” Dr. Amazo said. “You were the one hypnotized on the stage.”

“I was the one… hypnotized,” Mark repeated back.

“That’s right,” Dr. Amazo said. “All of your memories of being married to Emily are false. You should forget those memories.”

“No,” Mark said, his brow furrowing. “Can’t forget. Love her.”

“No, Mark. All of those pleasant years are something I created. You don’t love Emily. You’re not even attracted to her - she’s not your type. No offence, dear,” he motioned to Emily who shrugged. “You like big, beautiful women. Emily is a twig from your point of view. You met her last month, and enjoyed the conversations with her, but you’re not attracted to her.”

“Not… attracted to her,” he said breathily.

“That’s right. Now, Mark, tell me. Are you married to Emily?” Dr. Amazo asked.

Mark shook he head. “No.”

“Then, why don’t I slip the wedding ring prop I gave you off of your hand, and,” he snapped, “wake you up.”

Mark woke up and looked blearily around. “What just happened.”

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. “Dr. Amazo fixed you,” she said.

“Of shit,” Mark said. “I can’t believe he put the whammy on me like that.”

Emily laughed. “Yeah, can you imagine the two of us being married?”

Mark shook his head. “No, I can’t. That’d never work.”

The two of them walked out of the tent, and enjoyed the fair together. Then, Emily gave Mark a ride to the hotel where he had been staying while he tried to find an apartment, and drove back to her big house alone.